Results 19,521-19,540 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Youth Guarantee (28 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The EU Council Recommendation on a Youth Guarantee received political agreement at the EPSCO Council meeting on 28 February 28 and was formally adopted by the Council last month. The Recommendation is that Member States should: "Ensure that all young people under the age of 25 years receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Youth Unemployment Measures (28 May 2013)

Joan Burton: In the first instance, the Government’s primary strategy to tackle youth unemployment is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth. Past experience suggests that youth unemployment, which tends to rise relatively rapidly in a downturn, can be expected to fall relatively rapidly...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Agencies Funding (28 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The Office of the Pensions Ombudsman, established in April 2003, is a State agency which comes under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection. The total cost of the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman for each year of its operation to 2012 inclusive is set out in the following table. Year Amount € ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Status (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who decided to hold an oral hearing in this case. The Oral Hearing was scheduled to be heard on 19th February 2013. At the hearing the person concerned, through his solicitor, requested an adjournment of the hearing pending the receipt of his file which had been...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Eligibility (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, a diet supplement may be paid to a person who is receiving a social welfare or health service executive payment where a special diet is prescribed as a result of a specified medical condition and they satisfy a means test. The amount of diet supplement payable in individual cases is calculated by assessing one-third (single people) or...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Appeals (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the current average time taken to process invalidity pension appeals decided by summary decision is 34.1 weeks and 45.7 weeks for those requiring an oral hearing. These processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation. They include all activities during this period including time...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Delays (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 89 and 95 together. The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. The waiting lists and processing times for carer’s allowance were unacceptable in 2012 but significant improvements have been made in the past year by my Department. The backlog of carer’s allowance applications has been eliminated...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The social welfare entitlements of EU citizens who come to live and work in Ireland are governed by EU Regulations on the coordination of social security systems. A key requirement of these regulations is that EU citizens living and working here must be accorded equal treatment with Irish citizens. The regulations are viewed by the EU as an important element in the arrangements in place to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance was received for the person concerned on the 3rd August 2012. This application was referred to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors who found that the child was not medically eligible for the allowance. A letter issued on the 26th September 2012 advising of the decision. The person concerned subsequently lodged an appeal on the 6th...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been made aware of the rent limit since November 2012 and permitted to remain in her current property at a higher rent limit until the expiration of her lease in May 2013 in order to negotiate with the landlord or find alternative accommodation – no exceptional circumstances have been presented to the Department in relation to the person concerned. The...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision dated 8th of March 2013. Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of the Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed in the light of new evidence or new facts. As the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Applications (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been notified that her rent supplement payment will cease on 31/05/2013. It is open to the person concerned to appeal this decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. In addition, the person concerned may submit a fresh application should her circumstances change, if the rent on her present accommodation is reduced or if she moves to alternative accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme Eligibility (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The 2013 Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) scheme will commence on 1 June 2013 and the administrative arrangements are similar to those that applied in 2012, with an expected 115,000 claims fully automated with no application form required. Customers being paid automatically will receive a letter in June informing them of their entitlement and notifying them that payment...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Mortgage Interest Supplement Appeals (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: A decision to refuse mortgage interest supplement in December 2011 was upheld by the Social Welfare Appeals Office in July 2012. While no new application has been received, it remains open to the person concerned to re-apply for mortgage interest supplement if her circumstances have changed.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Rights Issues (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: There is no legal definition of a migrant worker in EU law relating to the coordination of social security schemes. However, any national of a Member State has, irrespective of their place of residence, the right to take up an activity as an employed person, and to pursue such activity, within the territory of another Member State in accordance with the provisions laid down by law,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Legal Costs (23 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The State's legal bill in relation to the Department of Social Protection is comprised solely of costs associated with litigation. The legal costs of litigation are not managed by the Department. The Chief State Solicitors Office provides professional advice to the Department in relation to such costs. I am satisfied that the advice provided in relation to such matters is cognisant of the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Youth Unemployment Measures (22 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The Government's primary medium-term strategy to tackle youth unemployment is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth. Past experience suggests that youth unemployment, which tends to rise relatively rapidly in a downturn, can be expected to fall relatively rapidly during the recovery....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Job Creation Numbers (22 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The information requested by the Deputy is not available at present. The Department holds a wide range of data collected in the process of engaging with jobseekers. These data which are held on a number of separate systems are mainly used at present to establish entitlements, to identify fraud and abuse and to advise and assist jobseekers on a pathway back to employment. The Department...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance Issues (22 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The State pension is a very valuable benefit and is the bedrock of the Irish pension system. Therefore, it is important to ensure that those qualifying have made a sustained contribution to the Social Insurance Fund over their working lives. The homemaker’s scheme makes qualification for the State pension (contributory) easier by disregarding time spent out of the workforce for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Fodder Crisis (22 May 2013)

Joan Burton: The farm assist scheme is based on jobseeker's allowance. It was introduced in 1999 to replace 'Smallholders Unemployment Assistance' for low income farmers, without the requirement to be available for and genuinely seeking work. Farm assist recipients retain all the advantages of the jobseeker's allowance scheme such as retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes. ...