Results 2,321-2,340 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

National Economic and Social Forum Report. (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The National Economic and Social Forum, NESF, report covers the full breadth of issues involved in creating a more inclusive labour market. The recommendations underlying the report extend beyond the social welfare system, to include local partnership-based strategies, labour market and social inclusion measures and structures, make-work-pay policies, the national employment services,...

National Economic and Social Forum Report. (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: That is a major debate and one that we have already had once or twice.

National Economic and Social Forum Report. (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: We could spend a few hours at it so I will not wander down that road too much apart from saying that the report notes that more than €1 billion of State funding is now being spent annually on measures aimed at helping people to get back to work, as well as tackling problems associated with labour market vulnerability. We have agreed many times that the way out of poverty is through...

Social Welfare Benefits. (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 60, 76, 113 and 188 to 190, inclusive, together. According to the census for 2002, there are 48,500 people providing personal care for more than four hours per day. More than 26,200 of these are in receipt of either carer's allowance or carer's benefit. This means that 54% of carers are in receipt of a specific carer's payment from my Department. The...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that the decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions which apply. The main clearance time target set by my Department for carer's allowance is to decide 70% of claims within nine weeks, in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 62, 82 and 102 together. The back to education allowance or BTEA is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. Following the decision in 2002 to discontinue payment...

Written Answers — National Partnership Agreement: National Partnership Agreement (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Combat Poverty Agency submission to the social partners, "Making a Decisive Impact on Poverty Through Social Partnership", is a broad ranging document which has, I understand, been forwarded to all parties to the partnership negotiations. It will, I expect, form a constructive contribution to the negotiations on a new partnership agreement. I expect that the results of this agreement will...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: To qualify for child benefit a child must be under 16 years — 19 years if in full-time education — and ordinarily resident in the State. The vast majority of children born in Ireland will satisfy these conditions. Child benefit is paid to the person with whom the child is normally resident, which in most cases is the child's mother. Since 1 May 2004, the new qualifying condition —...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 65, 186 and 187 together. My Department does not create or hold records or statistics on health matters per se. Information relating to occupational diseases regarding miners is only held by my Department in the context of claims made under its occupational injuries benefits scheme. Departmental records reflect that there are 21 persons currently in receipt of...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: My Department does not have definite figures on the number of bogus PPS numbers as identity fraud is by its nature difficult to quantify. The Department, however, has not uncovered a significant level of fraud involving the use of bogus PPS numbers. Since 2004, an identity check on scheme clients has been part of the fraud and error surveys undertaken for control purposes by my Department and...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I regard the provision of information in a clear and accessible manner as an essential element in the effective delivery of social welfare services. The underlying objective of my Department's information policy is to ensure that all citizens are made aware of their entitlements and that they are kept informed of changes and improvements in schemes and services as they occur. My Department...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 68, 75, 86, 97, 112 and 181 together. The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. All carers in receipt of carer's allowance and carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance, regardless of their age, receive a free travel pass. It is also available to people under age 66...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: It is my Department's policy to maximise the recovery of moneys overpaid in order to have due regard to the interests of taxpayers and social insurance contributors who finance social welfare payments. My Department may, however, decide to seek repayment of a reduced amount or not to seek any repayment in cases where the overpayment resulted from an error by an official of the Department and...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1 May 2004. It was introduced in the context of the Government's decision to open the Irish labour market to workers from the new EU member states without the transitional limitations which were being imposed at that time by...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 71, 94 and 116 together. The Government acknowledges that the risk of poverty, especially child poverty, tends to be higher among one-parent families, larger families and those faced by long-term unemployment, due mainly to the direct costs of rearing children, including child care costs, and the opportunity costs related to the reduced earning capacity of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 77 together. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support, in the form of a weekly or monthly payment, to eligible people living in private rented accommodation...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 125 together. Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, a weekly or monthly rent supplement is available to assist eligible people who are unable to meet their immediate accommodation needs through their own resources. In recent years, a significant...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Government is anxious to ensure that as many people as possible can qualify for contributory pensions in their own right and, in this regard, a number of measures have been introduced over the years which makes it easier for people to qualify for pensions. These include the reduction in the yearly average number of contributions required for pension purposes from 20 to ten and the special...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 78 and 185 together. Missionaries who have made sufficient social insurance contributions can qualify for an old age contributory pension. Contributory pensions are payable abroad, so missionaries who qualify and who chose to settle overseas can receive a payment. Non-contributory pensions are only payable where a person is resident in this country....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The farm assist scheme, which introduced special arrangements for farmers on low incomes, was provided for in the Social Welfare Act 1999 and came into operation with effect from 7 April 1999. There are now 7,750 farm assist customers. The current average weekly payment is €181.81. The level of uptake is less than had been anticipated when the scheme was first introduced in April 1999. This...