Results 561-580 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan
- Social Welfare Payments. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 64 together. Disability allowance is a personal allowance payable to people between 16 and 66 years of age who satisfy certain medical eligibility conditions and a means test. Under existing social welfare legislation, disability allowance is not payable where a person is resident in an institution and where the cost of his or her care and maintenance...
- Social Welfare Payments. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The Deputy and I had a brief discussion on this matter on committee yesterday and no doubt we will return to it later. The Deputy will be aware that these people were not included prior to the 1999 legislation. After 1999, people who went into an institution could bring their disability allowance with them, therefore, they were entitled to the full disability allowance by virtue of going into...
- Social Welfare Payments. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I thank the Deputy for those questions. There are two parts to this issue. One is the income part, which is the property of the person in receipt of the disability allowance or this new allowance. The other part is the amount the institution is permitted to have paid to it, which will be dealt with under legislation going forward. The first part of the issue is not involved in the...
- Social Welfare Code. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Increases in the numbers of non-marital birth, as revealed in statistics, do not necessarily result in comparable increases in the incidence of lone parenthood. In many cases the parents of the children are living together and will parent together. A significant proportion marry soon after the birth of their first child. Others continue to cohabit for a period afterwards. For example, CSO...
- Social Welfare Code. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: It is in that context that the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion last November requested the senior officials group which reports to it to draw up a report on obstacles to employment for lone parents. That report will include not just an examination of income support arrangements but also child care, education, training, information, employment and any other relevant supports. The group...
- Social Insurance. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The concept of a week of insurable employment is a central feature of the operation of the social insurance system and is defined in legislation. PRSI contributions are paid by employees and their employers at the relevant contribution rate for each week of insurable employment. These contributions progressively build towards entitlement to social insurance payments. Work sharing arrangements...
- Social Insurance. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: There is no intention on the part of the State to put anyone at a disadvantage by virtue of their work pattern. However, I understand how that can happen. This is a complicated area. Social insurance is based on contributions, and the pattern of work can affect the number of contributions a person ends up with. The final report of the social partnership working group will be published...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years, or over. It is also available to carers and to people with disability who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments. It applies to travel within the State and cross-Border journeys between here and Northern Ireland. There have been a number of proposals for extending entitlement for free travel to...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: There are two issues. One is affordability given that the extension of the scheme would cost between â¬10 million and â¬19 million approximately, and the other is a legal issue relating to the EU. We shall have to focus on the second issue to see what is possible. One could then see if one could afford it. I am sure the Deputy will not mind if I pay tribute to Deputy Stagg who has raised...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 103 together. The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. It is also available to carers and to people with disabilities who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments. The issue of extending the free travel scheme to non-resident pensioners was examined in the review of the free schemes which was...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The Deputy's suggestion is helpful and I will certainly consider it. I will ask for input from the eminent professor on the basis that the Deputy has referred to him in the House. In the first instance and before I establish any group, I want my officials to establish what scope is allowed from the point of view of Brussels. This may be a matter of fact as much as of opinion. When that scope...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I will consider the matter. I do not recall any discussions at the Council of Ministers about cross-border free travel arrangements. Other member states do not offer free schemes to the extent they are offered in Ireland. This country is unique in its schemes for free fuel and free travel. Not many countries offer these schemes and few, if any, have cross-border arrangements. I will check...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I acknowledge this is a worthy objective. The benefit would be seen in increased family ties leading perhaps to more family solidarity. The greater economic cohesion and benefits brought about by those visitors would greatly benefit the country. The figure of â¬10 million to â¬19 million is the current best estimate available to the Department of the cost of extending the scheme to the...
- Social Welfare Code. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I recently reviewed the current arrangements for the assessment of capital for social assistance purposes and am introducing significant improvements by way of the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill being debated in this House. In assessing means for social assistance purposes, account is taken of cash income a person may have together with the value of capital and property except the home....
- Social Welfare Code. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I will examine the individual case. However, the present rules are that a person's home is not taken into account. I presume that means a person's home in which a person lives. If the home is an investment, the owner does not live in it and it is available for rental, then the present rules, as I understand them, mean the property is not exempt. Cash income, the value of capital and property,...
- Social Welfare Code. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: To my knowledge, that is not the case. I will check the position but I understand the same rules, including a means test, apply.
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 69, 87, 99, 101 and 115 together. My Department issues payments each week to approximately 1.1 million customers in respect of 49 separate schemes. This requires implementing a complex set of procedures to ensure payments are produced accurately and on time. At Christmas time the process is more complex as additional procedures are required to pay double...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I regret if hardship was caused to anybody as my intention is to ensure the opposite. What occurred was not an overpayment but an advance of entitlements. To put the issue in context, of more than 1 million recipients of a weekly payment from the Department, 47,000 who have bank accounts were paid in advance for an additional week. Given that the Christmas bonus had been paid several weeks...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: While I accept that those who received a double payment may have been upset by the decision, it arose because recipients received an advance payment for the following week. I took the decision to skip a week's payment to catch up with the advance. The Department took the view â I make this point advisedly â that given that the customers in question receive payment via a bank account...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (23 Feb 2005)
Séamus Brennan: This is one of those events I wish had never happened. The Department and I regret that payments were made to the bank accounts of 47,000 welfare recipients a week in advance. Deputies may have different experiences but my understanding is that social welfare customers are generally increasingly aware of their rights and entitlements and increasingly able to manage money and budgets.