Results 10,441-10,460 of 19,414 for speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (17 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: 241. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are any grants available in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 10 who is currently studying full-time but receiving no grants and no travel allowance. [54220/13]

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Labour Activation Projects (17 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: 306. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the introduction of JobPath including the status of the tendering process, terms of reference and timeframe for conclusion of the tender, costings and roll-out of the project. [53937/13]

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: To my pension.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I agree with the sentiments of this amendment. I would go further and include the deferred members in such an appeal mechanism. As a group, they may find themselves out of synch. In some ways the trustees hold all the cards in these events. For those without the representation of, for example, a union, it would be important to have some type of appeals mechanism to allow them to put their...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Briefly, the report itself was quite lengthy and its executive summary alone contains 20 pages. In some ways, matters have moved on since and continue to do so. I do not believe the charges being applied to such schemes have become any cheaper. This is a small State at the edge of Europe and in some ways, the major insurance companies that deal with and invest pensions appear to believe...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I move amendment No. 19: In page 15, between lines 39 and 40, to insert the following: “11. Section 50 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting a new subsection (1A) as follows—“(1A) The Pensions Board shall not direct the trustees of a pension scheme to reduce the benefits of current and former scheme members and/or post-retirement increases in benefits for pensioner...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I have always argued for plain English and found it bizarre that legislation is often written in the negative. Having to look at three or four pieces of legislation going back to a principal Act can be very difficult and I have argued for consolidated Bills published with explanatory memoranda outlining deletions, etc. With computers we could do it at the drop of a hat so that we could see...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I support Deputy O'Dea's amendment which seeks to ensure the pension levy would not be applied to DC pensions. We believe it is unfair to ask defined contribution contributors to fund a guarantee that applies only to defined benefit schemes. Ultimately, it is worse than this because as stated by the Minister when I raised this issue on Second Stage, the pension levy will be used to deal...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I support the thrust of amendments Nos. 13,14 and 24, which are being discussed together. Deputy O'Dea has suggested that the sums of money in the Bill be indexed linked or at the very least reviewed annually to ensure that the figure would not lose its impact over time. They should be indexed linked or tied to the equivalent, the State contributory pension, which is what the Minister...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I move amendment No. 6: In page 10, to delete lines 6 to 11 and substitute the following:“(b) secondly, 100 per cent of pensioners’ benefits up to €12,000 (not including post-retirement increases in such benefits);”.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I move amendment No. 7: In page 10, to delete lines 12 to 17 and substitute the following: “(c) thirdly, the lower of 50 per cent or €6,000 of active and deferred members’ benefits under 55 years of age and the lower of 75 per cent or €9,000 of active and deferred members’ benefits over 55 years of age (not including post-retirement increases in such...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: A number of issues have been raised. I appreciate what the Minister said about the Mercer report. In terms of progressing this legislation, the Government suggested in regard to Dáil reform that the heads of Bills would be published and we would have time to evaluate them and take counsel from groups which would be affected by their provisions, and in the case of this legislation some...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I am speaking to it. We are discussing amendments Nos. 5 to 10, inclusive, and amendments Nos. 7 and 9 refer to deferred members. Such members should be granted increased prominence in the priority order. I am setting out the context in which deferred members should be granted such increased prominence. In her e-mail the woman to whom I refer also states: I have not tried to screw the...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I move amendment No. 5: In page 9, to delete lines 29 to 36, and in page 10, to delete lines 1 to 5 and substitute the following:"(a) firstly, a PRSI contributions record sufficient to ensure eligibility for the full State Pension for every retired scheme member who has not attained this record themselves and an age-appropriate equivalent for those that are pre-retirement;".Can we address the...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: The recognition of members who previously paid into a defined benefit scheme is a slightly separate issue in some ways. In the past they were recognised as being on an equal footing with active members and pensioners. In its report the OECD states the anomaly whereby those to whom I refer are not recognised as a distinct group should be removed. The report states "the priority currently...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I have sympathy for the view that we must be careful not to place an onerous liability on a company whereby it ends up having negative consequences for the existing workers. That is why we chose the words "positive net revenues". The last line in my amendment deals with the parent company. Increasingly, parent companies set up an Irish subsidiary using loans from the parent company. When...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Is there an equivalent for pensioners?

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Is that something that is being considered? It should be considered. It will probably take longer if it is not. DB schemes are closing in Ireland at a very fast rate and, in fact, according to the OECD, the number of DC schemes is also reducing, which is interesting. That might be due to the number of companies that have closed. It is a dangerous time for pensions and workers in Ireland...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Yes. A number of issues have emerged from what the Minister said. The idea here is to ensure healthy companies live up to their commitments. In defining healthy companies, we used in our amendment the wording from the OECD report, which pointed out that Ireland was out of sync with other countries. Our amendment uses the OECD term "has positive net revenues". We have to take into account...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Dec 2013)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I move amendment No. 2: In page 9, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “9. The Principal Act is amended by inserting a new section 48A as follows:“48A.(1) A healthy sponsor shall not be allowed to close a defined benefit pension scheme except where the scheme has reached a minimum 90 per cent funding standard. (2) For the purposes of this section a healthy sponsor...