Results 7,321-7,340 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: There have been no allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing reported in my Department by Departmental staff since 1 January 2007.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: Waiting days have been a feature of the illness benefit and jobseekers payment schemes since their inception and are a feature of similar social security schemes in many countries. The application of a three-day waiting period avoids the disproportionately high administrative costs involved in processing large numbers of claims of a very short duration. The waiting day rule is not applied in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 387 and 388 together. A Deciding Officer disallowed the jobseekers allowance claim of the person concerned from 4 October 2007, on the grounds that he was not genuinely seeking employment. The Deciding Officer took the view that he had failed to produce sufficient evidence on the basis that he produced one letter from an employer who was not in a position to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Bereavement Grant is a payment designed to assist families in dealing with death and funeral expenses. It is a scheme that relates specifically to those who have made PRSI contributions and is payable on the death of an insured person, his/her spouse and dependent children under age 18 or under age 22 if in full-time education. In order to qualify for the bereavement grant the deceased...

Written Answers — Services for People with Disabilities: Services for People with Disabilities (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: The development of personal advocacy services is a priority for my Department and in this regard additional funding of €1.9m has been provided for the Citizens Information Board in 2007 for the development of an advocacy service for people with disabilities and for the implementation of the Disability Sectoral Plan. Initially, the Personal Advocacy Service will be located in Dublin. When...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an appeal from the person concerned was received on 25th September 2007 and has been referred to an Appeals Officer who proposes to hold an oral hearing. The person concerned will be informed when arrangements have been made. The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an office of my Department that is independently responsible for determining...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: Maternity Benefit is an income maintenance payment awarded by this Department to eligible women for a 26-week period on foot of a confinement. Entitlement to this benefit for employees is contingent on entitlement to statutory Maternity Leave. The right to Maternity Leave is established under the Maternity Protection Act, 1994 — legislation which is the responsibility of the Minister for...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: The income disregard for Disability Allowance does not contain any recommended guidelines on the number of hours of employment that can be availed of but instead operates so as to encourage the maximising of overall income that can be earned from the combination of disability allowance and employment. As of June 1, 2006, the income disregard operates on the basis of a tapered withdrawal rate...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: Statistics requested by the Deputy on rent deposits over the last 3 years are set out in the table attached. Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, an exceptional needs payment (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential once-off cost, such as a payment of a rent deposit, which the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity/gas allowance, telephone allowance and free television licence schemes, is generally available to people living in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66 who are in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 396 and 397 together. The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. All carers in receipt of carer's allowance and carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance, regardless of their age, also receive a free travel pass. It is also available to people under age 66 who are...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 398 and 399 together. Tables setting out the number of Jobseekers Allowance and Jobseekers Benefit customers that ceased claiming a jobseeker's payment at each local office during 2007 are set out below. These tables have been compiled in respect of each local office the boundaries of which do not necessarily conform to county boundaries. Jobseeker's...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: The information requested by the Deputy is set out on the attached tabular statement. With the exception of those offices on which I have included specific comments, all my Department's Offices meet a basic standard of physical accessibility. In addition, my Department is continually upgrading its facilities; there is a replacement programme in place for offices found to be totally...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: The cost of running the Press Office of the Department of Social and Family Affairs is as follows: Quarter 1, 2007 Quarter 2, 2007 Quarter 3, 2007 â'¬ â'¬ â'¬ Cost 50,594 64,102 50,633 These figures cover the cost of items such as the salaries of permanent departmental staff, newspapers, media monitoring and photographs

Written Answers — Departmental Websites: Departmental Websites (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: 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 Agencies: Departmental Agencies (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: The five statutory agencies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Combat Poverty Agency, the Citizens Information Board (formerly Comhairle), the Family Support Agency and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of my Department. The Social Welfare Tribunal, which was set up in 1982, is the only statutory body...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: The published estimate of social insurance contributions for 2007 is €7,600 million and the pre-budget estimate for 2008 is €8,260 million. The employer contributions would amount approximately to 75% of each estimate while the contributions of employees and self-employed would account approximately for 20% and 5% respectively. The rates, thresholds and ceilings assumed in the 2008...

Written Answers — Data Protection: Data Protection (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: My Department administers some fifty schemes and makes payments to one million people each week. This volume of business requires the Department to depend heavily on ICT and to have responsibility for significant amounts of data. Data is generated by staff entering information to internal data-bases or by receipt of information from external agencies such as the General Register office in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: Expenditure on rent supplement to end October 2007 was €324 million. It is estimated that a further €68 million will be spent on the scheme by end 2007, bringing total expenditure for this year to €392 million. The Pre-Budget Outlook published on 18th October provides €775.5 million for supplementary welfare allowance in 2008, just under €414 million of which is for rent...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Nov 2007)

Martin Cullen: Under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, an exceptional needs payment (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which the applicant is unable to meet out of his/her own resources. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment. Each application is...