Results 7,181-7,200 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Aeroplane electronics have become so much better that they can land in a fog.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: A lot fewer. As the Deputy is aware, it is one of the safest forms of travel because human error has been removed. It is the reason that it is relatively safer to get into an aeroplane than into a car because there is less human input involved. Therefore, while I do not believe that electronics cannot be tampered with or that they are foolproof, in many cases they provide a better result....

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: One never knows.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: As I stated on Committee Stage, I believe there must be rolling reform of the rent supplement scheme and I have been involved in this since I came into this Department. I do not have a particular objection to the Deputy's proposal in respect of the tax clearance certificate and it should be considered in the ongoing review. However, it does not actually deal with the problem because if one...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I understand that the Deputy has clarified that he is referring to State pensions. There are three types of State pension:- State pension (transition), State pension (contributory) and State pension (non-contributory). Both State pension (transition) and State pension (contributory) are among a number of social welfare schemes based upon social insurance. Payments based on social insurance...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: In the timeframe available, I regret that my Department is not in a position to reply to this question. My Department will be in contact with the Deputy over the coming days and will reply in full to the question raised.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Criminal prosecutions are taken against persons who defraud the social welfare payments system and employers who fail to carry out their statutory obligations. Prosecutions are not reported by region therefore the information requested is not available.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I propose to take Questions Nos. 205, 206 and 208 together. The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the following tabular statement. The numbers in receipt of the three payments was broadly stable at about 7,500 in aggregate in 2005 and 2006. The numbers of recipients of each of the payments rose in 2007. The number of Jobseekers Allowance and Jobseekers Benefit, taken...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The purpose of rent supplement is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation, whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Since 2005, the number of individuals in receipt of rent supplement in Waterford has increased by 27%. The information the Deputy has...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I propose to take Questions Nos. 209 to 213, inclusive, together. The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the following tabular statement. Table: Farm Assist by Selected Counties, 2005 to 2010 County 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 (October) Pending Decision (October 2010) Carlow 57 58 52 56 70 99 7 Clare 354 404 393 417 511 626 22 Kilkenny 117 113 118 112 135 174 8...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The person concerned submitted an application for Jobseekers Allowance on 8 November 2010. The payment of Jobseekers Allowance is subject to a means test and in this regard the file was forwarded to a social welfare inspector who conducted a means assessment on 24 November 2010. The inspector's report is complete and has been returned to Longford Local Office where a decision will issue to...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The qualifying conditions for State pension (transition) require the applicant to · have entered insurable employment before attaining the age of 55 years. · have at least 260 paid contribution weeks, from employment since entry into insurance. · satisfy the yearly average condition. The person concerned applied for State pension (transition) in May 2010. His claim was disallowed on...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The following table sets out the Department's expenditure on refreshments for meetings and functions from 2008 to 10 December 2010. This expenditure is included in the Incidental Expenses subhead of the Department's Vote. Year Amount (€) 2008 149,786 2009 100,682 up to 10/12/2010 61,812 The type of expenses included beverages, refreshments and lunches for meetings, functions and...

Written Answers — Medical Aids and Appliances: Medical Aids and Appliances (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The medical appliance benefit scheme is a scheme under which qualified customers may reclaim part of the cost of the purchase or repair of a hearing aid. Eligibility is based on PRSI contributions. Only PRSI classes A, E, H, and P are reckonable for eligibility for this benefit. Neither the person concerned nor her spouse have sufficient qualifying PRSI contributions paid. They have most...

Written Answers — Unemployment Statistics: Unemployment Statistics (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The total number of persons on the Live Register at the end of November 2010 was 425,002, of which 150,327 were classified as having been unemployed for over one year. A breakdown of the 150,327 by county is contained in the tabular statement. Tabular Statement The number of persons in long-term unemployment at end November 2010. COUNTY > I year Carlow 2,361 Cavan 2,773 Clare 3,960...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Health Service Executive (HSE) has advised that rent supplement is not payable to the person concerned as she has refused three offers of accommodation provided by a housing authority.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Payment of illness benefit, to the person concerned, was disallowed by a Deciding Officer following an examination by a Medical Assessor of the Department who expressed the opinion that she was capable of work. An appeal was opened on 20 November 2010 and the Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that, in accordance with statutory requirements, the Department was asked for the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: As the Deputy will be aware, the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) provides supplementary income to certain categories of low income farming and fishing families. The Scheme is operated by my Department and managed at local level by the Local Development Companies in rural areas and Údarás na Gaeltachta in the Gaeltacht. The person referred to has made an application to participate on the RSS and...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Mortgage interest supplement is subject to a means test which is normally calculated to ensure that, after payment of rent or mortgage interest, an eligible person has income equal to the rate of basic supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to their family circumstances, less a minimum contribution, currently €24, which each recipient is required to pay from his or her own resources....

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (14 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The qualifying conditions for State pension (contributory) require the applicant to · have entered insurable employment before attaining the age of 56 years. · have at least 260 paid contribution weeks, from employment or self-employment, since entry into insurance. · satisfy the yearly average condition. The person concerned satisfies the above conditions and has a total of 628 reckonable...