Results 15,061-15,080 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Appeals (13 May 2014)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision on 19 November 2013. Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of an Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed in the light of additional evidence or...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Reviews (13 May 2014)

Joan Burton: The representation in question was addressed to an Officer who was on leave at the time and the post was not opened in her absence. However, the letter was acknowledged last week and a review of the person’s entitlements is currently ongoing. The person in question will be notified of the outcome as soon as a decision has been made.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Bodies (13 May 2014)

Joan Burton: The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, and the Social Welfare Tribunal. None of the bodies under the aegis of the Department have been merged, or abolished since 2011. The Pensions Board was renamed the Pensions Authority on 7 March 2014. The Public Service Reform Programme provided...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Ministerial Travel (13 May 2014)

Joan Burton: There are three formal meetings and one informal meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) Ministers scheduled for the rest of the year, together with a possible meeting on the youth guarantee. The business of EPSCO is shared with a number of other ministerial colleagues and attendance at any or all of these meetings will depend on the proposed...

Report on the General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2013: Motion (9 May 2014)

Joan Burton: I thank all Deputies who contributed so thoughtfully to this discussion on the proposed legislation. In the context of sensitive or ground-breaking legislation, in 1996 I brought the Refugee Bill before the Dáil and Seanad, which was passed. In that Act, which provides for people seeking protection under the Geneva Convention, I, on behalf of Ireland, as people interested in these...

Report on the General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2013: Motion (9 May 2014)

Joan Burton: I will come back to the Deputy on that point.

Report on the General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill 2013: Motion (9 May 2014)

Joan Burton: I start by thanking the Chairman and all the members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection for the report the committee prepared on the general scheme of the gender recognition Bill. The contents of the report of 14 January and the contributions made at the hearings the committee held on 23 and 24 October 2013 have made an important and valuable contribution to...

Topical Issue Debate: Industrial Disputes (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: I was advised of this issue some time ago. No more than the Deputy, I was very shocked at how the job initiative workers were advised of this. Deputy Johan Collins, her colleague, Deputy Eric Byrne, and others have been involved for a number of weeks in seeking to assist the job initiative workers and to reassure them. There is no threat to their position from the point of view of the...

Topical Issue Debate: Industrial Disputes (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: The renewed application for this scheme was received and subsequently withdrawn. Obviously, the existing sponsor was free to do this. I understand this came as a bit of a surprise to a number of the Deputy's colleagues, particularly people such as Deputy Eric Byrne. The Dublin 12 Congress Centre is carrying out valuable work with its community employment scheme and its jobs club and...

Topical Issue Debate: Rent Supplement (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: I am interested in the Deputy's comment that local people believe there are empty private investor apartments in Ballymun. It would be helpful to get data on this point to find out how many we are talking about. Some 180 people are in receipt of rent supplement in the Ballymun area. The regeneration project has cost €750 million and it is one of the biggest investments by the State...

Topical Issue Debate: Rent Supplement (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support for eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The overall aim is to provide short-term assistance, not to act as an...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: Contributions paid under Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) by employers, employees, the self-employed and voluntary contributors are paid into the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). The social insurance (PRSI) system is mandatory and insures nearly all workers and the self-employed for a range of contingencies such as old age, ill health, maternity and unemployment. The range of contingencies...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 101 together. The average time to award carers' allowance and invalidity pension applications at the end of March was 35 and 40 weeks respectively. New applications for carer’s allowance are currently decided upon inside 12.5 weeks on average and invalidity pension claims are currently decided upon within 8 weeks of receipt. The overall...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100, 102 and 103 together. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the current average times taken to process carer's allowance appeals decided by summary decision is 32.7 weeks and 36 weeks for those requiring an oral hearing. The current average times taken to process invalidity pension appeals decided by summary decision is 31.2 weeks and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff Training (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: Medical Assessors are fully qualified and experienced medical practitioners who provide an opinion for the guidance of the Department's Deciding Officers. Their medical assessments conform to the ethical conduct and behaviour guidelines of the Medical Council. Medical Assessors are required to be medical practitioners who are on the general register of medical practitioners while holding an...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: National Internship Scheme Eligibility (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: JobBridge Internships are open to jobseekers who have been in receipt of an eligible Social Welfare payment (Jobseekers Allowance, Jobseekers Benefit, One Parent Family Payment, Disability Benefit) or signing for credits for 3 months (78 days) out of the previous 6 months. The scheme has been launched in this targeted way to allocate scarce exchequer resources to make maximum impact for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Appeals (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 3 January 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 Welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Reform (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: Increasing State pension age and the abolition of the State pension (transition) are steps that have been taken to ensure the sustainability of pensions into the future. These decisions were taken in the context of changing demographics and the fact that people are living longer and healthier lives: - There are currently 5.3 people of working age for every pensioner and this ratio is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: The maximum rent limit applicable to North Kildare for their family composition is €850 per month. The client will receive a once-off arrears payment for the month of April to address an underpayment in that month.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Eligibility (8 May 2014)

Joan Burton: Jobseeker’s allowance is a means tested scheme and, in the case of a couple, account is taken of the means of both members of the couple. Where the second member of the couple is a qualified adult and the qualified adult is in employment, gross earnings are reduced by any PRSI, superannuation or payment to a trade union. €20 per day worked (subject to a maximum of €60...