Results 33,141-33,160 of 34,942 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: They will go onto one-parent family payment.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: It is very clear. The Minister will say that some of those who will be affected by this might have an entitlement to benefit. That might be the case. Others might not have such an entitlement, however. This section will come into effect on 3 May next. According to the briefing note, from which the Minister has read on two occasions: From this date, [3 May 2012] new customers will be...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: I have been listening to the Minister for a while now, and there is one thing I must say: she almost got away with it. A major sleight of hand has taken place in the Dáil this evening with regard to a provision that 99.9% of the population do not understand. Last week in her Second Stage speech, the Minister highlighted the fact that she believed the age of seven was unsuitable as a...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: What amendment are we discussing?

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: Section 1(4) deals with the date of the coming into operation of section 3 with regard to voluntary contributions. Is a change proposed to this commencement date? An extensive amendment on this issue will be proposed which will include a date for when it will come into effect rather than a commencement date.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: Yes.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: I am asking for clarification with regard to amendment No. 1. Will it mean the deletion of the original section 1(4)?

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: With regard to section 1 of the Bill have we deleted section 1(4) through the Minister's amendment? Is the original section 1(4) still there? That is all I am asking.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: I think it is.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: So the original subsection is gone. That is okay. I just wanted clarification on it.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: As I understand it this provision relates to people who have an entitlement but wish to increase it. Also, will this affect women who had to leave the workforce for a period?

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: So it will not affect anyone currently in receipt of a pension.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: Okay. Thank you.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: I concur with Deputy Murphy. We were told that this legislation was a year in the making between departmental officials and Attorney General's Office. As I mentioned earlier, it was only published on 3 April. We were told last week by the Minister during the Second Stage debate that it was her wish that this would not be proceeded with until she obtained a bankable commitment on the child...

Job Creation (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: In regard to the private trainers the Minister will involve in this process, I understand from some of the people in the industry that there will probably be a condition in those contracts that a certain percentage of people being trained end up in further education or in employment or there will be a penalty in regard to the payment to them if they do not achieve that. Will there be a...

Social Welfare Fraud (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Minister for her information and I am pleased by her confirmation that what is often referred to as a control saving as a result of fraud is not actually cash saved, but is instead a notional saving in a future year. Will the Minister identify some of the high risk areas in question? We discussed some of them this morning, including the 1,400 people at the ports and so on....

Social Welfare Fraud (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: That is NERA's job.

Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: I understand that appeals take time. One of the main issues with which we deal in our constituency clinics is the amount of time it takes for an oral hearing especially when a medical report or additional medical information is required. Some time ago a report indicated that in approximately 50% of the cases going to the appeals office, something is granted by that office. In other words,...

Social Welfare Benefits (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: The Minister has actually given us the answer that most people wanted to know, even though she said officially there was no additional test. She has proved the point I wanted to make in the question by saying that in 2010 the percentage of disability allowance claims that were refused was 54%, in 2011 it was 58% and in the first three months of this year it has risen to 60%. The figure is...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (25 Apr 2012)

Seán Fleming: I have a difficulty with the approach being taken by the Minister in this regard. The lender and the borrower are involved in a transaction and the taxpayers are also involved. The Minister must protect the taxpayers' money in this scheme. However, I note that people are getting into more financial difficulties because they may be unemployed. I note from the briefing note on this...