Results 3,141-3,160 of 24,567 for speaker:Róisín Shortall

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: It is not good enough to say the figures are small. We are talking about approximately €1 million. As the system tightens up, there is every likelihood that the number of non-resident landlords will increase. It is indefensible for the Minister to say his Department is making transfers of €1 million but that there is no system in place to ensure tax is paid on it or that the system in...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: It is another tax shelter.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 7: In page 6, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: 3.—The Minister shall as soon as may be after the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on extending the number of hours a week a Carer may be gainfully employed while still retaining entitlement to Carer's Allowance/Benefit. Both of these amendments relate to...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I will press the amendment because, unfortunately, the Minister did not respond to the issue I raised, that is, the invaluable work carers do——

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: ——in terms of enabling people to stay out of nursing home care.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: The Minister did not address the issue I raised whereby enabling the person to survive at home on his or her own can sometimes mean an hour's care in the morning and in the evening and someone dropping in for a while at lunchtime. The efforts of such carers are worthy of recognition. The Carers Association will attest to the fact that isolation is an extremely important issue for those who...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I am not saying that. I made the point on Committee Stage that it is wrong.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: The Minister used that argument on Committee Stage and I said it was wrong. As he is aware, that is not where I am going with this.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 8: In page 6, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: 3.—The Minister shall as soon as may be after the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on removing Carer's Allowance from the list of welfare payments requiring the Habitual Residence Condition to be met. This amendment relates to the habitual residency condition...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I do not have personal experience of this matter. However, agencies that work in the area have contacted us and claim that some cases exist. The suggestion I made whereby a stipulation would be put in place in respect of the person being cared for is not new. There are, after all, two existing stipulations regarding the person in respect of whom care is being provided. The first of these...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I am not suggesting all cases should be allowed.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: It is easy to cite cases that do not stand up. The agencies working in the area, Crosscare and FLAC, have approached all of us with examples of cases in which Irish people seem to have been hard done by through the operation of the habitual residency condition. The Minister should see how it goes with carer's allowance by removing the condition because the numbers are small. On the basis...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 10: In page 6, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: 3.—The Minister shall as soon as may be after the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on any arrangements whereby claimants under the Social Welfare Acts are not provided with payments for the first 3 days of any claim and the continued justification for any such...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I will not discuss this issue further. We have been through it already.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 11: In page 5, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: 3.—The Minister shall as soon as may be after the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the ending of counting as means, other welfare payments. We discussed this amendment on Committee Stage. It is a particularly swingeing measure to count other welfare...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 12: In page 6, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: 3.—The Minister shall as soon as may be after the passing of this Act prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report on providing that current welfare and pension recipients who are paid by payment book method shall retain that method of payment until they opt of their own volition for...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: Will the Minister clarify whether the 60 days will now apply to pension payments? What about child benefit?

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: It just seems difficult to understand why a time limit is being applied to child benefit. More than any other payment, that is one which people save up for particular periods. It seems to be creating a bureaucratic nightmare to limit the payment period in this regard.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: That is what I have been told by postmasters.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)

Róisín Shortall: Even 60 days is a very short period in respect of child benefit. I, therefore, ask the Minister to reconsider the matter. At present one can wait up to six months. That seems reasonable because of the nature of the payment and the way in which recipients save it. The system, as it stands, causes a lot of paperwork for the Department and inconvenience for the customer. I will withdraw my...