Results 3,701-3,720 of 12,590 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2015: Report Stage (18 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: It was tongue in cheek.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2015: Report Stage (18 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: No. 1. I will give it my No. 2.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2015: Report Stage (18 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: I move amendment No. 9:In page 15, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following:"21. The Minister shall, within 4 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas, reviewing all expenditure reductions or the ceasing of payments in relation to the household benefits package, including the gas allowance, electricity allowance, telephone...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2015: Report Stage (18 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: I would not be in favour of the amendment, as drafted. The Minister of State can correct me if I am wrong, but as far as I can recollect, the cost of child benefit this year is in excess of €2 billion. There are questions around how we should proceed in the future and whether some of the current allocation should go towards direct child care provision, but, obviously, that is an...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2015: Report Stage (18 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: I also support Deputy Naughten's amendment, which is a very reasonable proposal. The Deputy is not asking the Government to introduce discretion on the 15 hours, he is only asking it to produce a report to examine the implications. I strongly suspect that the report would find that there is a very small coterie of cases involving real hardship on the margins. The Deputy's amendment puts...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2015: Report Stage (18 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: Can I ask a question on that? The amendment in my name is ruled out of order because it is deemed to create a charge on the Exchequer. However, yesterday, during Question Time, the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection informed me that this was the law already and that people who reach the age of 65 do not have to prove that they are actively seeking work to get their jobseeker's...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2015: Report Stage (18 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: The Acting Chairman is his representative.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2015: Report Stage (18 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: The Minister of State might like to venture an explanation.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Code Review (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: I understand what the Minister is saying. Maintenance has always been a matter primarily for the parents and the courts. Up to now an absent parent of a child aged up to 14 years could be pursued by the State to contribute to the welfare the State is paying to the parent who is living with the child. Currently, an absent parent can only be pursued until the child has reached aged seven. I...

Other Questions: Social Welfare Code Review (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: 67. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection for an update on the issue of determination orders which were not catered for in the legislation on jobseeker's transition payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40069/15]

Other Questions: Social Welfare Code Review (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: The purpose of this question is to ascertain the position on people who up to now have been open to being pursued by the Department of Social Protection to meet their responsibilities when their partners are lone parents in receipt of lone parent's allowance.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Code Review (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: While I understand the position on maintenance, the difficulty is that, on foot of the recent change, a person must have a child under the age of seven years to qualify for lone parent's allowance. Until recently, however, that age was 14 years, which meant that in the case of a single parent with a child under the age of 14 years and who was in receipt of the single parent allowance, the...

Other Questions: National Internship Scheme Administration (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: I do not deny there have been some positive outcomes to the JobBridge programme but that should not blind us to the fact that there are certain defects in it. Is the Minister of State aware of the report issued by the National Youth Council of Ireland last February following an extensive survey, which found instances of poorly designed internships, inadequate monitoring, unacceptable...

Other Questions: National Internship Scheme Administration (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: Is the Minister of State aware of the report by Impact published last April which suggested the JobBridge scheme in its present format should be discontinued and replaced by a different type of scheme? It was suggested that it would be sub-divided into three different internship programmes aimed, respectively, at youth, graduates and long-term unemployed. Do the terms of reference of the...

Other Questions: National Internship Scheme Administration (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: 66. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on the JobBridge scheme; if she envisages any amendment or change to the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40068/15]

Other Questions: National Internship Scheme Administration (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: My question is to ascertain if the Minister intends to make changes to the JobBridge scheme in view of a number of recent reports.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: Perhaps this question is better addressed to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. Why has there been no increase in the HAP cap levels in Limerick because we have a severe problem there? There are 5,500 people on the housing list with about 40 houses available for renting as I speak. Focus Ireland, which is at the coalface of this problem, issued a statement...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: 63. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on the adequacy of payments under the rent supplement scheme, given the increase in rents nationally and that approximately 1,500 children are living in emergency accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40184/15]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: I hope to ascertain whether the Government is considering introducing a temporary increase in rent supplement to supplement its recent package on rents and for the homeless.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (17 Nov 2015)

Willie O'Dea: I agree that the main underlying problem is supply. The Minister of State has mentioned flexibility and that rents can be increased above the cap limits on a case by case basis. I think he mentioned a figure of 4,000 cases in which that had been done.