Results 4,061-4,080 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Staff are deployed throughout the Department wherever pressure points arise. Upwards of 5,000 people are spread across the Department and they work under substantial pressure on the new schemes, making changes and improvements they are asked to implement on a daily basis. I cannot say that staff were specifically deployed to carers but the Secretary General deploys staff wherever pressure...

Financial Services Regulation. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, provides assistance to people who are over-indebted and need help and advice in coping with debt problems. There are 53 independent companies nationwide operating the service. The credit union movement has been a key partner in MABS since its inception. Many local voluntary and statutory bodies, such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the...

Financial Services Regulation. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I have held up the legislation because of the complexity of trying to get around this issue. The legislation allows moneylenders to charge up to 188%. The Financial Regulator's report on the licensed moneylending industry, published last week, shows that they charge this amount. The legislation allows them to charge even higher rates in certain circumstances. The report shows that 71% of...

Pension Provisions. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: As the House is aware, the Government is committed to producing a Green Paper on pensions in accordance with the partnership agreement, Towards 2016. The Green Paper will be published when the Government has completed its considerations in this regard. The preparation of the Green Paper follows a period of increased activity in the development of pensions policy, which has seen the...

Pension Provisions. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Well spotted.

Pension Provisions. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Green Paper on pensions is before the Cabinet and consideration is being given to its publication date. We have not yet completed our full consideration of the document but it is a fine work and will add enormously to the debate on pensions. It is a matter of judgment as to whether such a document should be published in the current political climate. I did respond to a request from...

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The social insurance fund derives its income mainly from pay-related social insurance contributions from both employers and employees. It provides insured contributors with both long-term pension benefits and short-term benefits such as unemployment and disability payments. The cumulative surplus in the social insurance fund since 2002 was €1.273 billion in 2002, €1.529 billion in 2003,...

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: There are 2.8 million contributors to the social insurance fund. Expenditure in 2005 was €5.6 billion, a substantial part of which went to pensioners and the income to the fund was €6.1 billion. Employment is strong and income from employment is growing. The review before the Government examines it from 2006 to 2061, a long-term financial economic strategic review. In the short term,...

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The legal requirement is that if the fund is in deficit, it must be reimbursed by the Exchequer. This side of the House has committed to reducing the PRSI contribution from 4% to 2%. If this policy decision affects the fund, it is open to the Government to reimburse the fund directly for the amount involved.

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: That can be considered. It is not intended the fund will go into deficit as a result of this policy.

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: When we get the study, which will show us the outlook for the fund in the years ahead, we will have a better view as to the likelihood of it going into deficit. I certainly do not envisage that in the short, or medium, term but it is a possibility in the long term given the demographic pressures on the fund. I wish to reassure the House that any proposals which would affect the fund or put...

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Some €5 billion for the 40 or so years.

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The fund was in deficit from 1953 to 1996 at which point the cumulative deficit came to €5.4 billion. Over those years that €5.4 billion was made up by the Exchequer.

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: There is a cost. If one proposes to reduce PRSI from 4% to 2%, which is a tax on people who pay their taxes and for which they have been paying through the nose for a long time, it will cost money. That will come from the general pool of taxation. That is from where any deficit in the fund must be made up. The taxpayer will pay for a proposal to reduce PRSI from 4% to 2%. I invite the...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Government discussion paper, Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents, put forward proposals for the expanded availability and range of education and training opportunities for lone parents; the extension of the national employment action plan to focus on lone parents; focused provision of child care; improved information services for lone parents; and the introduction of a new social...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Some good progress was made when the limit was raised to €400 in the budget and this is in line with the document. The tests will be carried out in both an urban and a rural setting and they will be conducted by the Department of Social and Family Affairs with the co-operation of FÁS, the Office of the Minister for Children and the Department of Education and Science. The test will aim...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Government has instructed a senior officials group on social inclusion, which has been established, to draw up an implementation plan. It will consider issues such as child care, education, training and activation measures and will discuss co-operation with various agencies. One of the key points made by the lone parents' groups was that while they were broadly supportive of these...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: One thing I have learned in this Department is that it must have a strong policy content at its core. One of my first statements to the House was to the effect that I did not want the Department of Social and Family Affairs to merely be an administrative Department responsible for paying out funds and acting as a form of social ATM. I am trying to move it on a daily basis towards a point...

Departmental Surveys. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: My Department is committed to providing a quality customer service to all its customers and to ensuring continuous improvements in the standard of service we provide. As part of this commitment, my Department carries out a variety of customer surveys to establish the level of customer satisfaction and to identify where improvements can be made. Every five years my Department commissions an...

Departmental Surveys. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Department is undergoing a modernisation programme and is examining many of the forms it uses. The FIS form has been brought to my attention on a number of occasions, as have forms relating to disability benefits and allowances. Such forms are continually modernised and shortened, where possible. At the same time, however, we must also ensure that they can still be used to elicit...