Results 19,301-19,320 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Non-Contributory) Applications (15 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: An application for a State pension (non-contributory) was received from the person concerned on 7September 2016. A standard information request was sent to the person concerned on 22 September 2016. The applicant requested an extension of time to gather and return the requested information, through their local Social Welfare Local Office on the 26 September. To date, the requested...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Ministerial Travel (15 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I have made six trips outside the State since taking up office in May 2016. The details requested by the Deputy in relation to these trips are set out in the following table. In some instances, the figures relating to the costs incurred may not be final, as claims for these trips have still to be submitted by all of those who travelled or may not have not been fully processed. The...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Poverty Data (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The latest CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) for 2015 shows that the consistent poverty rate for lone parent households is 26.2%, up from 25% in 2014. The deprivation rate for lone parent households fell from 58.7 per cent in 2014 to 57.9% in 2015. The at-risk-of-poverty rate for lone parent households is largely unchanged in 2015 at 36.2%, compared to 36.5% in 2014. The...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Services Programme (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The community services programme (CSP) provides financial support to community companies that provide revenue generating services of a social inclusion nature. The CSP works on a social-enterprise model. This means that it does not fully fund contract holders but requires that they generate revenue by charging fees or raising funds. All CSP recipients are obliged to meet these criteria....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: School Meals Programme (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to schools and organisations benefitting over 210,000 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 which will benefit over 50,000 extra children. Priority for new applications for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Work Placement Programmes (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Gateway is a work placement scheme designed to provide short-term work opportunities for unemployed people in Local Authorities. The scheme commenced in December 2013. To be eligible to participate on Gateway, a person must have been continuously unemployed for at least 24 months. The initiative aims to improve the employability and maintain the work readiness of the long term unemployed....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme Administration (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 274 and 275 together. Transport companies participating in the free travel scheme are paid on the basis of fares foregone. This is the spare capacity an operator might have were it not for their participation in the free travel scheme. The amount my Department pays to private operators is determined by way of survey of their passenger numbers at a given...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: PRSI credited contributions (credits) are social insurance contributions designed to protect the social insurance entitlement record of insured workers who are not in a position to make PRSI contributions. Credits are awarded in circumstances such as unemployment or illness, and their purpose is to help protect the social insurance entitlements of insured persons by covering gaps in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes Data (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information that the deputy has requested for 2017 is provided in the following tables. ADMINISTRATION €000 Administration - Pay 294,703 Administration - Non-Pay 254,910 Social Insurance Fund non-DSP administration 93,000 TOTAL - ADMINISTRATION 642,613 PENSIONS State Pension (Non-Contributory) 971,980 State Pension (Contributory) 4,844,500 Widows', Widowers' / Surviving...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is currently analysing incentives to work in the social welfare system for jobseekers with children with a view to developing the Working Family Payment. The two main principles guiding the development of the Working Family Payment are to make work pay and to reduce child poverty. This analysis is supplemented by research from the ESRI, which shows that people are better...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Reviews (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: During the debate on the Social Welfare (SW) Bill 2016, I agreed that my Department would commission an independent report on the OFP reforms, which requires a tender process, to examine the financial and social effects of the amendments to the scheme made since 1 January 2012, taking into account the poverty rates and welfare dependency of those impacted by the reforms. This is now in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Poverty Data (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome the latest CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) results for 2015, showing improvements in living conditions and at tackling poverty. In 2015, incomes rose by 6.2% mainly due to rising employment, the deprivation rate fell for the second year running, and 13,000 children were lifted out of consistent poverty. Ireland was more equal in terms of the income distribution...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Websites (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Jobsireland.ieis a free online jobs site that enables employers to post job opportunities and jobseekers to search and apply for these opportunities online. At 20 years old, the original site was showing its age. For example, although it enabled jobseekers to search for job opportunities based on job type and location, it wasn’t possible for employers to search for suitable...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Payments (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: An application for carer's allowance (CA) was received from the person concerned on 16 June 2016. As a result of an appeals officer’s decision, CA was awarded to the person concerned on 10 February 2017 and the first payment will issue to her nominated post office on 16 February 2017. Arrears for the period 16 June 2016 to 15 February 2017 have also issued. The person concerned was...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme Data (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy is aware, the purpose of the rural social scheme (RSS) is to provide income support to farmers and fishermen who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. The Government, as part of the budget package for 2017, announced 500 additional places on the scheme. This increased the overall number of places to 3,100. In allocating the additional places, the Government...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme Eligibility (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy is aware, the rural social scheme (RSS) provides income support to farmers and fishermen who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. Participants are engaged for 19½ hours per week to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. A six year maximum participation limit on the scheme has been introduced for new participants commencing on or...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Cyber Security Policy (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department invests on an ongoing basis in traditional, defence-in-depth deployments of preventative controls like firewalls and endpoint protection and advanced threat detection tools. My Department also employs security technology that, together with a dedicated ICT security team and well defined processes, continually monitors the Department’s network and services. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Ireland’s Public Employment Service (PES) is managed by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) and delivered directly by its own Intreo service as well as by contracted private companies, such as JobPath providers, Local Employment Services (LES) and Job Club providers. The activation supports and services which are available to those who are long term unemployed include JobPath,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payment Applications (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The person concerned was refused an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) on the grounds that she failed to provide information that was requested and she did not show that she had a need for such assistance. The client was advised that if she wished to have this decision reviewed, she should send a request in writing to the Review Officer. To date, no request for a review has been received by...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme Eligibility (14 Feb 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy is aware, the rural social scheme (RSS) provides income support for farmers and fishermen who are underemployed in their primary activity, either farming or fishing, and have earnings that are insufficient to support their family. In general to be eligible to participate on the RSS, an individual must be in receipt of Farm/Fish Assist or one of the qualifying social...