Results 17,741-17,760 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Youth Guarantee (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 268 and 269 together. The EU Council recommended that Member States should provide a Youth Guarantee which would ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. While it...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme Appeals (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned together with the relevant Departmental papers were received by that office on 16 October 2013 and that the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer 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...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Schemes (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker's allowance schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. The Revised Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure on the jobseeker's schemes of €3.66 billion in 2013. It is a fundamental qualifying condition of both schemes that a person must be fully unemployed for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Live Register Numbers (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Information relating to a claimant's address is not currently coded to the geographical location of the address. As such it is not possible to accurately report persons in receipt of any social welfare payment in a particular area. The town and district of Ballybay is in the catchment area of the Castleblaney Social Welfare Branch Office. I have provided, for the Deputy's information, a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (22 Oct 2013)

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 Protection and of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Payments (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the Department received an application for carer's allowance from the person in question on the 24th July 2013. The application was awarded on 1st October 2013 with effect from 31st of October 2013. The first payment of carer's allowance is due to issue to the bank for payment on 31st of October 2013. As the person concerned was in receipt of a higher rate of payment on...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Public Sector Pensions Issues (22 Oct 2013)

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. The decision to reform State pension was taken in the context of changing demographics and the fact that people are living longer and healthier lives. The Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2011 provides that State pension...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Data (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: In the programme for Government, an undertaking was given to introduce a better approach to how the State engages with and supports the unemployed to get back into the workforce. The challenge set by the Government in Pathways to Work is to ensure that the creation of new jobs results in a reduction in unemployment – particularly long-term unemployment so that individuals do not...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pensions Reform (22 Oct 2013)

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. The decision to reform State pension was taken in the context of changing demographics and the fact that people are living longer and healthier lives. The Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2011 provides that State pension...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Status (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 1st August 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: Carer's Allowance Appeals (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 18th October 2013, 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...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to 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. There are currently over 82,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €403 million...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the Department received an application for carer's allowance from the person in question on the 20th May 2013. Following investigation, the application was disallowed on the 4th October as the person concerned did not provide certain relevant information as requested by the social welfare investigative officer. Subsequently, the person in question submitted additional...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 07th August 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: Household Benefits Scheme (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: My overall concern in this Budget has been to protect the primary social welfare rates. To allow us to protect these core payments, we have had to look very carefully at other additional payments such as the household benefits package, including the telephone allowance. While we have cut the telephone allowance, there have been no cuts to the electricity/gas allowance, free travel, the free...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code Reform (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 285, 286, 304 and 305 together. In order to incentivise young jobseekers to avail of education and training opportunities and to minimise the risk of them becoming welfare dependent from a young age, changes are being made to the rates payable in respect of persons under 26 years of age. Such rates in respect of younger jobseekers were first introduced in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 288 and 289 together, Budget 2014 provides for a reduction from €59.17 million to €54.17 million in the payment made to the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR) in respect of television licences provided for some 410,000 customers in receipt of the household benefits package. This budget measure will have no...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance Issues (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 290 to 292, inclusive, and 302 and 307 together. In Budget 2013 it was announced that from 1 January 2014, the exemption from PRSI applying to employed contributors and occupational pensioners aged under 66 years, whether that pension arises from that person's own employment or the employment of his or her spouse or civil partner, whose only additional...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payment Eligibility (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: 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. It is expected that the estimated expenditure for ENPs in 2013 will be in excess of €35 million. Application can be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Maternity Benefit Issues (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Maternity benefit is an income maintenance payment awarded to eligible women for a 26-week period on foot of a confinement. Entitlement to this benefit for employees is contingent on entitlement to statutory maternity leave. In 2013 my Department will spend €297.4m on Maternity Benefit and Adoptive Benefit, in respect of a weekly average of 21,800 recipients. The information...