Results 17,761-17,780 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

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. ENPs are payable at the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme Payments (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a one-off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when children start school each autumn. The Government has provided €48.8m for the scheme in 2013. To date in 2013, some 14,000 persons over the age of 18 years qualified for BSCFA. Budget 2014 provides for the discontinuance of the...

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

Joan Burton: Under HAP, responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from the Department of Social Protection to local authorities using HAP. Officials in the Department of Social protection are working with those in the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, who are leading the project, in developing proposals to give effect to this...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Mortgage Interest Supplement Abolition (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The original purpose of the mortgage interest supplement scheme was to provide short term support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only. There are currently approximately 11,000 people in receipt of mortgage...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Work Placement Programme (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 299 and 300 together. The JobBridge scheme came into operation on 1st July 2011. As at 17th October, 2013, 22,128 internships had commenced with 6,004 individuals currently undertaking JobBridge placements and a further 2,864 internship opportunities advertised on the JobBridge website (). On 1st May, 2013, the Taoiseach and I launched the final report of...

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

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 07th October 2013 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...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Budget 2014 provided for: expenditure reduction measures of €226 million in 2014; €30 million in savings through additional fraud and control measures; and €34 million in savings through efficiencies and lower than anticipated expenditure on certain schemes, an overall expenditure reduction package of €290 million in 2014. The savings in 2015, 2016, 2017 and in a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Voluntary Work Option Issues (22 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I am deeply conscious of the long tradition of volunteering in this country and the contribution that volunteering makes to Ireland's social fabric. In recognition of the vital role played by the voluntary community, my Department operates a Voluntary Work Option scheme for customers on the Jobseeker schemes. Under these arrangements a Jobseeker customer may engage in voluntary work within...

Other Questions: Departmental Customer Charters (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I am interested in hearing about any experience of poor service that does not meet the standards set out in the charter. Perhaps the Deputy is talking about service in a particular area and perhaps Deputy Wallace or Deputy Clare Daly can contact the manager of the office. We issue a large volume of payments and award entitlements to people. The Department processes some 87 million payment...

Other Questions: National Internship Scheme Placements (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: JobBridge has been in operation for a little over two years. A total of 21,000 people have taken on a JobBridge internship. I commissioned the examination of how the scheme was working for people. We have extensive web interaction in real time with both the interns and the host organisations, so if there are problems we get onto them immediately. We also get many messages from people on...

Other Questions: National Internship Scheme Placements (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: There are a number of sectors in Ireland that are really important for employment opportunities. The IT sector is a major source of employment for Irish people and for people from other European countries coming to Ireland. In the context of the downturn in both construction and retail, it is odd that the Deputy would choose to make those comments. Across the Border, his party has been...

Other Questions: National Internship Scheme Placements (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Also, the key aspect of the internship programme is that, unlike in the United Kingdom, to which some references were made, internships in Ireland are voluntary. They are voluntary on the part of the host organisation and on the part of the person who participates. There is no compulsion involved. To be honest, I would not be keen on compulsion given the nature of the internship...

Other Questions: Departmental Customer Charters (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The Department is committed to ensuring that a customer service ethos is embedded in everything it does and is embraced by everyone in the Department. Significant effort was made to ensure that the highest customer service standards are achieved and these standards are set out in the customer charter and developed further in the Customer Action Plan 2013-2015. The Department employs a range...

Other Questions: Child Benefit Appeals (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Under social welfare law, deciding officers make independent judgments on the application of that law. Individual deciding officers are not subject to direction when making decisions. In other words, they cannot be directed as to what they should decide. A deciding officer can, of course, seek advice and consult others in order to ensure he or she provides a correct and fair decision....

Other Questions: Child Benefit Appeals (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Where there is a dispute, the deciding officer is obliged to make an extremely difficult decision. In this instance, each parent brought forward separate evidence indicating that the child was with them more than 50% of the time. Where a child spends more than 50% of his or her time with the mother, the practice has been to make the payment to her.

Other Questions: Child Benefit Appeals (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: In the aftermath of the Deputy's representations, a senior official undertook a full review of the papers relating to the case. The review concluded - as the Deputy has acknowledged - that the social worker's letter should be excluded from the evidence. On that basis, the deciding officer again reviewed all of the other evidence-----

Other Questions: Child Benefit Appeals (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Therefore, the Deputy is suggesting the case should not be referred back to the deciding officer who was involved in making the original decision. It is very difficult to make a decision in a case such as this, particularly as both parents produced evidence to support their claims. As the Deputy will appreciate, it is extremely difficult to achieve an outcome which is favourable to both...

Other Questions: Child Benefit Appeals (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Deciding officers have certain powers under the Social Welfare Acts and are required to act in a certain way. I sympathise with the Deputy in the context of the complexity of the case. As is the position in all separations where issues arise, it would be ideal if the parents could reach an agreement that would be in the best interests of their child.

Other Questions: National Internship Scheme Placements (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: JobBridge is one of the key initiatives introduced to assist individuals to bridge the gap between unemployment and the world of work. As of 10 October, some 21,842 jobseekers had participated in the scheme, with 5,918 participants in active internships. In addition, 2,948 internship posts have been advertised and are available on the JobBridge website. It is important to highlight that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: National Internship Scheme Data (17 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: -----whereas the saving to be made from the changes in the jobseeker's allowance will be €32 million. One of the most important initiatives, which I hope Deputy Higgins will promote, is that employers will be given an incentive of €300 a month from 1 January if they take on a young person who has been unemployed for more than six months. If they take on a young person who has...