Results 3,841-3,860 of 24,567 for speaker:Róisín Shortall

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: If the person had a natural child, he would receive such an income.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: It cannot. The definition prevents this.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: What should people do? Should they begin to save the money they will receive for the next two years?

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: My point still stands. People are losing out on nine months' worth of payments.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I am disappointed with the Minister's response. On the issue of setting targets or benchmarks, will the Minister state how, in the absence of setting benchmarks, the adequacy of social welfare payments will be assessed? The Minister might also respond to a number of the issues I raised earlier, in particular, the position in respect of part-time workers. While acknowledging the so-called...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: No, I was not. There are three issues outstanding to which the Minister did not respond.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 4a: In page 6, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: "4.—Section 312 of the Principal Act (as amended by section 18 of the Act of 2008) is deleted and the following substituted therefor: '312.—Where a person is dissatisfied with the determination of an appeal by the person under section 323 in relation to a claim under section 196, 197 or 198, the question...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: Thank you. This amendment arises out of Committee Stage and I understand all Members received representations from FLAC in respect of it. FLAC is concerned about the operation of the rent supplement and the mortgage interest supplement especially as the current appeal procedure is overly cumbersome and can result in lengthy delays. It is a three-stage appeal system whereby if a person...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I agree with the Minister that there is a need for financial institutions to be flexible, particularly in the case of those who were very much encouraged to stretch themselves to the limit in their borrowing and who, in some cases, were advised to overstate their income. I will address those issues later because I have tabled amendments dealing with people who find themselves in those...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: This amendment relates specifically to the issue of appealing decisions in respect of supplementary welfare. There are issues of natural justice involved at present and the Minister must address these.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I accept what the Minister said about functions transferring to the Department and the issue being dealt with in that respect. I am concerned about it. The issue is not just that there are delays in the appeals system but that there are definite issues of natural justice involved. The HSE decides the first round appeal. If the appellant must submit a request for the second-level appeal and...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: Hear, hear.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: The issue of the PRSI ceiling is particularly relevant in the context of a universal insurance-based pension for all. Given the difficulties facing people with private pensions at present and because the feedback from the Green Paper process is overdue, the Minister should indicate to Members whether she is considering the operation of such a general scheme in respect of a State pension that...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: Has the Minister any idea of the timescale involved? When should we expect her to bring forward proposals on it?

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: A rough timescale would do.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I fully accept the complexity of the pensions issue but that is no excuse for prevaricating any further on it. The Government has been talking about this for several years. We cannot afford to stand back and wait much longer. Is the Minister inclined towards an insurance-based universal State pension system, given that the Government has spent over €4 billion, by present day standards,...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: That does not mean it will not happen in the future.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 9: In page 9, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: "13.—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 need for foster parents to be considered a qualified parent and for fostered children to be considered a qualified child for the purposes of qualifying for the one...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: With all due respect, the Minister is missing the point. In the circumstances I have outlined, if that man had a natural child of his own there would not be an issue. That is because the natural child would be a qualifying child under the legislation and the man would be paid the one parent family payment for all three children. Equally, if the man was a widower or a separated married man,...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Róisín Shortall: They would if the man had a child or if he had been married. The Minister does not seem to have taken that point into account.