Results 301-320 of 1,371 for speaker:Máire Hoctor

Seanad: Report on Music and Education (18 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I support Senator Keaveney on this. I appreciate the sum required is a drop in the ocean compared to other funds. The importance of music in schools has not been fully realised. People who find expression in music have fewer emotional and intellectual difficulties. It is important that funding is put in place for this for the future. I assure the Senator that I will bring her sentiments...

Vaccination Programme. (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I am responding on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Mary Harney, Minister for Health and Children. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to the House the importance attached by the Department of Health and Children and the Health Service Executive to the issue raised. The Minister for Health and Children has been informed by the Health...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: Operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services was assigned to the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Therefore, the Executive is the appropriate body to consider the particular matter raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have the matter...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: Operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services was assigned to the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Therefore, the Executive is the appropriate body to consider the particular matter raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have the matter...

Written Answers — Residential Care: Residential Care (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: In January 2007 the Minister for Health & Children published a new set of draft national standards for all nursing homes. The standards were developed by a working group chaired by DoHC and included the Health Service Executive, Social Service Inspectorate and the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board. As the Health Act, 2007 provides that the enhanced inspection function will be...

Written Answers — Nursing Home Subventions: Nursing Home Subventions (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: The final details of the Bill are being addressed at present. The Minister proposes to publish the Bill as soon as possible, following Government approval. Details of the scheme have been in the public domain since the Minister announced it in December 2006 and there has been consultation and meetings with stakeholders arising from commitments under Towards 2016. The Department will be...

Written Answers — Mental Health Services: Mental Health Services (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: Operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services was assigned to the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Therefore, the Executive is the appropriate body to consider the particular matter raised by the Deputy. My Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to arrange to have the matter...

Written Answers — Nursing Home Subventions: Nursing Home Subventions (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: The final details of the Bill are being addressed at present. The Minister proposes to publish the Bill as soon as possible, following Government approval. The Minister is very keen that the benefits are made available to those who have been waiting for the new Scheme as soon as possible and discussions are on-going with all parties in this respect.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I do not propose to accept this amendment. All social welfare and pensions Acts since 2001 are published on the Department's website. Future Acts will similarly be published on the website. Acts are also published on the Irish Statute Book website. It would not, however, be appropriate for the Department's website to contain an informal consolidation of the Social Welfare Acts because of...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I do not propose to accept the amendment. All regulations made under the Social Welfare Acts are published on the website of the Department of Social and Family Affairs and are also available on the Irish Statute Book website. Also, all regulations are transmitted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social and Family Affairs. Following the introduction in early 2007 of a new electronic...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I do not propose to accept this amendment because it is inappropriate for inclusion in legislation. In particular, it is inappropriate for this Bill which only deals with budget increases. All other items which are appropriate for legislation will be dealt with in a separate Bill in the new year. The Department has increased significantly the volume of information exchange in recent years...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: The qualified child increase, previously called the child dependant allowance, is paid to social welfare recipients in addition to a personal and, where appropriate, qualified adult increase. Unlike a wage, the level of qualified child increase varies according to the number of qualified children in a family. The result is an increased disincentive effect on larger families as their social...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I do not accept the amendment. The waiting days have been a feature of the illness benefit and jobseeker's payment schemes since their inception and are a feature of similar social security schemes in many countries. The application of a three-day waiting period avoids the disproportionately high administrative costs involved in processing large numbers of claims for a very short duration....

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance, known as the BSCFA scheme, provides payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when their children start school each autumn. The scheme operates from the beginning of June to the end of September each year and is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I thank Senator Prendergast. I do not propose to accept amendment No. 8. The rates of payment for carer's allowance and carer's benefit have been increased significantly in recent budgets. Since January 2007 the rate of carer's allowance and carer's benefit has been €200 per week for those aged under 66. The carer's allowance for those aged over 66 is currently €218 per week. As a...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I do not propose to accept this amendment. One of the fundamental qualifying conditions for carer's allowance, carer's benefit and the respite care grant is that the person is providing full-time care and attention to a person who needs such care. The number of hours a person may engage in employment, self-employment, training or education outside the home and still be considered to be...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I do not propose to accept the amendment. Given the scale of the Department's operations, with 4,500 employees, the number of cases of the unauthorised disclosure of personal data is relatively small. No civil proceedings have been initiated against the Department with regard to information security breaches. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner intends to carry out an audit of...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I do not propose to accept the amendment. Credited PRSI contributions are an integral part of the social insurance system. The primary purpose of PRSI credits is to secure social welfare benefits and pensions of insured workers by covering gaps in insurance where workers are not in a position to pay PRSI, such as during periods of unemployment, illness or caring. In order to qualify for...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I do not propose to accept the amendment. One of the key Government commitments in the national partnership agreement, Towards 2016, is the development of a national carers' strategy. This commitment is reiterated in the programme for Government. The strategy will focus on supporting informal and family carers in the community. While social welfare supports for carers will clearly be a...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2007)

Máire Hoctor: I do not propose to accept the amendment. It is one of the merits of the respite care grant that use of it remains at discretion of carers. The Department does not request accountability as to how the money provided is spent. I would like that flexibility to remain within the scheme. Caring Before Their Time? — Research and Policy Perspectives on Young Carers, the report published by...