Results 3,021-3,040 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Towards 2016, the recently ratified social partnership agreement, includes a commitment to achieve the target of €150 per week, in 2002 terms, for the lowest social welfare rates by 2007 and to maintain the value of these rates at this level over the course of the agreement, subject to available resources. This commitment applies to a wide range of social welfare schemes, including...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 Oct 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 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. It is estimated that some 274,000 people...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The living alone allowance or living alone increase as it is now known, 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...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 187 to 189, inclusive, together. Entitlement to carer's allowance is based on an applicant satisfying medical, means and residency conditions. In determining entitlement to the allowance there are, in certain cases, unavoidable time lags involved in making the necessary investigations and enquiries to enable timely and accurate decision to be made. Delays...

Written Answers — Tribunals of Inquiry: Tribunals of Inquiry (11 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: My Department has not held any tribunal of inquiry, commission of inquiry or investigation since 1997.

Order of Business (12 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: It is important to clear it up.

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (12 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: In the case of the person in question who is deceased, the PPS Number was confirmed to the solicitors dealing with his affairs. However, the solicitor had used the incorrect name in correspondence with the Department and this name was incorrectly used in the Department's reply. An official of the Department contacted the solicitor on 9 October 2006 to confirm the correct details.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (12 Oct 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 heating needs during the winter season. The scheme runs for 29 weeks of the year. Budget 2006 provided for an increase in the rate of fuel allowance of EUR 5.00 from EUR 9.00 to EUR 14.00 (EUR 17.90 in designated smokeless areas)....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (12 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: A qualified adult allowance (QAA) is payable in respect of a spouse or partner who is wholly or mainly maintained by the claimant. Account is taken of the spouse or partner's income for the purposes of determining entitlement. A spouse or partner's income includes income from capital, including retirement lump sum payments. Where capital is in the joint names of the claimant and spouse or...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (12 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Financial contribution schemes are operated by local authorities in order to facilitate older people who wish to move from private accommodation, which may be too large for them, into local authority housing as tenants. The issue for my Department is how the proceeds of such a sale are treated in the means test for social assistance payments. Social assistance payments are designed to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (12 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Family income supplement is designed to provide cash support for employees on low earnings with families. FIS is paid on a weekly basis over a period of 52 weeks, taking into account a family's net earnings and the number of children under age 18 or aged between 18 and 22 years and in full time education. Subject to a minimum weekly payment of €20, FIS is calculated at 60% of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (12 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The Health Service Executive has advised that it terminated payment of a weekly supplementary welfare allowance and rent supplement to the person concerned as it was not satisfied as to the household composition in this case. The evidence provided by the...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (17 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take 416, 418 and 423 together. In December 2003, as part of the Government's announcement of the new Decentralisation Programme, it was decided that 220 posts would be decentralised from my Department to Carrick-on-Shannon. The construction and fit-out of a building is underway and is expected to be ready for occupation in the first quarter of 2007. This building will...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (17 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: In the recently negotiated social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, the Government and social partners agreed to work together over a ten-year period to enhance pension provision and income supports, including an increase in the level of qualified adult allowance (QAA) for pensioner spouses to the level of the state non-contributory pension. The cost, based on current rates of payment, of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity/gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to people with disabilities and carers under the age of 66 who...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a one off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs of clothing and footwear when their children start school each autumn. In order to qualify for payment of the allowance, a person must be in receipt of a qualifying social welfare or Health Service Executive payment, be participating in an approved...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The back to work allowance scheme is part of my Department's programme of initiatives designed to assist long term unemployed, lone parents, and other social welfare recipients to return to the active labour force. The allowance is intended to encourage claimants to take up employment who might not otherwise do so. The scheme is not intended for people who are already in work or who are in a...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (17 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Up to 1998, the weekly rate of blind pension was equivalent to the rate of old age pension. In Budget 1998, special additional increases were provided for all pensioners aged 66 and over, including persons in receipt of blind pensions. Accordingly since then, blind pension has been payable at two different weekly rates, one for recipients aged under 66 and the second for those aged 66 and...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Oct 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 — Industrial Relations: Industrial Relations (17 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: There have been no cases of civil servants in my Department obtaining an Order of the Courts in relation to contractual rights and entitlements.