Results 18,181-18,200 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Insolvency Payments Scheme (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I understand that the persons referred to by the Deputy are part of a group of former workers who left the service of Waterford Crystal in the early 1990s and received their full pension entitlements in relation to pre-1991 service under the schemes at that point. The payments made at that time were in full and final settlement of their entitlements under the schemes and were paid in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Eligibility (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Social welfare legislation provides that where a person under 25 years of age claims jobseeker’s allowance or supplementary welfare allowance and is living with a parent or step-parent in the family home, an assessment is made of the yearly value of any benefit and privilege enjoyed by that person by virtue of residing there. The value of the benefit and privilege assessed is based...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme with the emphasis on progression into employment and/or further education and training. The core eligibility criterion for CE is that the person is in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment for a year or more. Persons signing for credits or who are otherwise ineligible for a social welfare payment do not meet the current...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Paternity Leave Costs (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 293 and 306 together. The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of maternity benefit is approximately €10 million for each extra week. The table below estimates the additional cost of increasing the duration of maternity benefit above its current 26 week duration at the current weekly rate of €235. Estimated annual cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Live Register Data (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The exact information requested is not available for permanent child care workers in childcare facilities. However, my department has data on the broader category of “childc are and related occupations” which includes both those who work in childcare facilities – temporary or permanent - and other child care workers. The tables below show the number of people who were...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The legislation governing the issue of a PPS number is the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended. Sections 262(2) and (2A) provide that: (2) The Minister may, subject to subsection (2A), allocate and issue a personal public service number to each person who is the subject of any transaction with a specified body. (2A) The Minister shall not allocate and issue a personal public...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Treatment Benefit Scheme (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As outlined in the Programme for Government and announced in Budget 2017, I have extended eligibility to the treatment benefit scheme, to include the self-employed, who were not previously covered. From 27 March, self-employed contributors with sufficient PRSI contributions at class S, or class S combined with other previously reckonable classes of PRSI, are entitled to a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Bereavement Grant (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: In recent Budgets my Department has protected primary social welfare rates. Abolishing the bereavement grant provided a significant annual saving and allowed my Department to protect other core social welfare payments such as the State pension. The number of bereavement grant claims in 2013 was 23,716, and this represented an increase of approximately 4% on 2012. Based on a similar...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme Expenditure (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 305 and 307 together. The costings sought by the Deputy are detailed in the following tables. Table 1: Cost of increasing the duration of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance % Increase in Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Cost in 2018, €m 25% increase 12.5 50% increase 17.6 Table 2: Cost of increasing the duration of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pensions (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Social welfare legislation provides for the carrying out of an Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund every 5 years. The fourth such Review is currently being undertaken by external consultants (KPMG) on behalf of my Department. The Review will project the income and expenditure of the Fund over a 55 year period, taking into account policy, economic and demographic changes since...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Unemployment Data (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: According to the Eurostat Labour Force Survey, in 2016 there were 170.76 million households in the EU (excluding households composed solely of students or solely of inactive people aged 65 and over). Of these, some 29.49 million households (17.3% of the total) were jobless - that is, no adult in the household was working. For Ireland, the total number of relevant households was...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Advertising Campaigns (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Department administers over 70 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. In 2016, over 82 million individual payments were made to people across all age groups and to employers. The scale of its operations and expenditure demand that a robust and integrated range of control and anti-fraud measures are in place. Measures to prevent and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Citizen Information Services (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The independence of individual Citizens Information Services (CIS) companies is in no way undermined, or compromised, by its requirements to have appropriate and robust governance arrangements in place, which are compatible with the statutory and financial oversight needs of the Citizens Information Board (CIB) as the funding State body. The countrywide network of 42 local CISs delivers...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. Each scheme area is continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure customers are responded to and claims are processed as quickly as possible. However, the Department has experienced some difficulty in recent times with the maternity benefit scheme, where it has not been possible to process...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Delays (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has a disability such that they require that level of care. This means that the care recipient requires from another person continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continual...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Data (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Domiciliary care allowance (DCA) is a monthly payment to the parent/guardian of a child, aged under 16 with a disability so severe that the child requires care and attention and/or supervision substantially in excess of another child of the same age. This care and attention must be provided to allow the child to deal with the activities of daily living, and s/he must be likely to require...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme Expenditure (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when children start school each autumn. The BSCFA is not intended to meet the full cost of school clothing and footwear but to provide assistance towards these costs. The Government has provided €37.4 million for the scheme in 2017. ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Unemployment Benefits Payments (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department administers over 70 different schemes and services and it is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. One of the main priorities for the Department is to build on achievements already made to integrate services into a new service delivery model and streamline the applications process for all schemes. In general, there is no delay in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Unemployment Data (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I am informed that at the end of April there were 35,143 people on the live register who had indicated that their occupation immediately prior to registration for a jobseeker’s payment was in the craft and related occupation sector, relevant to the construction industry.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Unemployment Benefits Data (30 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the attached tabular statement. Recipients of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Jobseeker’s Benefit at the end of April in each of the years 2014 to 2017 Age 2014 2015 2016 2017 18 3,333 3,103 2,594 2,074 19 5,965 5,116 4,375 3,485 20 6,630 5,443 4,480 3,734 21 6,757 5,382 4,518 3,530 22 7,416 5,430 4,315 3,480 23...