Results 18,561-18,580 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The replacement rate for given income levels is a tool used to measure the degree to which out-of-work benefits when unemployed replace take home income from work. While there is no pre-determined level of replacement rate, which would influence every individual’s decision to work, higher replacement rates may indicate lower incentives to take up employment. In this regard a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Live Register Statistics (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The number of persons on the live register at the end of 2011, 2012 and June 2013 are detailed by county and duration in the attached tabular statement. It should be noted that all casual registrants are in the ‘Under 3 month’ duration category based on the Central Statistics Office’s definitions. Number of Persons on the Live Register by County and Duration, end of June...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Status (16 Jul 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 19th June 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: Domiciliary Care Allowance Payments (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) can be paid in respect of children under the age of 16 years. Children over 16 years can apply for Disability Allowance (DA) in their own right. However, different eligibility criteria apply and qualification for DCA does not confer an automatic entitlement to DA, each application is assessed on its individual merits. DCA recipients are advised three months...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Proposed Legislation (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2013 will provide for a wide range of issues relating to the registration of life events in the State. Representations and recommendations have been made by various groups and organisations since the enactment of the Civil Registration Act 2004 and this Bill seeks to address these issues. The General Register Office, which administers the Civil...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 655 to 657, inclusive, together. A target expenditure of €20.75m has been set for 2013 in respect of payments for medical certificates and reports for illness and disability related schemes. This represents a reduction of some €5m on payments made in 2012. Payments to certifiers are made on a quarterly basis. Two quarterly payments have been...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 658 and 659 together. The Department’s control work is measured in terms of control savings and they are used as a performance indicator for year-on-year activities. Control savings are an estimate of the value of the various control activities across the schemes in payment and refer to future expenditure that would have been incurred but for this...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code Issues (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: There are currently no plans to lower the standard qualifying period in receipt of CE-eligible payments from the current 12 month duration, as Community Employment is primarily aimed at long-term unemployed persons, which is generally defined as one year or more on the Live Register. Persons who claim Jobseekers Benefit from 3rd April 2013 can only claim for a maximum duration of 9 months...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I presume that the Deputy is referring to the Gateway , a new initiative between my Department and local authorities which the Government announced as part of the Budget package for 2013. The package included a number of initiatives focused on providing work opportunities for jobseekers, including the provision of 10,000 additional work placements across a number of schemes. The additional...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme Statistics (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Farm assist is a means-tested social assistance payment which is made to low income farmers aged between 18 and 66 years. The scheme takes into account all income from farming and off-farm self-employment, including that of the farmer’s spouse/partner, in which business-related expenses are disregarded. The purpose of this exercise is to estimate the normal level of net income from...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme Eligibility (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The farm assist scheme is based on jobseeker's allowance. It was introduced in 1999 to replace 'Smallholders Unemployment Assistance' for low income farmers, without the requirement to be available for and genuinely seeking work. In Budget 2013 two measures were announced, which were implemented in April 2013, which bring the farm assist scheme into closer alignment with the jobseeker's...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Support Services Issues (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Staff in the Department's local offices are available to provide information, advice and guidance in relation to education, training and employment opportunities to people with disabilities. According to Departmental records, the person concerned has availed of a number of such opportunities in the past, and is currently engaged with the Department's supported employment services for people...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Records (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 666 and 667 together. Provision has been made in the recent Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 to allow the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to act as agents for the Registrar General to provide access to the indexes of births, deaths and marriages online. The Department has been considering the issue of making...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Bullying in the Workplace (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: From 1st January 2011 policy and funding responsibility for FÁS functions in relation to employment and community employment services was transferred to this Department in accordance with the provisions of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011. All Sponsors of Community Employment schemes must ensure compliance with all statutory and legal obligations including...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Appeals (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 4th September 2012. 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 Applications (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 25th March 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 have been received in the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Exchequer Savings (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Board. In addition, the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department but it does not have a Board. Social Welfare Tribunal No remuneration is paid to members of the Tribunal. The Tribunal...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Official Travel (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Pensions Board, the Citizens Information Board and the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman operate under the remit of my Department. The Chief Executive Officers for each Agency and the Pensions Ombudsman in the case of the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman, each of whom is the respective Accounting Officer, are responsible for the approval of travel and the payment of travel and subsistence...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Bodies (16 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: A list of the non-commercial State sponsored bodies under the aegis of my Department is set out in the table below. The Citizens Information Board The Citizens Information Board is the national agency responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice and advocacy on social services and for the provision of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS). The Pensions Board...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Respite Care Grant Administration (11 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The contribution that people provide in caring for members of their own family is critical for society. It was for that reason that the Government last year adopted the National Carers’ Strategy with a view to giving greater public recognition to carers and their work. Carers receive significant income supports from the Department of Social Protection so that people can continue...