Results 7,361-7,380 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen
- Social Welfare Benefits. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: Much as Deputy Enright might like me to do so, I cannot put the budget on the record of the House this afternoon. The development of a strategy for carers, which has happened over the past few years, resources and major income supports are very important. I, like Deputy Enright, have met many carers throughout the country who say that the quality of their lives has been transformed in...
- Social Welfare Fraud. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: A memorandum of understanding between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland concerning co-operation and mutual assistance in the administration of social security schemes was signed on 9 October 2000. The memorandum provides for the establishment of a management committee, which meets several times a year and oversees and directs the...
- Social Welfare Fraud. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: I must stop giving all this wonderful information if I cannot deliver it.
- Social Welfare Fraud. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: The Deputy's question was specific to Northern Ireland and, therefore, all the information I provided relates to cross-Border fraud involving people from that jurisdiction.
- Social Welfare Fraud. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: There has obviously been a misunderstanding because the information I provided relates specifically to people from Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Deputy's supplementary questions related to all EU borders. There is a memorandum of understanding in place and cases are continually being investigated. The seven prosecutions and the 15 pending relate specifically to fraud...
- Social Welfare Code. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: The Government discussion paper, "Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents", put forward proposals for the introduction of a new social assistance payment for lone parents and other low income families with young children. It also proposed a range of additional services, including the expanded availability and range of education and training opportunities, the extension of the national...
- Social Welfare Code. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: I would not necessarily state that people are far better off if they are not married and are living alone.
- Social Welfare Code. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: I agree with the Deputy's principal point regarding the cohabitation rule. The latter was based, clearly and historically, on a purely financial consideration that took no account of the welfare of all involved in what would constitute a family unit. A child who is involved with both parents â regardless of whether they are married or single â enjoys a better upbringing and will have a...
- Social Welfare Code. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: Many people in the agencies involved in trying to resolve difficulties in this area want to ensure that the other services will buy into this change and that it will not all take the form of a simple payment.
- Social Welfare Code. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: That is what we must achieve.
- Social Welfare Code. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: If it was merely a matter of changing the cohabitation rule, we could do it tomorrow morning. However, it is not possible to proceed in that way because there are huge knock-on effects, involving many other aspects of the social welfare system, which must be taken into consideration. I want to get agreement between the various parties to the different perspectives, particularly those who...
- Residency Permits. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: I have already described in my answer to Deputy Enright's question the reasons for the introduction of the habitual residence condition and the effect of the condition, so I will confine this answer to the EU aspect of Deputy Durkan's question. The habitual residence condition does not introduce any distinctions based on citizenship, nationality or any other factor, and it applies equally to...
- Child Support. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: The child benefit office is responsible for the administration of the child benefit scheme and the early child care supplement scheme which my Department administers for the Office of the Minister for Children. There are over 570,000 customers, and 1.1 million children are currently receiving payments totalling over â¬2.6 billion in 2007. The child benefit office operates a phone service...
- Child Support. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: I would not seek to justify what happened to the Deputy or to anyone else. It is utterly unacceptable and I have made that clear in the Department. We have tried to put extra staff in there to cope with the volumes on certain days. It appears that on the particular day the Deputy called, there were technical problems with the phone system which compounded the problem. I hope that if the...
- Child Support. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: I have experienced the same frustration myself, but it does not just apply to the public sector. It also applies to many of the private companies providing services in this country. I have given up trying to get through to some major companies in this country just to do my own personal business. It drives me absolutely nuts to be told to press one button or another by an answering machine....
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 131 together. Information on poverty levels, deprivation and social exclusion is provided in the EU survey on income and living conditions, which is conducted on an annual basis by the Central Statistics Office. The most recent results were published on 28 November and refer to 2006. Data from the survey indicate that the overall consistent poverty...
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: I am not in a position to disclose tomorrow's budget. One child in consistent poverty is one too many, let alone 96,000. Deputy Shortall raised an important point and it gets to the nub of the matter. The issue for many agencies and voluntary organisations is not just about money from my Department. There is a range of issues on how the agencies operate and how we can get unemployed...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66, 69 and 72 together. Supporting and recognising carers in our society is, and has been, a priority of the Government since 1997. Over that period, weekly payment rates to carers have greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's benefit and...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: The Family Income Supplement (FIS) provides income support for employees on low earnings with families. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were claiming other social welfare payments. There are currently some 21,000 people in receipt of FIS. My Department undertakes a number of...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (4 Dec 2007)
Martin Cullen: All contributory payments include, where appropriate, an increase for a dependent spouse or partner. This increase is means-tested with a full increase payable where a spouse's income is less than â¬100 per week, and reduced rates payable until income exceeds â¬280 per week. Unlike the means test for non-contributory payments, a household means test does not apply, i.e. a decision is made...