Results 19,841-19,860 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I do not propose to accept the amendment at this time. The amendment proposes that the class K contribution of 4% made by a range of public officeholders, including the President, Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas and members of the Judiciary, be abolished. Class K contributions were introduced at a time when the State was experiencing an unprecedented financial crisis. Payment of...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Senator is correct and so am I.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Unlike Members of the Oireachtas and the Judiciary, local authority members do not have occupational pension cover. For that reason, they are being brought into social insurance cover, particularly for pensions. This amendment will provide for the abolition of class K for all officeholders with the exception of members of the European Parliament. If adopted, it would mean that...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: It would not be a sustainable position for one relatively small group of people in the public service, who in the main are well remunerated, to be granted an additional pay increase on foot of this amendment. It is not clear if the Senators submitting this amendment envisage any other changes in PRSI liabilities and associated cover for relevant officeholders being made. The amendment does...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Senator Humphreys asked a very fair question. I do not have any specific advice on it. Perhaps I will seek it before somebody makes a claim.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I will ask for it, but there are other class K 4% categories as well, such as reasonably well paid public servants. It was added as a recession measure to pre-1995 public servants earning above a certain limit. I am sympathetic to the case the Senators are making, that people should not pay 4% PRSI and get no benefits. That should apply to everyone, even Deputies, Senators and judges, but...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Senator makes a very valid point that perhaps an additional levy would have been better applied using income tax or USC legislation rather than social insurance legislation. I cannot deal with that now because it would require a finance Bill to make the change. I am obviously not in a position to do that, but the point the Senator makes is valid. If it is really social insurance, it...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I have not even got to the point where we have draft terms of reference for the report, but I would not envisage it just being about welfare dependency and poverty rates. We are interested to know what impact the changes have had on their participation in education and what type of work they have taken up. All this cannot be ascribed to the reforms that have been introduced because the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Many issues relating to pensions fall partially within my remit and many are broader issues. The tax treatment of pension contributions is primarily a matter for the Minister of Finance. The thinking behind it of course is the people do not pay tax on the money they put into their pension fund because they pay tax on the income when the pension is paid. Many people would have great...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: When that is taken into account the subsidy is not as great as people may think. When it comes to the marriage bar, most of the women affected by that where public servants before 1995 who, even had they remained in work, would not qualify for the State contributory pension. Even men would not have qualified for it because pre-1995 public servants do not. They may potentially have...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I very much appreciate the Senator's approach to this extremely complex matter. I have only half come to terms with it in the past couple of months. There are so many different issues at play and I want to consider it in the round. The Senator and I both agree that the latter will have to involve a gender analysis because we need to see how these policies and changes impact on gender. It...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I assure Senator Ardagh that our policy is that child benefit will remain universal. There are no plans to means test or tax it. However, if we were of that mind, we would have access to that information through people's PPS numbers in any case. However, that is certainly not the purpose for which we would use this information and we collect this information already. I emphasise that the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to respond to this amendment, which calls for reports to be laid before the Houses following reviews of the homemaker and FIS schemes, by speaking about the two schemes in turn. I am always happy to discuss these issues in the course of these debates and on other occasions inside and outside the Oireachtas. The homemaker scheme has been discussed previously in the Oireachtas....

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2016: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome Senator Ardagh's co-operation in this regard. We are all keen to get this legislation through before the recess not so we can go on holiday, but so the measures that are due to kick in on 1 January do so, including an improvement in the disregards for lone parents. I appreciate the fact that the Senator will withdraw the amendment. I intend to feature the WFP and the changes to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Widows or widowers aged under 66 who are in employment generally pay PRSI contributions at Class A in line with other employees. Where such employees have rental income, they also pay PRSI at Class K (4%). Widows or widowers aged under 66 who are self-employed pay PRSI contributions at Class S (4%) in line with other self-employed. Class S also applies to any rental income the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Benefit Applications (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that the Department received an application for carer’s benefit from the person concerned on the 20 October 2016. The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I am informed that the case referred to by the Deputy is an occupational pension scheme, which had a requirement that potential payees under the Widows benefits element be notified before a certain time. I understand that the European Court of Justice very recently ruled that there was no discrimination involved in the case. Entering into a marriage or civil partnership is a legal act,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Appeals (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 8th November 2016, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Overpayments (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of Social Protection makes every effort to ensure that the right person is paid the right amount of money at the right time. These principles are an integral part of the day-to-day work of my Department. Where overpayments of benefit or assistance arise, my Department seeks full recovery as quickly as possible. The Social Welfare (Consolidation Act) 2005 makes...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Data Collection (6 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: My Department contracts with a range of third parties including private companies to act as its agent for the purposes of transacting its business and with whom it shares customer information. These include my Department’s branch offices, the Local Employment Service (LES) companies as well as the JobPath companies. As the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is an employment activation...