Results 18,641-18,660 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The farm assist scheme was introduced in 1999 to provide income support for low income farmers. It replaced the former smallholders’ unemployment assistance payment. In line with the then existing arrangements for unemployment assistance (including smallholders) and pre-retirement allowance, the income of farm assist recipients was exempt from class S PRSI for self-employed workers....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Artists' Remuneration (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: One of the initiatives announced as part of the Creative Ireland Programmewhich was launched by the Taoiseach in December was that the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in conjunction with my Department would devise a mechanism during 2017 to assist self-employed artists who have applied for Jobseeker’s Allowance. I have been in contact with my...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to state that the current arrangements for social security between Ireland and the UK have not changed. All social welfare payments, including pensions, continue to be paid as normal. Furthermore, social security arrangements between the UK and the EU27 also have not changed. The future operation of arrangements will, of course, be determined as part of the complex...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The latest CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) for 2015 shows that the deprivation rate for lone parent households fell from 58.7% in 2014 to 57.9% in 2015. The full impact of the recovery is not reflected in these figures. Macro-economic and labour market indicators show continued economic and employment growth. The social impact assessment of Budget 2017 showed that average...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Data (11 Apr 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. During 2016, the CA section which is based in my Department’s office in Longford, processed 31,881 applications. Each decision notice offered the recipient a right of review...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Budget 2017 (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My priority in Budget 2017 was to help ensure that everyone benefits from the recovery - including retired people, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents, farmers and people who are unemployed. In doing this I sought to balance the improvements to social welfare payments with measures designed to make sure that the system also works for people who are in employment, including...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Expenditure (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. Supports provided under the SWA scheme can consist of a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is not responsible for the calculation of maintenance payments between individuals. The arrangement of maintenance is a Family Law matter under the remit of the Department of Justice and Equality (D/JE). It is important to clarify to the Deputy that there is no current policy to reduce payments to lone parents where they are not in receipt of maintenance from the absent...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. The average processing time for Jobseekers Benefit claims awarded in March 2017 was 1 week, which exceeds the overall performance targets set for the scheme. The time taken by my...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Housing Assistance Payments Data (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting some 44,800 recipients for which the Government has provided €253 million for in 2017. The strategic policy direction of my Department is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of being a short-term income support scheme. Under HAP, responsibility for the provision of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77, 85 and 359 together. The rural social scheme (RSS) is an income support initiative which provides part-time employment opportunities in community and voluntary organisations for farmers or fishermen who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and underemployed in their primary occupation. The RSS is a supplementary income support scheme. ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The JobPath service which is funded by the Department is delivered by two service providers, Turas Nua Ltd and Seetec Business Technology Company Ltd. The JobPath model has a number of key features which enables my Department to monitor all aspects of the service provider’s performance and ensure contract compliance. Every participant is provided with a service guarantee - a baseline...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Direct Provision Payments (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Protection seekers are offered accommodation under the system of direct provision operated by the Reception & Integration Agency (RIA) of the Department of Justice and Equality. Those who accept direct provision are provided with accommodation, food and health services together with other facilities and services designed to ensure their needs are met while seeking the protection of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Appeal processing times are kept under constant scrutiny by the Chief Appeals Officer. The Deputy will be aware that significant effort and resources have been devoted in recent years to reducing the length of time taken to finalise an appeal and that as a consequence processing times have improved quite considerably. For example, the time taken to process appeals requiring an oral...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Citizen Information Services (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Citizens Information Board (CIB), which has statutory responsibility for the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) and the Citizens Information Services (CIS), decided on 15 February 2017 to restructure the governance arrangements of these services. As a statutory body, the Board has the sole right to make decisions on its day to day operations as it sees fit. It would not be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Benefit (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: There is no statutory retirement age in the State, and the age at which employees retire is a matter for the contract of employment between them and their employers. Where a person exits the workforce before reaching State pension age they may apply for either the jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s allowance schemes. Jobseeker’s payments are paid to eligible...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help them address barriers to employment and to find jobs. Each person is assigned a personal advisor who assesses their skills, experience, challenges and work goals and agrees a personal progression plan that includes a schedule of activities, actions and job focused targets. I can confirm that the two companies contracted...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department provides a range of activation supports and programmes catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. These include the JobPath service and programmes such as Community Employment (CE). The JobPath service is provided for jobseekers and the period of engagement with the service for any individual is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Where a carer is employed directly by a person requiring care services then PRSI contributions (employer and employee) are payable, at the appropriate PRSI Class - Class A. Such employees are treated in exactly the same way as other employees. This ensures that people employed as carers (and employees paying Class A generally) have access to short-term social insurance benefits, such as...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: School Meals Programme (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 337 and 390 together. The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,460 schools and organisations benefitting over 200,000 children at a total cost of some €47.7 million in 2017. The funding for the scheme was increased this year, as part of Budget 2017, by an additional €5.7 million (almost 14% over the...