Results 19,101-19,120 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Waiting Times (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 411 and 444 together. The information requested (where available) by the Deputy is detailed in the following table: Social Welfare claims by average waiting times 31 January 2017 Scheme Average Waiting Time (weeks) Jobseeker's Benefit 1 Jobseeker's Allowance 2 One-Parent Family Payment 7 State Pension Contributory (Dom) 7 Widow’s, Widower's or...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Freedom of Information Data (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: No legal fees were incurred by the Department of Social Protection on FOI requests over the past three years. The following FOI requests were received over the last 3 years: FOI Requests Received YEAR PERSONAL NON-PERSONAL MIXED TOTAL 2014 2070 119 4 2193 2015 1932 223 1 2156 2016 1848 231 10 2089 The total staff hours involved in the processing of FOI requests was not monitored...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Data (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the following table. Recipients of Jobseeker’s Allowance aged 65 by county at 31 December in each of the years 2014 to 2016 and at 31 January 2017 County 31 December 2014 31 December 2015 31 December 2016 31 January 2017 Carlow 44 32 41 43 Cavan 47 43 42 32 Clare 106 61 75 72 Cork 275 256 258 240 Donegal 133 131 127 122...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that my Department received applications for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 15 December 2016 for two care recipients. Additional information in relation to the person’s application was requested by a deciding officer on 14 February 2017. Once the information is received the application will be processed and the person concerned will be notified...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help them to tackle barriers to employment and to assist them in finding jobs. Each person is assigned to a personal adviser who assesses...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Back to Education Allowance Scheme (BTEA) is designed to support second chance education. It enables eligible persons to pursue approved education courses and to continue to receive income support for the duration of a course of study, subject to meeting certain conditions. The BTEA is not intended to be an alternative form of funding for people entering or re-entering the third...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be aware, the purpose of Tús is to provide short-term work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. It is designed to break the cycle of unemployment and maintain work readiness, thereby improving a person’s opportunities of returning to the labour market. In addition, I want to acknowledge the valuable services Tús provides to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Support Services (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The customer the Deputy refers to is currently engaged with the JobPath service and has been since August 2016, as part of this he has agreed a Personal Progression Plan with his personal advisor. The JobPath service provides intensive individual support and advice to help customers find full time sustainable employment. If the customer is successful in finding a suitable job, the company...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Brexit Issues (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: In the context of the social protection remit, the key area of concern is the impact of Brexit on the current reciprocal arrangements for social insurance (which includes pensions) and social assistance (means tested schemes linked to residency rights) and child benefit between Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland. As with all EU Member States, Ireland and the UK are part of a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Programme for Government Implementation (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for a Partnership Government includes a wide range of commitments which fall directly within the remit of my Department. The updated status of these commitments is set out in the following table: Commitment Status “ [to] increase Rent Supplement ... by up to 15% taking account of geographic variations in market rents...." Action complete with introduction of increased...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pensions Reform (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 provided that State pension age will be increased gradually to 68 years. This began in January 2014 with the abolition of the State pension (transition) available from 65 for those who satisfied the qualifying conditions, thereby standardising State pension age for all at 66 years, which is the current State pension age. This will increase to 67 in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Homemakers Scheme (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Since 1961, when contributory pensions were introduced, the average contributions test has been used in calculating the rate of pension entitlement. Entitlement is banded, with the maximum rate payable to those with a yearly average of 48-52 contributions, and the minimum rate payable to those with a yearly average in the range of 10-14 contributions per year. Even if someone has only 10...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes Data (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 423 and 424 together. The full year costs of increasing all weekly working age payments by the amounts specified by the Deputy are listed in the following table: Increase all working age weekly payments by: Full Year Cost €m €3.00 120.0 €4.00 160.2 €5.00 200.0 €6.00 240.1 €7.00 279.8 €8.00 320.1...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Direct Provision Data (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The direct provision allowance is a non-statutory payment administered by my Department on behalf of the Department of Justice and Equality to persons in the Direct Provision system. The Government has provided €3.7 million for the allowance in 2017. There are approximately 2,800 adults and 900 children residing in the system of direct provision in respect of whom the direct...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance Fund Data (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The surplus of income over expenditure at the end of 2016 was €460 million. The surplus in 2016 is the first such surplus on the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) since 2007. The SIF faces significant financial challenges in the years ahead in order to ensure adequate and sustainable social insurance pensions and benefits for a growing and ageing population as well as the reform and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Data (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 428 to 431, inclusive, together. As the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is a service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. The service is delivered by two companies, Seetec and Turas Nua. To date, 78,000 people have started their engagement period with the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Living Wage (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has undertaken no costing of the initiative outlined by the Deputy as the introduction of any such scheme would necessarily have to take place on a cross Governmental basis and costs determined centrally as part of the estimates budgetary process. Pre-determined salary scales negotiated at central level are applied to all staff in the department. On a purely indicative...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: An interdepartmental working group, comprising officials from the Department of Social Protection, Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners, has been examining the issue of disguised employment. To inform the work of the group, a public consultation on the use of intermediary-type structures and self-employment arrangements, was undertaken in 2016. The consultation received 23...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Maternity Leave (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of Justice and Equality have responsibility for maternity leave which is provided for in the 1994 and 2004 Maternity Acts. Any decision to change the duration of maternity leave for families with multiple births would be the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality. The Department of Social Protection has responsibility for the payment of maternity...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Data (28 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The funding or operating terms and conditions of community employment (CE) schemes have not been changed recently. However, with the ongoing welcome reductions in the Live Register and the increasing number of job opportunities, the Deputy will appreciate that issues such as the appropriate level of expenditure, the number of places and the criteria for participation on employment schemes,...