Results 18,621-18,640 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: If someone is found to be behaving in a fraudulent manner, his or her benefit will be suspended almost immediately. In the clip from the documentary which I saw some of the people featured appeared to be somewhat chaotic. They could be individuals who have specific issues such as addiction problems and so on. I want to stop all of what is going on in this regard because it is undermining...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: They are.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: It might be helpful for the Deputy to consider the example of Tús. We initially offered each county 80 to 120 places, depending on its size. The take-up of the scheme which offers participants 19 hours per week has been absolutely fantastic throughout the country. In fact, a large number of counties have come back looking for more places. We have also extended the JobBridge scheme,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Participants take up a JobBridge scheme place for a period of six to nine months. It is a short scheme designed to give people a kick-start where they have a particular qualification but are unable to gain work experience in the economy. People who gain decent work experience under the scheme have something substantial to include in their CV and present to potential employers. In fact, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I saw it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The forum of organisations in Ballymun dealing with young people will participate. I will provide the details.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I wish to be clear on this point. I would like the Department of Finance to recognise this-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: -----because if were to do nothing to prevent people who are improperly claiming, we would be spending an extra €700 million.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Senator Marie Moloney and Deputy Jim Daly asked about community employment schemes. It is hoped 2,500 places is a starter number. We have to provide an indicative budget and there is a cap on it. If an employer provides employment in excess of 30 hours a week, the person concerned is taken off social welfare. Having a single person employed will mean a reduction in cost to the Department...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: That is why it is important to meet the committee today and I have focused on making sure abuses in the system are reduced because the cost ends up hitting the people about whom the Deputy is talking.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: It will hit the sales of fake tan quite a bit.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I will begin with Senator Marie Louise O'Donnell's question on fraud and the roll-out of the personal services card. The card contains a biometric standard photograph. When we sign somebody up for it, we also take an electronic signature. Instead of having to fill in details when a person goes back to the office, the card is swiped, the person's photo comes up and if he or she signs on for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: With regard to the JobsPlus initiative, if a person is taken from the live register on either a one-year or two-year basis, the time includes any period spent on any of the Department's schemes such as the community employment scheme, the rural social scheme and JobBridge. For employers, this means that they are not just taking somebody who has been unemployed for two years or more. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Yes, or they can move to a different one. Over 18,000 people have participated in the JobBridge programme since it started. At any one time there are approximately 6,000 people participating in it. Indecon carried out a study which indicated that five months after people had completed the JobBridge programme, 60% of those who were graduates had found work. In the case of non-graduates,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I certainly hope so, but at the end of the day, budgetary decisions are for the whole Government to make. The substantive discussions have not begun and no decisions have yet been made. It is my objective to maintain weekly rates as that makes economic and social sense. It makes sense for the communities affected in the way described by Deputies Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Let us take County Kerry as an example. There are 416 people in the county who are moving into self-employment and who are in receipt of the back to work allowance. This is very important in the context of generating small businesses. Some 924 people in County Kerry are on back to education allowances which are important in helping them to find a good job. There are others in receipt of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I would like to begin by responding to Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh's comment on the numbers of families in which no adult in the household has a significant amount of work, which is generally defined as less than ten hours a week of paid work. I will send the exact technical definition to the Deputy. This recognised measure of deprivation has become a very important social indicator in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Pre-Budget Consultation Process: Discussion with Minister for Social Protection (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Expenditure on children and families amounts to €2.3 billion. We have a happy population statistic in that we have a lot of children compared to other countries and the overall cost figure includes child benefit. We also spend €230 million on family income supplement. The supplementary payments, including rent and mortgage interest supplement, amount to nearly €500...