Results 5,921-5,940 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Customers in receipt of jobseeker payments, both jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker's allowance, do not always notify the Department when they are signing off. Some customers may just stop collecting their payments and, in other instances, may simply state that they are signing off. Since 1971, those in receipt of jobseeker's benefit can transfer their payment to another EU country for a...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The information sought by the deputy is detailed in the table: Annual Expenditure Year Vote 38 Social Insurance Fund Total €000 €000 €000 2000 3,631,881 3,138,668 ...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Department is engaged in an ongoing programme of continuous improvement involving the redesign of office systems, business processes, procedures and work practices and the introduction of new technology solutions. In order to ensure that the potential of information technology is maximised the Department procures external consultancy to assist with this work. The Department also engages...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department are the Pensions Board, the Citizens Information Board and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department. The information requested in respect of these bodies is set out in the tables. Agency/ Board Financial Allocation per year since date of Establishment...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Facilitators work with social welfare recipients to identify appropriate training or development programmes which will enhance the skills that the individual has and ultimately improve their employment chances, as well as help them to continue to develop personally. They work in close co-operation with other agencies and service providers including FÁS, VEC, other education and training...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Processing times vary across schemes because of both the volume of applications and the differing qualification criteria. For example, means assessments are required for all of the social assistance schemes, customers must also satisfy the habitual residency conditions, and medical examinations are required for some of the illness-related schemes. In the case of insurance-based schemes, it...

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Department has taken a lead role over the years in developing and implementing identity management policies and procedures based on the use of the Personal Public Services (PPS) number. This number was previously known as the Revenue and Social Insurance (RSI) number. The name was changed to indicate the broadening of its role to one which supports delivery of a broader range of public...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has overarching responsibility for the energy portfolio and has convened an Inter-Departmental/Agency Group on Affordable Energy to coordinate and drive Government policy in this area. A public consultation process on the proposed strategy was concluded in April this year, which sought the views of interested parties on all...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: A claim for State pension (contributory) was submitted by the person concerned on the 31st May 2010. She has been awarded this pension at a weekly rate of €230.30, with effect from 14th May 2010.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The information required by the Deputy regarding the number of appeals received for each respective payment and the average waiting time in respect of each payment is given in the table with this reply. The processing times for appeals is taken as the time between date of receipt and date of finalisation. Appeals not yet finalised are not counted. I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (8 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Over the past five years one Secretary General and three Assistant Secretaries retired from my Department. A total of €1,094,572 was paid in retirement lump sums and special severance gratuities to the four people in question. Retirement lump sums accounted for €979,613 of the overall total and represented between 1.21 times and 1.5 times the annual salary on which superannuation...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am not going to accept the amendment but I accept the point being made. There are many issues relating to the 36 rates of PRSI, the different classes, etc. I am aware of a case, which might be similar to the one to which the amendment refers, where a person who had worked as a PAYE taxpayer in a shop subsequently married the employer and then had a child. She applied for the maternity...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I fully accept the spirit of what Senator McCarthy says. I have had a great deal of experience with the social welfare system and how it has developed over the years because at one stage I was effectively the employer. I was a manager of a co-operative and I learnt many of the crinkles of the social welfare system, unemployment rules, casual labour and so on. What I have seen over years...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Several elements are involved here. One issue relates to the requirement on insurance companies to compensate the Minister for illness and disability payments due to be refunded. I agreed in the Dáil to examine this issue. If there is a great heap of money available, it would be very attractive to get it. It is worth noting that the level of recovery by the compensation recovery unit...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Such people are perfectly entitled to jobseeker's allowance. Many constituents of mine, who are also constituents of the Senator, are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance. Some such people were self-employed and may still have a small self-employed income. This was the first question I double checked when I came to the Department. In the old days, when I was working in the commercial...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: If such a person has a titim tubaisteach in income, last year might have shown a profit. This would not entitle a person to a payment but the position may be different this year. In that case the rule is not absolute. I have answered innumerable parliamentary questions about this. If one can prove that the income this year will be nil, one is still entitled to jobseeker's allowance. I...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Revenue must go after and collect taxes where possible, but if a person has no income or assets, it is difficult to collect anything. If these individuals were taken to court, the court would have to take into account their lack of income. On the social welfare side of the equation, we are dealing primarily with small operators and we advise them to go to their accountants and ask them to do...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Part 12 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 imposes an obligation on spouses to maintain each other and their children and on parents to maintain their children. The Act also imposes a liability on liable relatives of recipients of certain social welfare payments to contribute a determined amount to the Department towards that payment. All one-parent family payment claimants are...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The amendment states: "The Courts Service is required automatically to notify the Minister of upward or any changes in maintenance orders." The Senators can bet their bottom dollar if there is money owing to the Department, I will go after it. Sometimes in the debate on social welfare, there is a lack of proportion regarding the amounts we are dealing with. While I am not one to sneeze at...