Results 2,361-2,380 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

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

Séamus Brennan: The provision of comprehensive information in a clear and simple manner is 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 other supports and are kept informed of changes and improvements to schemes as they occur. Information on the...

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

Séamus Brennan: Since 2000, a total of 2,555 PRSI exemption certificates have been granted in respect of the temporary employment of persons not ordinarily resident in this country. Of these 1,504 certificates were granted to the company in question. An annual breakdown of these certificates is included in the table. PRSI exemptions are issued in accordance with Article 97 of S.I. 312/1996. The legislation...

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

Séamus Brennan: The current approach to medical certification relies on registered medical certifiers, usually general practitioners or hospital interns, who are contracted to examine claimants and provide them with a medical certificate or a diagnostic report, as appropriate, for submission to the Department of Social and Family Affairs either to initiate a new claim or to keep an existing claim in payment....

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

Séamus Brennan: Since 1983 special arrangements for volunteer development workers have been provided for the award to them of credited social insurance contributions up to an aggregate of five years while they are outside the country on development activities. These credited contributions enable the persons concerned to qualify for short-term benefits on their return from their overseas development work and...

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

Séamus Brennan: The number of one-parent family recipients being paid by the Department of Social and Family Affairs at the end of December 2005 is 80,366, the latest date for which figures are available. Included in this figure are 906 widowed persons. It is not possible to get exact statistics on the number of one-parent family payment recipients who are in employment and receiving full or reduced...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I represented the Government at a number of engagements, events and festivities in Boston to celebrate and mark St. Patrick's Day in the USA. My official party travelled to Boston on 14 March 2006 and returned on 18 March 2006. My itinerary included an address that focused on Ireland's knowledge economy to the Irish Association at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an address at a...

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (22 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I have appointed, on a contract basis for the term of my office, a press adviser, a special adviser, a personal secretary and a personal assistant. My press adviser is on a salary of €101,037 together with a private pension contribution of 11% of salary. My special adviser is currently on a salary of €88,556. The annual salary for my personal secretary is €39,532. My personal assistant...

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

Séamus Brennan: Given the ongoing improvements in life expectancy which are occurring and the challenges we face in the future as the proportion of older people in our population grows, it is important that we should encourage and facilitate people who wish to extend their working lives as this can make a significant contribution to the sustainability of our pensions system. In the budget I introduced, for...

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

Séamus Brennan: The most recent information on earnings available from the Central Statistics Office relates to September 2005. This shows that, at that time, average industrial earnings were €579.32 per week. The cost of raising the social welfare pension for all those over 65 years by 1% of this figure is estimated at €124 million per annum. The maximum rate of the old age contributory pension is at...

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

Séamus Brennan: The primary objective of the orphan's payments administered by my Department is to provide income support in respect of children whose parents are deceased or who are unable and have failed to provide for them. The weekly rate of payment is €138. This is a substantially higher rate of payment compared with other payments made by my Department in respect of children. Foster carers, on the...

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

Séamus Brennan: I have not met with nor have I received any representations or requests for a meeting from the Open Republic Institute.

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

Séamus Brennan: The person's application for carer's benefit was disallowed by a deciding officer on the grounds that the person was not engaged in remunerative employment prior to her claim as she was on a career break from the Department of Education and Science. The person appealed this decision to the social welfare appeals office and an oral hearing was held on 28 February 2006. Having considered all of...

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

Séamus Brennan: Since taking office this Government has made the needs of older people a priority, with the inclusion of several commitments in the programme for Government aimed specifically at older people. One of these is a commitment to increase the old age pension rate to €200 per week by 2007. Significant progress has been made towards this objective. Pension increases in the last two budgets have...

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

Séamus Brennan: Deserted wife's benefit is a payment made to a woman deserted by her husband. Entitlement to payment is based on social insurance contributions paid by the wife or her husband. An earnings limit was introduced for deserted wife's benefit in 1992. The limit, which applied only to new claims after August 1992, was set at €12,697.38 a year, gross earnings. Where earnings are in excess of...

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

Séamus Brennan: The farm assist scheme was introduced in 1999 as an income support scheme for low income farmers. It is a means tested scheme with a more favourable method of assessment, including disregards in respect of qualified children, than had applied under the previous smallholders' unemployment assistance scheme. The scheme was further improved in two ways from 2000. The child-related income...

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

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in decisions on individual claims. The number of recipients of rent supplement from 2001 to 17 March 2006 is shown in the tabular statement. At the end of 2001 the numbers in...

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

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in decisions on individual claims. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (23 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Missionaries who have made sufficient social insurance contributions can qualify for an old age contributory pension. Contributory pensions are payable abroad and 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. Accordingly, missionaries who return here and who satisfy the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: An application for family income supplement, FIS, was received by my Department from the person concerned on 8 February 2006. One of the principal conditions for receipt of FIS is that a person must work at least 19 hours per week or 38 weeks per fortnight. Based on the information available to my Department, the person concerned was not considered to be in full-time remunerative employment,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: 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 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such as...