Results 14,041-14,060 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to hold an oral hearing in this case on 24thSeptember 2014.The person concerned has been notified of the arrangements for the hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Legislation (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: While I am aware of the issues arising in relation to this scheme, you will appreciate that it is not appropriate for me to comment on developments relating to a particular pension scheme as these are a matter for the management of the company and the trustees of the pension scheme. You will be aware that a number of changes were made to the Pensions Act in recent years to assist both the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: As outlined in previous responses, the person concerned has been advised on more than one occasion to make an application to her Local Social Welfare Office in order to determine her entitlement to the one parent family payment. There is no record of any contact having been made by the person concerned with the Department since she received an emergency needs payment on 07/08/14. The person...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on the 14thApril 2014. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers were received in the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Legislation (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: While I am aware of the issues arising in relation to this scheme, you will appreciate that it is not appropriate for me to comment on issues relating to a particular pension scheme as these are a matter for the management of the company and the trustees of the pension scheme. You will be aware that a number of changes were made to the Pensions Act in recent years to assist both the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme Review (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The free travel scheme permits free travel on most CIE public transport services, Luas and a range of services offered by some 90 private operators in various parts of the country for those eligible under the scheme. There are currently in excess of 780,000 customers with direct eligibility. My Department appreciates the important role that free travel plays in promoting social inclusion...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payments (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 151 together. Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The Government has provided €31.3m for ENPs in 2014. There is no...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Reform (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The various findings and recommendations contained in the OECD Review of the Irish Pensions System and published last year remain under consideration and continue to inform our development of pensions policy. The OECD recommended that the single greatest goal in Irish pension policy should be to increase pension coverage through the introduction of a mandatory or quasi mandatory earnings...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Applications (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received from the person concerned on the 9th July 2014. This application has been forwarded to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors for their medical opinion. Upon receipt of this opinion, a decision will be made and notified to the person concerned. It can currently take over 10 weeks to process an application for DCA.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff Training (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: Deciding officer training is delivered throughout all business areas that process social welfare claims in Headquarter Buildings and the network of Intreo/local office centres. The training comprises a blend of formal classroom based training and on-the-job mentoring and is provided by full and part-time trainers in business divisions and Intreo offices. These trainers are supported from...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that statistics are not maintained in respect of the number of appellants who request oral hearings and it is not in a position, therefore, to supply the information sought by the Deputy. Social Welfare legislation provides that an Appeal Office may determine an appeal without an oral hearing where s/he is of the opinion that it can be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The client has made an application for Rent Supplement for his current rental accommodation. The client has been advised the current rent payable is well in excess of the maximum limit appropriate to his family composition and location which is €575. Should he secure a rent reduction or source alternative accommodation, the client’s Rent Supplement entitlement can be re-assessed.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 to 138, inclusive, together. Under a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Social Protection (DSP) and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in the UK, the DSP has received information from the DWP regarding their clients, with addresses in the Republic of Ireland, who are in receipt of United Kingdom welfare payments. This...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 140 together. The information requested by the Deputy is not available to my Department. Details of an individual’s income and assets (including any state pensions they may receive from other countries) are only required by my Department where that person makes an application for a social assistance scheme for which a means test must be satisfied.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I do not have any proposals to set up an Actuarial Unit within my Department staffed by qualified actuaries. Staff in the various areas in my Department who are engaged in the formulation of the various Budget proposals and ongoing review of schemes have access to a very wide range of information. Staff work closely with the Statistics Unit in my Department and also with the relevant...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Eligibility (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on the 22nd January 2014. The application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 31st March 2014 advising of the decision. The person concerned subsequently requested a review of the decision and supplied additional...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Telephone Allowance was discontinued with effect from 01 Jan 2014. The costs of the Telephone Allowance scheme had risen each year previously until the allowance amount had changed and the number of eligible customers had increased significantly. In 2007 there were some 316,000 people receiving the Telephone Allowance, at the end of 2013 there are almost 400,000, an increase of 24%....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: Farm Assist is a means-tested income support scheme for farmers. To qualify for Farm Assist, a person must be a farmer, farming land in the State, aged between 18 and 66 and satisfy a means test. There were just over 10,300 recipients of farm assist at end December last and nearly €99.5 million was spent on the scheme in 2013. The farm assist scheme is based on jobseeker’s...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme Administration (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 and 153 together. The rural social scheme provides income support for farmers and those engaged in fishing who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. Participants are engaged for 19½ hours per week to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. The scheme currently provides work opportunities for around 2,600...