Results 2,841-2,860 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Family Income Supplement is designed to provide cash support for employees on low earnings with families. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were claiming other social welfare payments. To ensure that families are made aware of these improvements, my Department undertook a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Payment of disability benefit to the person concerned was discontinued by a Deciding Officer on 5 September 2006 following an examination by a Medical Assessor of the Department who expressed the opinion that she was capable of work. The person's appeal against this decision was received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 7 September 2006. In the context of the appeal an examination by...

Written Answers — Census of Population: Census of Population (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The results of the Census of Population are used by many of the policy and operational areas of the Department. The Census 2006 Preliminary Report, published in July 2006, gives a useful analysis of population change across the country since 2002. However, it is of limited use of the Department since it does not cover the range of topics that will be available in the final Census results....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Decisions on statutory social welfare schemes, including state contributory, state non-contributory and state transition pensions are made by statutorily appointed Deciding Officers of my Department. Where a customer is dissatisfied with a decision made by a Deciding Officer, s/he has a statutory right of appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. Guidelines are issued by my Department in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 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. 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 whose means are insufficient to meet their...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders on long-term social welfare or health service executive payments with meeting the cost of their additional heating needs during the winter season. Fuel allowances are paid for 29 weeks from end-September to mid-April. The allowance represents a contribution towards a person's normal heating expenses. A number of improvements have...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, provides for the payment of a rent supplement to assist eligible people who are unable to provide for their immediate accommodation needs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Rent...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Pensions Board in its report on the national pensions review, published last January, suggested a number of measures in relation to social welfare pensions designed to encourage people to continue working after normal retirement age. These included making such employment fully insurable for pensions purposes and allowing for enhanced payments when a person decides to defer claiming...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Supporting and recognising carers in our society has been a priority of the Government since 1997. Over that period, weekly payment rates to carers have been greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have been significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's benefit and the respite care grant have been introduced and extended....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 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. The basis of the restriction contained in the rules is the applicant's habitual residence. The effect is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere is not paid social welfare payments on arrival in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The back to education allowance 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. To qualify for participation in the BTEA scheme an applicant must, inter alia, be in receipt of a relevant social...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The application for a Respite Care Grant from the person to whom the Deputy refers was received in my Department on 31 July 2006. It is currently being processed and my Department hopes to be in a position to make a decision on it and inform the applicant of the outcome shortly.

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contribution is made up of a number of different components including: social insurance at the appropriate percentage rate for employees and employers, which varies according to the pay of the employee and the benefits for which he or she is insured; the 2% health contribution, and the 0.70% national training fund levy which is included in the...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The higher PRSI rate for employers currently stands at 10.05 per cent. An increase in the employer's share of the PRSI contribution to the pre-Budget 2002 rate of 12 per cent would yield an estimated €817.8 million in additional income to the social insurance fund in a full year. This estimate does not take into account the national training fund levy of 0.7% which is collected as part of...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The employee PRSI ceiling is reviewed annually in accordance with the legislative stipulations of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005. The legislation requires the Minister to take into account any changes in the average earnings of workers in the transportable good industries as recorded by the Central Statistics Office since the ceiling was previously reviewed. The current...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned was in receipt of Disability Allowance from 28 August 2002. The claim was reviewed and as a result payment was suspended from 12 April 2006 on the grounds that she failed to show that her means did not exceed the statutory limit. A deciding officer subsequently decided on 3/7/06 that the person was not entitled to receive Disability Allowance from 12/4/06. The person...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The pensioner in this case who is now deceased was in receipt of old age non-contributory pension from my Department since 1985. Following his death in August 2004, his schedule of assets indicated that he had a substantial amount of savings which he did not declare to the Department as he was legally obliged to do. His circumstances were investigated by my Department and an overpayment of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Workers are insured under social welfare legislation as either employed or self-employed contributors. Employees and their employers generally pay contributions at PRSI Class A whereas self-employed workers generally pay contributions at PRSI Class S. The class and number of contributions paid determine the range of benefits towards which contributors can build entitlement. While employees...

Written Answers — Departmental Investigations: Departmental Investigations (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005, requires that the Minister undertake an actuarial review of the financial condition of the social insurance fund at five-year intervals. The first actuarial review, as required under this legislation, was published in October, 2002, and reflected the position of the Social Insurance Fund at the end of 2000. A request for tender inviting...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Supporting and recognising carers in our society has been a priority of the Government since 1997. Over that period, weekly payment rates to carers have been greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have been significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's benefit and the respite care grant have been introduced and extended....