Results 19,001-19,020 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Delays (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Currently, there are 73.5 full-time equivalents (77 people) assigned to the Carers section. My Department, like all Government departments and agencies, is required to operate within a staff ceiling figure and a commensurate administrative staffing budget, which for this Department has involved reductions in staff numbers. Within these constraints, the Department is focusing on...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Christmas Bonus payment was increased to 85% last year and was paid to over 1.2 million long-term social welfare recipients such as pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and the long-term unemployed in the first week of December at a cost of €220 million. The bonus is paid as an increase to a recipient’s weekly payment in the relevant week. For...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has confirmed that this question refers to Carer's Allowance (CA) cases. 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. In order to qualify, applicants must show that they are habitually resident in the State, that their means are less than...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The person concerned had a previous jobseeker allowance claim closed on 13/12/16 as she failed to collect her weekly payments. The person concerned re-applied for jobseeker allowance on 20/1/17. This application was reviewed by a social welfare inspector and a decision has been made to disallow the claim due to means not disclosed. If the person is not satisfied with this decision she can...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 21 February 2017. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Operation (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy may be aware, I brought a Memo to Government last week and obtained approval to publish my Department’s review report on Community Employment and the other work schemes and to progress the various changes that were recommended. I will be publishing the review report shortly. As part of the roll-out of the new measures, my Department will be consulting with key...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As you may be aware, the Department sets down eligibility criteria for participation on employment schemes so as to ensure that opportunities to avail of activation measures are managed effectively. The maximum duration of participation available on Community Employment (CE) schemes, is determined having regard to a range of factors including the age and signing record at date of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Disability Allowance is a means-tested social assistance payment which is paid to persons aged 16 to 66 who are substantially restricted in undertaking suitable employment arising from a medical condition (subject to satisfying the relevant medical criteria). The estimated cost in a full year of increasing the weekly personal rate of Disability Allowance by €20, from €193 to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As per response to PQ Ref: 7981-17, the person concerned is in receipt of a jobseeker’s allowance payment which comprises a full personal rate, an increase in respect of a qualified adult and 3 dependent children who qualify for a payment under the provisions of the scheme. Additionally the person concerned is in receipt of a fuel allowance. According to the information available to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Applications (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As per response to PQ Refs: 8896-17 & 5148-17, the person concerned has submitted an application for jobseeker’s benefit. Specific documentation was requested in order to assess entitlement to this benefit. This documentation is still outstanding and the application cannot be progressed. Upon receipt of the requested documentation/information a decision will be made and the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Freedom of Information Requests (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Given the size of the Department of Social Protection, we receive a large number of FOI requests with some 6,438 requests received over the 3 years from 2014 to 2016. We therefore have a large number of FOI Officers processing requests throughout the organisation. The information requested by the Deputy is not routinely collected and cannot be compiled in the time available to reply to this...

Misuse of Drugs (Supervised Injecting Facilities) Bill 2017: Second Stage (Resumed) (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I wish to speak very briefly about the Bill. I do not have a lot to say that has not been said. This is a Bill in which I have a particular interest having followed it in my previous ministry - the Department of Health. When it was first proposed as an idea I was somewhat sceptical because I was concerned that it might encourage drug use, encourage more people to use heroin and other...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Family Income Supplement (FIS) is an in-work support from my Department, which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. FIS was designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependents and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment. There are currently over 57,000 families with more than 127,000 children in receipt of FIS...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Applications (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Social welfare legislation provides that where a person under 25 years of age claims jobseeker’s 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 on the level of the parents'...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that my Department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 30 January 2017. The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Department sets down eligibility criteria for participation on Community Employment (C.E.) schemes so as to ensure that opportunities to avail of activation measures are managed effectively. The maximum duration of participation available on C.E. is determined having regard to a range of factors including the age of the participant and signing record at date of commencement on the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The question relates to the possibility of the person concerned becoming a voluntary social insurance contributor, for the purposes of filling gaps in his social insurance record. As the Deputy will be aware, I recently introduced legislation extending the period during which a person may opt to become a voluntary contributor, increasing the period from from 12 months to 60 months....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Administration (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Community Employment (CE) is available to participants up to state pension age who meet the current eligibility criteria. The pattern of participation on CE is dependent on the individual circumstance of each person and the length of time she has been in receipt of a CE-qualifying social welfare payment. The participation limits that have been set allow for the utilisation of places among...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Support Services (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The key objective of activation policy and labour market initiatives is to offer assistance to those most in need of support in securing work and achieving financial self-sufficiency. Accordingly the employment services and schemes provided by the Department are focused in the first instance on the cohort of people who are unemployed and in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment. ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Expenditure (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information that the Deputy has requested is currently not available in my Department. Given the complex nature of the request, my Department will provide the information directly to the Deputy in due course.