Results 14,121-14,140 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Ministerial Advisers Remuneration (17 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: Government limits on numbers of advisers are not applicable to the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. The names and details of the salaries of the two Special Advisers I have appointed are shown in the following table. Title Name Annual Salary Special Adviser Edward Brophy €119,577 Press Adviser Paul O’Brien €75,647 - €92,550 As Mr. Edward Brophy was...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Gender Balance Issues (17 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Ombudsman (which does not have a Board) and the Social Welfare Tribunal. Citizens Information Board The legislative provisions governing appointments to the Citizens Information Board are contained in the Comhairle Act 2000, the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Ministerial Priorities (17 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government published a Statement of Government Priorities for the period 2014 to 2016 on Friday, 11thJuly. The statement sets out how we will build a social recovery to accompany the economic recovery that is now under way. The key priorities in the statement are: 1. Strengthening the Domestic Economy & Prioritising New Jobs for the Unemployed 2....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Ministerial Responsibilities (17 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: As well as being Tánaiste I will be continuing as Minister for Social Protection. I will not require a briefing as I have held the position of Minister for Social Protection since 2011. The briefing I received from the Department on entering office in 2011 is available on the Department’s website at the following link:

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (17 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: Based on information available to this Department, the correct rate of jobseeker’s allowance payable to the first person concerned is €62.60 per week. Her payment was adjusted for means in respect of the second person concerned’s employment. The second person concerned is in receipt of family income supplement. It is open to the person concerned to request a review of...

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

Joan Burton: The maximum rent limit applicable to a person with this family composition and living in the following locations - Leixlip, Maynooth, Kilcock and Celbridge - is €750 per calendar month. The maximum rent limit applicable in the remainder of Kildare is €650 per calendar month.

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

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 31stJanuary 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: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (17 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 394 and 395 together. A breakdown of the average time, where available, to award claims during June 2014 is detailed in Table 1. It should be noted that processing times vary by scheme reflecting the differing requirements to satisfy conditions such as income/means limits and medical eligibility. The processing times provided in the table also incorporate...

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

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance was received on the 24th February 2014. The application was not allowed as it was considered that the child did not meet the eligibility criteria for the allowance. A decision letter issued to the customer on the 13th June 2014 advising of this decision. In the case of an application which is refused on medical grounds the applicant may...

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

Joan Burton: The figures requested by the Deputy relating appeals received for each social welfare payment, the average completion time for these appeals, and the percentage of appeals, in respect of each payment, which were upheld by the Appeals Office are provided in Tables 1-3 below. Appeal processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation. They...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Appeals (17 Jul 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 6thDecember 2013. 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: Budget 2015 (16 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: The Government, in its Statement of Priorities for 2014 – 2016 published last Friday, is committed to increasing the household benefits package by €100 in Budget 2015 to compensate older people and other vulnerable groups for the introduction of water charges. Furthermore, the Government's priorities for the period to 2016 also include a commitment to the full retention of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme Administration (16 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: The free travel scheme is currently available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over, to carers and to customers under 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type payments. There are currently over 790,000 customers in receipt of free travel at an annual cost of €77 million. The freeze on funding for the scheme introduced by the previous government in 2010 as...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (16 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an oral hearing of the appeal of the person concerned took place on 8thJuly 2014 and that the Appeals Officer is now considering the appeal in the light of all of the evidence submitted, including that adduced at the oral hearing. The person concerned will be notified of the Appeals Officer's decision when the appeal has been determined....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Appeals (16 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence including that adduced at the oral hearing, has decided to partially allow the appeal of the person concerned. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility (16 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: Self-employed persons pay a Class S contribution which does not qualify them for jobseeker’s benefit. A self-employed person may be entitled to jobseeker’s allowance provided s/he satisfies the normal qualifying conditions including availability for full-time work and the appropriate means test. In order to assess the means for a self-employed person, account is taken of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Wage Subsidy Scheme (16 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: The Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS) is a demand-led employment support for private sector employers who employ people with disabilities. The scheme transferred from FÁS to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) on 1 January 2012. The relevant statistics for the last four years are contained in the following table. It is estimated that approx. 1,460 employees will be in employment under...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: The allowance payable to the client concerned, as determined by his social welfare entitlement, is €402.20 per week. This is made up of a personal allowance of €188.00, an adult dependant allowance of €124.80 and three child dependant allowances of €29.80. Peripheral allowances such as travel and meal allowance are administered by the local Education and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (16 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 23 June 2014, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: National Internship Scheme Data (16 Jul 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 118, 125 and 130 to 134, inclusive, together. The number of JobBridge interns since the scheme commenced on 1 July, 2011, by county and by year is set out in Table 1. The department does not routinely collate data on post scheme (JobBridge, Community Employment, Tús etc) employment/unemployment episodes of participants. Progression outcomes are in...