Results 7,001-7,020 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (10 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity, natural gas allowance, telephone allowance and free television licence are non-cash benefits available to pensioners living permanently in the State who satisfy specific qualifying conditions. The scheme is also available to customers under age 66 years who satisfy the conditions of the scheme. There are currently some 350,000...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (10 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: Most of the administrative expenditure incurred by my Department is not brought to account on a scheme specific basis. In many cases, services are shared between several scheme areas. Accordingly, it is not possible to identify all the costs associated with administering the State contributory scheme. The further development of systems to support the Management Information Framework and the...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (10 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The information required by the Deputy is contained within the following tabular statement: Table 1. Expenditure on Schemes Providing for People of Pension Age, 2000-2006 (€000) 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 State Pension Contributory 577,365 716,474 868,529 946,902 1,050,348 1,152,849 1,293,702 State Pension Transition 594,239 697,349 803,413 898,981 983,706 1,060,052...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (10 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE). Apart from a number of excluded categories, anyone in the State who satisfies a means test, has applied for any other benefit or allowances, has registered for work with FÁS if they are of working age and satisfies a habitual residency test...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Health Service Executive has stated that it has received an application for mortgage interest supplement from the persons concerned in respect of their residence which was re-mortgaged with a new mortgage provider in December 2006. The property was originally financed by a local authority loan. The Executive has advised that it has requested the persons concerned to provide...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (11 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Household Budget scheme is available to all social welfare customers, including those aged over 65, who are paid by means of Electronic Information Transfer (EIT) at a post office. The Household Budget scheme is a free service operated by An Post and provides an easy-pay facility for such social welfare customers to pay household bills. If the Deputy is aware of a person aged over 65...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (11 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 107 together. I am not aware of the reports mentioned by the Deputy regarding Irish Child Benefit but I am aware of a recent report in the Daily Express, dated 24th September last, regarding UK Child Benefit. Claims for Child Benefit are only put into payment when all necessary documents including original birth certificates have been obtained and...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: My Department assists and encourages the unemployed, particularly the long term unemployed, lone parents and other social welfare recipients to return to training or education through a range of measures administered by my Department's social and family support service. These measures include the payment of income support through the back to education allowance scheme to customers who are...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 352 to 358, inclusive, together. The purpose of rent supplement is to assist eligible people who are unable to provide for their immediate accommodation needs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Rent supplement is subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant for rent supplement may...

Written Answers — Departmental Correspondence: Departmental Correspondence (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: It is my Department's policy to issue all customer communications through the standard postal service. Other postal services e.g. registered, express and courier are only used where there is a necessary business need. Such need is determined by management of each business area.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The purpose of rent supplement is to assist eligible people who are unable to provide for their immediate accommodation needs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Rent supplement is subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant for rent supplement may incur. These limits take household size into account. The...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007, provided for new arrangements whereby people in receipt of certain social welfare payments, who are also providing full time care and attention, would, subject to meeting means criteria, be able to retain their main welfare payment and receive another payment. It is estimated that approximately 18,000 carers will benefit from this measure at a cost...

Written Answers — Departmental Advertising: Departmental Advertising (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The purpose of my Department's advertising and public awareness campaigns is to ensure that all citizens are made aware of their rights and entitlements and that they are kept informed of changes and improvements in schemes and services as they occur. Each campaign is designed to meet specific requirements and is subject to a separate public procurement process. Contracts are awarded to the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The person concerned applied for jobseeker's benefit on 7 September 2007. He also applied to have his claim backdated for the period 11 August 2007 to 6 September 2007. A Deciding Officer awarded him jobseeker's benefit at the weekly rate of €185.80 from 11 September 2007, but disallowed the retrospective claim on the grounds that he had not shown good reason for not making his claim on...

Written Answers — State Agencies: State Agencies (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The State Agencies currently operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Citizens Information Board (formerly Comhairle), the Family Support Agency and the Combat Poverty Agency. In addition the Pensions Ombudsman also comes under the remit of my Department. The Chief Executive of the Pensions Board is on an annual salary of €143,194 and is a member of the...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: Workers are insured under the Social Welfare Acts as either employed or self-employed contributors. All workers, both employed and self-employed, are obliged to pay PRSI contributions as a percentage of their personal reckonable income. These contributions provide entitlement to a range of contingency-based payments under various social insurance schemes — including pensions. Employments...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The living alone increase is an additional payment of €7.70 per week made to people aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. It is also available to people who are under 66 years of age who are living alone and who receive payments under one of a number of invalidity type schemes. The increase is intended as a contribution towards...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: Due to the sad and untimely death of the Branch Manager in Dunmanway an arrangement had to be put in place immediately to ensure continuity of service to customers. The number of customers involved include approximately 230 in receipt of a jobseekers payment and a further 120 on farm assist, back to work and pre retirement allowance. These customers are being facilitated by neighbouring local...

Written Answers — Regulatory Impact Assessments: Regulatory Impact Assessments (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: My Department has produced three Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIAs) since the Government Decision to introduce this policy. These related to the Citizens Information Bill 2006; the inclusion of trust-based Retirement Annuity Contracts under the relevant provisions of the Pensions Act; and amendments to provisions relating to the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme. My Department is fully...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (16 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The overall goal of my Department's Debt Management Strategy is to actively pursue the recovery of debt to maximise recovery levels, with due regard to value for money and with particular emphasis on recovery from people no longer dependant on welfare payments. The objectives of the strategy are To maximise the recovery of overpayments To efficiently record, report and monitor the occurrence...