Results 3,681-3,700 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Services for Persons with Disabilities: Services for Persons with Disabilities (22 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 181, 188 and 189 together. It is clear from the ESRI Report, Disability and Social Inclusion in Ireland, that the barriers faced by people with disabilities and, indeed, other groups who are vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion, are multi-faceted and require a multi-agency response. The National Action Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion 2003-2005,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: There is no question of depriving pensioners of their entitlements to fuel allowances. Fuel allowances have never been payable in cases where a person has a subsidised heating service, such as those provided by Dublin City Council at a number of its developments. To qualify for an allowance under the national fuel scheme an applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, live alone or...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (22 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The living alone allowance is an additional payment of €7.70 per week made to people aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of certain social welfare type payments and who are living alone. It is also paid to people under 66 years of age who are living alone and are receiving one of a number of invalidity type schemes. It is not a payment in its own right but an allowance which can only...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: To qualify for an allowance under the national fuel scheme an applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, live alone or only with a dependent spouse-partner-child or children or with other eligible recipients and be unable to provide for his or her heating needs from his or her own resources. People who are in receipt of relevant non-contributory social assistance payments do not...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 185 and 190 together. The electricity allowance covers normal standing charges and up to 1,800 units of electricity each year. VAT due on this standard allowance is also covered. The value of the allowance, if fully taken up, is €359.91 per annum. The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years, or over, to all carers in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person to whom the Deputy refers submitted an application for the respite care grant on 9 May 2005 in respect of full-time care provided by her in respect of her parents. A decision not to award the respite care grant in this case was made by a deciding officer on 10 June 2005. Among the documentary information relied upon by the deciding officer was the opinion of a medical assessor who,...

Written Answers — Communications Masts: Communications Masts (22 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In line with Government policy to support the rollout of 3G mobile technology, the Office of Public Works has entered into contractual arrangements with mobile phone companies to locate telecommunications infrastructure, on Government buildings, as necessary. Aras Mhic Dhiarmada has been identified as one such building. My Department is aware that staff have health and safety concerns in...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (22 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Despite the huge increases in employment participation in Ireland in recent years and in employment opportunities generally, the proportion of lone parents in employment is low compared to other developed countries. This was borne out by an OECD report on reconciling work and family life, published in 2003, which found that employment participation among lone parents at 45% in this country is...

Written Answers — Public Contracts: Public Contracts (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department issues approximately 1.1 million weekly payments of which 58% are paid through An Post. The Government's decision in 1999 to extend my Department's existing contractual arrangements with An Post gave rise to a procurement complaint being lodged with the European Commission in 2000. That complaint was subsequently referred by the Commission to the Court of Justice. In the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: An application for the respite care grant from the person concerned was received in the respite care grant section within my Department on 3 June. The section is processing claims received during May. It is expected that decisions on claims received in June will be made in July and applicants will be advised immediately thereafter.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned has been awarded the household benefits package including electricity allowance, free lifetime television licence and telephone allowance with effect from 25 October 2004. Her service provider has been notified to apply the electricity allowance to her account from that date. She is entitled to a refund in respect of her current television licence which she purchased in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Child benefit is payable generally to the mother in respect of children who are under 16 years of age, or aged between 16 and 19 and either disabled or in full-time education. Child benefit is paid up to the date certified by the school or college that the child is attending, which in most cases is the end of the academic year in June. The child benefit year runs from June to May and in cases...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The Dublin mid-Leinster area of the Health Service Executive has advised that it received an appeal last week from the person concerned regarding its refusal of her application for rent supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. A file on the case is being prepared by the community welfare service for the relevant Health Service Executive appeals officer who will make a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The Dublin mid-Leinster area of the executive has advised that it finalised its review of the amount of rent supplement payable in this case to take account of recent changes in the family's circumstances. Based on the new level of household income the executive has determined that the amount of rent supplement payable to the person concerned is €828.20 per month. The executive has further...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Certificates of social welfare income are provided to customers by each individual scheme area for a variety of purposes, including waiver of domestic refuse charges. As reference to specific customer details is required to produce such certificates, this is considered to be the most appropriate method for dealing with such requests. The use of a centralised freephone would not be the most...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: At present pensioners who avail of electronic fund transfer, EFT, as a payment option receive their pension weekly in arrears. This has been the case since November 2004 when the EFT payment cycle was reduced from fortnightly in arrears to weekly in arrears. I am anxious to progress the full alignment of EFT payments with that of other payment methods, including the elimination of the week in...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 401 and 402 together. My Department has overall responsibility for the money advice and budgeting service, MABS, which provides assistance to people who are over-indebted and need intensive help and advice in coping with their debt problems. The service is operated by 52 independent companies throughout the country. The MABS programme provides money advice to...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The figure for child poverty in Ireland of 15.7% based on 50% of median national income in 2000 was referred to in the recent Combat Poverty Agency "Ending Child Poverty" policy statement which, in turn, was drawn from a recent UNICEF report on child poverty. As I restated when I launched the agency's statement, tackling child poverty continues to be among my key priorities. Strategies to...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The findings of the recent Combat Poverty Agency, CPA, policy statement Ending Child Poverty, are based on an analysis of income support packages for families in 22 industrialised countries. The statement indicated that Ireland has the highest replacement rate for lone parents in the 22 countries studied, replacement rates are often defined as the ratio of social welfare benefits to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Since 1997, the monthly rates of child benefit has increased by €103.51 at the lower rate and €127.78 at the higher rate, increases of 271% and 258% respectively, compared with inflation of 30.6%. In the budget for 2001, the Minister for Finance announced a multi-annual programme of increases in child benefit to the value of €1.27 billion over three years, subsequently extended to five...