Results 481-500 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Telephone Allowance Scheme: Telephone Allowance Scheme (3 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The primary objective of the telephone allowance scheme administered by my Department is to ensure access to help in an emergency and to provide an element of security. A secondary objective is to encourage social contact and to assist in the prevention of social isolation for those living alone. The structure of the allowance was changed in 2003 to make it a cash credit on bills and not...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned applied for unemployment assistance in March 1993 and has been paid since that time, with the exception of short periods when he engaged in employment-casual employment. Following a review of his claim payment was disallowed, with effect from 10 November 2004, on the grounds that he failed to show that his means did not exceed the statutory limit, €134.80, at that time....

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (3 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: While the €317.43 income limit to which the Deputy refers has not been increased recently, other improvements, which I identified in my previous reply, have been made to the arrangements for assessing the amount of rent supplement payable to those participating in community employment schemes. I consider that the current eligibility thresholds and disregards, together with improvements in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Payments: Social Welfare Payments (3 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The number and percentage of customers paid by electronic funds transfer under the main schemes administered by my Department in 2002, 2003 and 2004 are shown in the tables set out below. My Department's policy is to offer customers as wide a choice of payment options as possible. The current choice includes payment at post offices by means of a PPO book, payment electronically using a swipe...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Payments: Social Welfare Payments (3 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned applied for carer's allowance and was refused on the grounds that her weekly means exceeded the statutory limit. Her means, derived from her spouse's earnings and a small amount of farm income, amount to €265.95 weekly following the application of the €500 income disregard that applies in the case of carer's allowance. Guidelines governing the application of the means...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Continued entitlement to disability allowance is subject to the person satisfying a means test and the medical eligibility criteria that apply. Legislation provides that all income which the claimant and his or her spouse or partner have is assessable for means purposes subject to certain exemptions. Following a review, the disability allowance claim of the person concerned was disallowed by...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 341 and 347 together. The conditions for receipt of the extended respite care grant will be set out in the forthcoming Social Welfare Bill and regulations. As set out in my speech at budget time, the following broad conditions will apply: the carer must be providing full-time care to a person who is in need of such care; as is the case with recipients of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: A person aged 66 years or over may qualify for an old age non-contributory pension if his or her weekly means do not exceed €171.10. All income is taken into account in calculating the means including the value of any property owned, but excluding a person's own home. Each of the couple concerned is getting an old age non-contributory pension of €38.50 per week based upon weekly means of...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department administers a number of child income support measures, including child benefit which delivers standard rates of payment in respect of all qualified children in a family regardless of income levels or employment status. Child benefit supports all children but delivers proportionately more assistance to those on low incomes and with larger families. It is not intended primarily to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department aims, through the provision of a range of supports, to encourage and assist people with disabilities and long-term illnesses who are in receipt of social welfare payments to identify and take up available employment, training and other self-development opportunities, where appropriate. This is achieved through a number of measures, which include: exemptions from the general "no...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: A person is not permitted, as a general rule, to engage in work while receiving disability benefit. Legislation provides, however, that a person may be granted an exemption from this rule where she-he is engaged in part-time work in the nature of rehabilitation or occupational therapy, with a view to return to full-time employment. The person concerned has been in receipt of disability...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: There are now 23,915 people in total receiving either carer's allowance or carer's benefit. Some 21,001 of these are in receipt of carer's allowance at the maximum rate and another 2,233 are on reduced rates. A further 681 people are currently in receipt of carer's benefit. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, included a question in the 2002 census to identify the number of persons providing...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The estimated cost of social welfare fuel allowances in 2004 is €84 million, benefiting some 270,000 households. The estimated additional cost of increasing the allowance to €12 and to €15 per week for the 29-week winter heating season would be approximately €23 million and €47 million, giving a total scheme cost of €107 million or €131 million, respectively. The estimated...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Under the legislative provisions that apply to carer's allowance all income which the claimant and his-her spouse have is assessable for means purposes. In the case of carer's allowance income disregards of €250 for a single person and €500 for a married couple apply. Any means in excess of the disregards are assessable. The person concerned has been in receipt of carer's allowance since...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I understand that the Deputy's question refers to the possibility of removing the time restrictions from the free travel scheme. Time restrictions have been a feature of the free travel scheme since its inception. The central issue in regard to time restrictions is that of capacity constraints and the pressure on the transport system from commuters travelling to and from work and school in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Subject to certain conditions, including a means test, rent supplements are available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme administered on my behalf by the community welfare staff of the Health Service Executive, HSE. The southern region of the HSE has advised that an overpayment of rent supplement occurred in this case owing to the failure of the person concerned to notify the...

Written Answers — Child Poverty: Child Poverty (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The Deputy is referring to the first results from the 2003 EU survey of income and living conditions, EU-SILC, which were released by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, last month. The findings of this survey are a valuable contribution to the comprehensive research already undertaken into income, living standards and the extent of poverty in Ireland. A key message from the survey is that,...

Written Answers — Income Support: Income Support (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The back to education allowance is a second chance education opportunities programme 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. At present, to qualify for participation in the scheme an applicant must be, inter alia, in receipt of a relevant...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (8 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Under the Government's decentralisation programme for the Civil Service and public service, my Department's headquarter sections and the social welfare appeals office are scheduled to re-locate to six locations, Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon, Donegal, Buncrana, Carrickmacross and Drogheda. In addition, the Combat Poverty Agency and Comhairle, which operate under the aegis of my Department, are...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (9 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Family income supplement was introduced in 1984 with the purpose of providing an incentive to low-paid employees with families to take up or remain in full-time employment in circumstances where they might otherwise be only marginally better off then of claiming another social welfare payment. The scheme does not apply to self-employed people. Arrangements already exist whereby self-employed...