Results 281-300 of 1,842 for speaker:Marie Moloney

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: After-school child care facilities is probably mostly what we are referring to here, not preschool, because at preschool the children are under seven. There is no obligation for the parent to work during the preschool year. It is after-school child care facilities for which I would be fighting much harder because that is when the parents have an obligation to work. Perhaps I should wait...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: My understanding is that this section relates to contribution requirements, which are being brought into line with those in respect of the old age pension, namely, a person must have paid 520 paid contributions before becoming a voluntary contributor. Most people have 50 years within which to make social contributions. The requirement now is that ten of the contributions made during those...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: A person who has worked all his or her life would have enough contributions.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: I will respond to a point made by Senator Darragh O'Brien. When his party reduced the age and introduced the year, it was introduced in principle only-----

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: The details were not given until the following September.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: It was raised in the debate. I am responding to that.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: It was in principle. The Minister is dealing with matters in principle today.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: Official statistics show that more than half of lone parents receive absolutely no social welfare payment. Not all the money paid to one-parent families makes its way to the children. That is a valid point. We should be concentrating on putting in place provisions that will help and support families, such as child care within the family resource centres. Those models are working very...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: I am sorry. With regard to the amendment, the Minister clearly stated that she is not in favour of the age of the youngest child being reduced to seven, if the child care is not in place. She has two further budgets in which to reverse this if she so chooses.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: Nobody is arguing here today that it should not be reduced from 14 to 12.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: It is part of the amendment.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: The amendment seeks to prevent these changes being carried forward. It being reduced from 14 to 12 but nobody is arguing that point. That is the immediate change being introduced.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: It is under this section that the age is to be reduced from 14 years to 12.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: Point taken, a Chathaoirligh.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: I take a different view to Senator Byrne on this. We have dedicated two days to debating a very important Bill and I do not see it as having been rushed. We have given extra time to it and have come in on Friday and Monday to do that. I do not understand why Senator Byrne says this is a bad thing.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: We are still having a very good debate and it seems to me to be a more constructive debate than that in the Dáil. I agree with the idea behind what the Minister is trying to do and the move towards a universal payment. Down through the years the payments we have made have seemed to stigmatise people. We had deserted wife's benefit, unmarried mother's allowance, the lone-parent's allowance...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: Absolutely.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: I wish to make a brief comment following on from Senator Mooney's good ideas and suggestions on how to utilise community employment schemes. We spent the last two days debating child care services and the community employment schemes could be utilised greatly for the enhancement of child care facilities. I ask the Minister to examine this. There are many people with expertise in child care...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: I would like the Minister to clarify some aspects of the Bill which are unclear. I know she will be able to enlighten us. Subsection (b)(ii) states: "prior to entering into the alternative payment arrangement referred to in subparagraph (i) the person had entered into and had complied with a different alternative repayment arrangement agreed between that person and his or her mortgage...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2012)

Marie Moloney: It is not often I agree with Sinn Féin but I believe Senator Cullinane is correct that we should be encouraging people to invest. We cannot dictate to trustees of pension funds where to invest their money but there is no harm in highlighting that this is a good area in which to invest.