Results 21-40 of 84 for going forward speaker:Willie O'Dea

Social Welfare Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (6 Dec 2017)

Willie O'Dea: ...shall review the operation of the Working Family Payment, including the requirement that you must be working 19 hours per week, 38 hours per fortnight, to qualify for the payment, and shall bring forward a report to the Committee on Social Protection on same within 6 months of this Bill being enacted.”. I tabled this amendment because something could usefully be gained from what I...

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2017: Second Stage (14 Jul 2017)

Willie O'Dea: ...will be debated on Committee Stage and amendments in that regard will be presented in the autumn. Members will recall that the pre-legislative stage of the Bill was debated approximately eight weeks ago and at that stage we had proposals on pensions but they have been taken out. In spite of the committee's recommendations, in the interim period the Civil Service was not able to reflect...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Overview of Pensions: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jun 2017)

Willie O'Dea: ...the anomaly continually in the Dáil. I proposed legislation to backdate the homemaker's scheme back to 1974. It was not possible to progress it, of course, because Opposition Members cannot put forward money Bills, which place a charge on the Exchequer. I was curious to know how much it would cost and I got an outrageously large figure from the Minister. I have not been in a...

Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Second Stage (Resumed) (28 Jun 2017)

Willie O'Dea: ...people are not appointed because of political or personal connections but are appointed solely on merit. There is difficulty in doing this because of the provisions in the Constitution which gives the Government and the President on the advice of the Government exclusive and final control of the appointment of judges. It is precisely because we believe that this system should be changed...

Pension Fund (Prohibition of Levies) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members] (25 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: ...." This Bill is part of a two phase process. I have produced it in its current form to ascertain the views of the House on the matter. If the House is prepared to support it I will then bring forward legislation to provide for a constitutional referendum so this prohibition can be written into the Constitution. I understand that we do not have the resources available to the...

Money Advice and Budgeting Service and Citizens Information Centres: Motion (28 Mar 2017)

Willie O'Dea: ...users - the people who depend on the services. To say their reaction is aghast is a huge understatement. They are horrified by this proposal and they cannot believe such a proposal is being put forward, particularly in view of how successful both organisations have been in dealing with the people that depend on them. I have had representations from all over the country. I could spend...

Nursing Home Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members] (26 Jan 2017)

Willie O'Dea: ...caring for the elderly will increase exponentially. It will be up to approximately 2% of GDP by 2050. We are facing a spending tsunami in this regard, so it is incumbent on the Parliament and the Government to ensure the huge amount of money the taxpayer will be called upon to spend in this area is spent to best effect and that the taxpayer gets the best possible value for money, not to...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Willie O'Dea: ...by Deputy Joan Burton in the 2010s. The homemaker scheme was introduced in 1994 by the then Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Michael Woods. The difficulty with it is that it only applied going forward from April 1994. It provided that any woman or person who looks after a child under the age of 12 or a disabled relative can have that year discarded from the averaging denominator....

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (22 Nov 2016)

Willie O'Dea: The Minister has been critical of the Millar report but is he aware of the concrete suggestions put forward by Dr. Millar to alleviate some of the problems that arise from the changed system? What does the Minister think of those proposals? They appear to be eminently sensible to me. Is the Minister concerned that the organisations representing single parents have advised large swathes of...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2016)

Willie O'Dea: ...tabled an amendment that pretty much seeks the same thing, except that it looks for the report to be presented within three months. That would allow us to have meaningful discussions on the way forward for lone parents. Whatever it may be - we received various recommendations on the day the committee met Drs. Crosse and Millar - it is not the way we are proceeding. The Bill allows for...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Second Stage (8 Nov 2016)

Willie O'Dea: I am very glad that we helped to persuade the Government to give them that break. I also welcome the increases for those of working age. However, nothing has yet been done about the averaging system for pensions. This was a particular measure introduced by the previous Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, and it has given rise to a situation where a person who enters the...

Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (6 Oct 2016)

Willie O'Dea: We have all had representations from organisations representing the elderly. They have conducted surveys and have come across people who do not light a fire until the afternoon and who go to bed early in the winter to save fuel. Other people resort to taking public transport or taking shelter in public libraries and other public buildings because they simply cannot afford to heat their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Priorities for Department of Social Protection: Minister for Social Protection (7 Sep 2016)

Willie O'Dea: ...regard to the self-employed, I welcome the Minister's statement that this area is a personal priority for him. It is an area Fianna Fáil has been concerned with and in respect of which it has put forward specific proposals over the past couple of years, as the Minister will be aware. The Minister mentioned that the cost to the State of providing a jobseeker's benefit scheme in...

Insurance Costs: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (9 Jun 2016)

Willie O'Dea: ...I congratulate the Minister on his appointment, and wish him the very best and a long and profitable period in his position. I also want to congratulate my colleague, Deputy McGrath, on bringing forward this very timely motion. Due to time constraints, I cannot discuss the structural problems of the insurance industry or the implications of Setanta and Quinn. Therefore, I will confine...

Pension Fund (Prohibition of Levies) Bill 2016: First Stage (13 Jan 2016)

Willie O'Dea: ...for the State to sustain our State pension system, even at present levels, when this comes about. It is almost upon us. The situation is changing as we speak. I propose that in future the Government be prohibited from raiding private pension funds. We must encourage people to save. We cannot have a situation in which people sit back, do what they like and depend on the State to sustain...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Registration of Nurses (13 Jan 2016)

Willie O'Dea: ...of the status of a request for recognition of qualifications obtained abroad, thereby preventing the person from securing better paid employment; if he will ensure that these procedures are improved going forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46614/15]

Order of Business (11 Mar 2015)

Willie O'Dea: The Taoiseach stated yesterday that he intends to bring forward proposals to modify the insolvency regime next month. Will these be legislative or non-legislative proposals? If the are going to be non-legislative, will he give a commitment to the effect that the House will be given an opportunity to discuss them before they are proceeded with?

Gender Recognition Bill 2014 [Seanad]: Second Stage (5 Mar 2015)

Willie O'Dea: ...but, unfortunately, we do not seem to have taken it on board. The original proposals from the review group were a bit of a joke, quite frankly. We have come a long way from those proposals, thank goodness. However, we have deliberately placed ourselves behind some of the legislative advances that have been made in light of the experience elsewhere in the world. We have positioned...

Social Welfare Bill 2014: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2014)

Willie O'Dea: As everything has been said, I will just make a few brief points. I am looking forward to the publication of the Government's impact assessment of tax and social welfare changes. What period this will cover, I do not know or care, provided it gives a comprehensive account of what we want measured and gives an indication of the priorities for changes in the future. There is no doubt that...

Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2014)

Willie O'Dea: ...an unborn child who dies in the womb of the mother due to death of the mother but otherwise meets the weight or age criteria herein;”,”.We discussed the matter at some length on Committee Stage and I do not wish to go over all the same ground again. I am a little confused at the Government's position on the matter because we are all trying to achieve the same objective,...