Results 2,341-2,360 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Departmental Investigations: Departmental Investigations (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Arising from reports in the media, my Department carried out an examination of accesses to the computer record of the person concerned. On a general basis, staff of my Department are authorised to access individual records as long as it is for legitimate business reasons. In view of the number of accesses in this case, managers were asked to examine the matter to establish if there were...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 81, 85, 93 and 114 together. The construction federation operatives pensions scheme operates as a registered employment agreement under the Industrial Relations Acts. There is a statutory obligation on employers to register eligible employees in the scheme and to pay the necessary contributions. Compliance with the terms of the scheme is enforced through the...

Written Answers — Computerisation Programme: Computerisation Programme (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: My Department is highly dependent on computer systems to deliver its schemes and, in particular, its payment services. Each week, for example, my Department is responsible for some 970,000 payments that, when dependants are included, directly benefit some 1.5 million men, women and children. Each year almost 60 million transactions are processed and issued by my Department. The majority of...

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

Séamus Brennan: Under the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pension Bill 2006, I propose to change the name of the old age contributory pension to State pension, contributory, and the retirement pension to State pension, transition. Also, from 29 September next, I will introduce a new pension scheme to be known as State pension, non-contributory, which will incorporate most means tested payments which apply to...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 106 and 120 together. The provision of information is an essential element in the effective delivery of social welfare schemes and services. The underlying objective of my Department's information policy is to ensure that all citizens are made aware of their entitlements and other supports and are kept informed of changes and improvements to schemes and...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 88, 92, 95, 99, 108 and 129 together. The latest results from the CSO quarterly national household survey, QNHS, show a 0.9% decline in supplementary pensions coverage from 52.4% of the working population aged 20-69 in quarter 1 of 2004 to 51.5% in the same quarter in 2005. The decline is within the margin of error for the survey so the position appears to be...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I was pleased to be asked to make the closing address to the recent ACCORD conference in Ballyconnell, County Cavan. In my address to the conference, I referred to the fact that ACCORD is now working in a very different environment than was the case back in the early 1960s when it was founded. Today, there are many differing views and attitudes to marriage and cohabitation while births...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 90 and 96 together. Responsibility for the disabled person's maintenance allowance, DPMA, scheme was transferred from the Department of Health and Children and the health boards to my Department in October 1996. On transfer of the scheme, the existing qualifying conditions were retained and the scheme was re-named disability allowance. One of the qualifying...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 91 and 130 together. The average length of time taken to deal with appeals by the social welfare appeals office in 2005 was 20 weeks. If allowance is made for the 25% most protracted cases, the average time falls to 13 weeks. The processing time for appeals covers all phases of the appeal process, including the submission by the Department's deciding officers'...

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department advises customers in receipt of social welfare payments who are approaching pension age to apply for a pension in good time. Approximately 30% of all pensioners are notified in this way. The most significant group in this category comprises those who are in receipt of invalidity pension. To further improve customer service to this particular category I have introduced a new...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 100, 118 and 127 together. My Department provides child income support in a number of ways. The main support is provided through child benefit, a universal payment which is neutral vis-À-vis the employment status of the child's parents and does not contribute to poverty traps. Over the period since 1997, the monthly rates of child benefit have increased by...

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

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 payments and who are living alone. It is also available to people under 66 years of age who are living alone and who receive payments under one of a number of invalidity type schemes. The allowance is intended as a contribution towards the...

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

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare scheme is administered by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive on my behalf. The establishment of the Health Service Executive prompted a fresh consideration of the role and structure of the community welfare service and of the most appropriate location for that service in the future. The Commission on Financial Management and Control Systems...

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

Séamus Brennan: All one-parent family payment, OPFP, applicants are requested to provide details of the other parent of their child/ren. This information includes the name, address and whether he/she is in employment or receiving payments from my Department or the Health Service Executive, HSE. The applicant is also requested to submit long version birth certificates for each child. In a significant number...

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

Séamus Brennan: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in a table that I propose to have circulated with the Official Report. The amount paid to each farmer depends on a number of factors, for example, family size, whether the spouse/partner is working and any means assessed from all sources. The farm assist scheme was introduced in the Social Welfare Act 1999. The scheme was designed specially...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy shortly.

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

Séamus Brennan: The programme for Government contains a commitment to a scheme of all-Ireland free travel for pensioners resident in all parts of the island of Ireland. The scheme would enable pensioners resident here to travel free of charge on all bus and rail services in Northern Ireland. Likewise, pensioners in Northern Ireland would travel free of charge on all bus, rail, air and ferry services in this...

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

Séamus Brennan: The underlying objective of my Department's information policy is to ensure that all citizens, including carers, are made aware of their entitlements under a broad range of social insurance, social assistance and other supports and are kept informed of changes and improvements as they occur. My Department provides a range of information leaflets and booklets for carers. These include, Carer's...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The National Action Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion 2003-2005 set a key target for the combined level of child benefit and child dependent allowances to be within the range 33% to 35% of the minimum adult social welfare payment rate. The plan also made reference to the target of €150 per week in 2002 terms for the lowest rates of social welfare payments by 2007. Progress in...

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

Séamus Brennan: A person must satisfy the condition of being available for and genuinely seeking work to be entitled to unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance. Details of customers disallowed on unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance in the 12-month period to February 2006 are set out in a table that follows. Only those customers whose claim was disallowed for the specific reason of not...