Results 161-180 of 2,060 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: That characterisation is inaccurate in terms of the expectation that people will be on €125 a week. The bottom level is €300. There are other aspects to the system as well. The logic of this is to follow European norms where we can avoid a cliff edge as regards the drop in income people face, if they are unlucky enough to lose their jobs. A recent classic example of that is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Employment Schemes (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I will take Deputy Ó Laoghaire's question first, but I will address the other matter. My Department operates a number of employment support schemes, including community employment, CE, Tús and the rural social scheme for long-term unemployed persons and low-income farmers. At the outset, I acknowledge the important role that Tús and RSS supervisors play in providing...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Support Services (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The wage subsidy scheme is an employment support to private sector employers, the objective of which is to encourage employment of people with disabilities in the open labour market. There are currently 1,515 employers on the scheme in respect of some 2,436 participant employees. Estimated expenditure on the wage subsidy scheme in 2023 is €24 million. To claim a subsidy under the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Support Services (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: We had a four-week consultation process in June with people with disabilities, employers and the public and received over 1,000 submissions. As part of the budget we allocated an additional €3.7 million to expand the scheme. This will reduce the minimum number of hours required. The increase in the previous budget was a significant one and we are now in a situation where employers...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Support Services (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: It is important that we look at all barriers that people with disabilities face in trying to access employment. The wage subsidy scheme is an important assistance to employers and employees to get through some of those barriers. The Department recognises the additional challenges that some people with disabilities may experience in securing and maintaining employment and contracts a...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. On behalf of the Minister for Education, I will outline the plans for additional post-primary school places in Blanchardstown west. For school planning purposes, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to outline the position to the House on post-primary school places in Blanchardstown west. There are currently a number of active projects at post-primary level in the Blanchardstown west school planning area, which will increase local capacity. The current status of large-scale projects being delivered under Project Ireland 2040 may be...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Facilities (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley, who is otherwise engaged. I thank the Senator for raising the matter as it provides the Department with the opportunity to clarify the current position of St Anne’s Secondary School, Rosanna Road, Tipperary town. The answer I have is largely from the Department of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Facilities (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Senator for raising this issue and for giving the Department the opportunity to reassure the House that the Department is committed to ensuring that all children can access education suitable to their needs. I take the Senator's point in regard to the school meals programme. Deputy Humphreys and I are committed to rolling this out to as wide a group as possible. There has been...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Senator for raising the matter as it provides me with the opportunity to clarify how the Department plans for school places and specifically the position in relation to Duleek. I wish to advise the Senator that requirements for additional school places is kept under ongoing review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Schools Building Projects (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank Senator Keogan for giving me the opportunity to address this issue. I have laid out the criteria the Department uses for assessment. They are fairly comprehensive on the population side and in the broader context of the school options available. However, I assure the Senator the Department will continue to monitor demographic projections and enrolments in the area to ensure all...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Second Stage (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: It is a pleasure to be able to bring this Bill before Seanad Éireann. The main purpose of the Bill is to give legislative effect to several of the very substantial improvements in social protection that were announced on budget day. In addition, this year, we are introducing a set of provisions to implement the biggest ever structural reform of the State pension system, which has been...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Second Stage (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank Senators for their constructive engagement. I will do my best to answer queries. To answer Senator Burke's initial question, the pension will be based on the higher rate. On the jury service issue we will talk to the Minister for Justice regarding giving an allowance in the circumstances he outlined. With regards to Senators Burke's and Craughwell's point about class K PRSI, prior...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: My Department operates a number of employment support schemes; including Tús and Community Employment (CE), for long term unemployed persons which also assist communities across the country in the provision of vital services. The Department is very conscious of the important role that these work programmes play and wish to support these schemes. While Tús supervisors are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Food Poverty (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025is a whole-of-government strategy with the ambitious target to reduce consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU. It includes a commitment to “develop a comprehensive programme of work to further explore the drivers of food poverty and to identify mitigating...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 141 together. The Government is committed to the reduction of all forms of poverty, particularly child poverty, as outlined in the Programme for Governmentand the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 to 2025. The Roadmap is a whole of Government strategy with the ambitious target to reduce consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and make Ireland one of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (7 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 235, 237, 243 and 245 together. My Department operates a number of employment support schemes; including Tús, Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Community Employment (CE), for long term unemployed persons and low income farmers/fishers. I would like to acknowledge the important role that Tús and RSS supervisors play in providing valuable...

Immigration: Motion [Private Members] (6 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I will take a moment to speak about racism. It is racism as opposed to racists that it is important to address. Racism is an everyday fact of life for people of colour in Ireland. It is this way because racism goes unidentified and unchallenged by many of us who would never classify ourselves as racist. As the Minister of State with responsibility for community development and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (6 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: Officials from my Department hold regular meetings with representative associations to discuss issues of mutual interest in relation to the delivery of all employment programmes; Community employment (CE), Job Initiative (JI), the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Tús. With regard to the issue raised by the Deputy, the Department is involved in ongoing discussions, as a partner in a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (5 Dec 2023)

Joe O'Brien: My Department's mission is to support vibrant and sustainable communities across this country, and in doing so to deliver on a wide range of strategic interventions, funding programmes and policies to support urban and rural communities. In 2019, my Department published Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities - A five year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in...