Results 26,061-26,080 of 26,857 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: The Labour Party and Barnardos.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: To be fair to him, he is the CEO of Barnardos and it was in that capacity that he made his remarks.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: There is some confusion because I was minded to support section 5——

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: ——because I saw section 5 supporting an anomaly in the system.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: However, the explanatory memorandum may cause some confusion. It states: "Section 5 provides that the implementation of certain provisions of Schedule 6 to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, relating to changes in the entitlement conditions for State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Transition) with effect from 6 April 2012, will not apply to existing recipients of those...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: That was the first part of it. I understood that because there was some difficulty with the timeframe that was inserted into the Act——

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: The purpose of this is to exclude those recipients because overnight their payments could be ceased if this was not changed.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: However, the Minister might be able to explain the second part of the explanatory memorandum: "Paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 provides for the increase in the minimum number of paid employment or self-employment contributions required to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory) and the State Pension (Transition) from 260 to 520 with effect from 6 April 2012." Perhaps that is where the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: This section deals with an increase in the number of contributions that will be necessary to avail of a widow's pension or a surviving civil partner's pension. Judging from the Bill, the threshold will increase next year from 156 contributions to 260 and in the following year from 260 to 520.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Certainly in 2012, an increase from 156 contributions to 260 is envisaged. This is an increase from three years' contributions to five years'. This is similar to the debate that took place earlier on the disablement allowance payment in that Sinn Féin is concerned that this, again, could be a slippery slope, as the threshold appears to be increasing all the time. The number of...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Very good.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: The only part of this section with which I can agree is the change in the definition of "spouse" to include "civil partner or cohabitant". Apart from this, I must oppose the thrust of what the Minister is trying to do. The section cuts the half rate qualified child increase for people on invalidity pension or contributory pension or in receipt of carer's benefit. The Minister has said...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: That is in section 7.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: The spin from the Government side has been mentioned, in that its representatives have stated that the people affected by this cut are entitled to secondary benefits.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: We are aware of that. In some situations, they may qualify for an increase in family income supplement, FIS, but that will not compensate for this cut. The Minister is trying to put everyone on a par with the jobseeker's allowance, but not everyone should be. How can carers be on a par with jobseekers? There is a clear difference. The half-rate qualified child increase exists for a...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Amendments such as those to which the Senator refers would have been ruled out of order.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: I will not oppose sections 1, 2 or 5. Unfortunately, matters go downhill from there because I will oppose all other sections.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: I could do so but I must make a number of brief points because I wish to ensure that all of the sections will be discussed. A number of Senators referred to the difficult job the Minister is obliged to do. They are correct in that regard and everyone accepts that she has a difficult job. This matter comes down to the political and economic choices a Government is obliged to make....

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: I am trying to speak to the section. The Minister was very good in opposition, as was her party leader, the Tánaiste, Deputy Eamon Gilmore, at pointing to the madness of paying back bondholders and speculators, yet in November the Government paid a bond of €750 million and it will pay another of €1.2 billion in January. A number of weeks ago it extended the bank guarantee in a measure...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: ——even those not covered under the bank guarantee scheme.