Results 18,781-18,800 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Paternity Leave Scheme (6 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Paternity benefit was introduced in September 2016 and provides two weeks benefit, currently paid at the weekly rate of €235 per week, to support fathers in caring for their newly born babies. The number of people who have received the benefit, in each county, since its introduction is set out in the table below: Paternity Benefit recipients from September 2016 – March 2017 ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (6 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 26 August 2016. The application was referred to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) on 14 November 2016 to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. Enquiries by the SWI are continuing....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Consultancy Contracts Data (6 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information requested is currently being compiled within my Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes Review (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this important issue. Community employment and Tús are part of my Department's range of programmes and schemes, catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. They are designed to break the cycle of unemployment and maintain work readiness, thereby improving a person's opportunities of returning to the...

Topical Issue Debate: Community Employment Schemes Review (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Nobody is taken off CE or Tús to participate in JobPath. We do not allow people who have been referred to JobPath to chop and change from one scheme or programme to another. We have never allowed that and we do not propose to do so. A participant in a programme or scheme should complete it. For all sorts of reasons we do not want people changing mid-stream from one scheme or...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Appeals (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The average processing time for state pension contributory appeals to the end of March 2017 is 39.3 weeks for appeals requiring an oral hearing, and 27.5 weeks for appeals which were determined by means of a summary decision. Appeal processing times are kept under constant scrutiny by the Chief Appeals Officer and significant effort and resources have been devoted in recent years to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Treatment Benefit Scheme (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The treatment benefit scheme provides for a contribution towards the purchase of medical appliances, such as hearing aids. In 2016 some 9,500 people benefitted from this element of the scheme, at a cost of over €7.5m. The scheme currently has over 100 providers, who are required to operate under the terms of their contractual agreement with the Department. This contract covers...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme Eligibility (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: There are currently approximately 877,000 people in Ireland in receipt of free travel at an annual cost of €80 million per annum. The free travel scheme is available to all people aged over 66 living permanently in the State. Applicants who are under age 66 must be in receipt of a qualifying payment in order to qualify for the scheme. The qualifying payments for those aged under...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Job Initiatives (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The aim of the JobPath service is to assist participants in finding sustainable full-time paid employment by providing intensive individual support and assistance. It is distinct from the Community Employment scheme which provides part-time employment and training opportunities in local communities for people on a range of Social Welfare payments including long-term unemployment payments as...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Payments (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: There is no provision in social welfare legislation which allows for the suspension or termination of FIS in the event that the recipient is involved in industrial action. However, the existence of erroneous information on this topic on a subpage of the Department’s website, based on a misinterpretation of secondary legislation, recently came to light. The Department took immediate...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Data (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The average appeal processing times to date in 2017 for social protection payments which are paid on a weekly basis, broken down by oral hearing and summary decision, are set out in the following table. In addition, a table showing the number of appeals relating to those schemes which are currently on hand is also provided. Appeal processing times are kept under constant scrutiny by the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information requested (where available) by the Deputy is detailed in the following table. Social Welfare claims by average waiting times and number of claims pending 28 February 2017 Scheme Average Waiting time (weeks) Claims Pending Jobseeker's Benefit 1 2,847 Jobseeker's Allowance 2 6,795 One-Parent Family Payment 6 1,117 State Pension Contributory 5 4,260 Widow’s,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Consultancy Contracts Data (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I am advised that no private investigation firms have been hired by statutory agencies or semi-states, under the aegis of my Department, in the past five years to date in 2017.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Brexit Issues (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 244 and 245 together. The Department’s EU and International section [including Irish-UK Relations] is led by an Assistant Secretary. The Irish-UK Relations unit has, at present, three additional staff assigned to it, two Assistant Principals and one Executive Officer on a four-day per week basis due to worksharing. In addition to the salary...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Data (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 246 and 247 together. The Department of Finance’s 2017 Budget Day book provides forecasts for inflation for the five years 2017 to 2021 inclusive. The projected inflation for 2018 as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is 1.8% and 1.9% for the years 2019 to 2021, inclusive. A projection for 2022 is not available. The...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (5 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that my Department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 10 January 2017. The application was referred to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) on 20 March 2017 to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. Once the SWI has...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Labour Activation Projects (4 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Community Employment (CE) drugs rehabilitation places provide opportunities for people in recovery from substance misuse to re-engage in active community and working life. The CE rehabilitation places reflect the Department’s commitment to the National Drugs Strategy with a specific focus on opportunities for the training and development for participants in recovery and working...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Operation (4 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy may be aware, I brought a Memo to Government in March and obtained approval to publish my Department’s report on the review of Community Employment and the other work schemes and to progress the various changes that were recommended. I will be publishing the review report in the coming days. My Department will be consulting with key stakeholders in the coming weeks...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (4 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The pattern of participation on the Community Employment (CE) programme is dependent on the individual circumstances of each person and the length of time she has been in receipt of a CE-qualifying social welfare payment. CE is intended for the long-term unemployed and other specified disadvantaged groups, including those who are in receipt of Farm Assist, a means-tested payment which is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Citizen Information Services (4 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: At the outset, it is important to note that there are no plans for the dissolution of the network of independent countrywide Citizens Information Services. 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...