Results 7,961-7,980 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Order for Report Stage (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now."
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Under the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, landlords are legally obliged to register tenancies with the Private Residential Tenancies Board. It is a matter for the PRTB to ensure that landlords comply with the requirements of the Act. Neither my Department nor the Health Service Executive has a role in this matter and it would be an unnecessary duplication of functions for...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Perhaps I was misunderstood or did not make my point clearly but the Department already provides the PRTB with all of that information.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Does the Deputy want the Department to take over the role of the Private Rental Tenancies Board? We provide the PRTB with the information. There is a legal obligation on those involved to register with the board. Deputy Shortall makes the point that when a client of ours is going to agree that one should be registered, he or she cannot register in advance of taking possession of the...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: We are trying to be as helpful as we can in ensuring everybody is compliant. In the amendment Deputy Shortall is effectively suggesting the Department should take responsibility and that somehow the matter should come under its aegis but I do not agree. There is a properly constituted legal entity which has the responsibility and legal weight to deal with the matter and it should get on...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Is the Deputy suggesting that if a landlord does not register, the Department should withdraw the money from the social welfare recipient?
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Is the Deputy suggesting the social welfare recipient should be punished and left homeless because somebody else will not do his or her job? It is an interesting concept that the Labour Party is bringing forward. That is the alternative but it is not fair.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Rent supplement is administered on my behalf by the community welfare service division of the Health Service Executive as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible persons living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I acknowledged that.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: It will be a one-off cost.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: The substantial process that is under way recognises that the rent supplement scheme is starting to be used to support people on rent supplement in the long term, which is not what it was originally designed to do. It was designed to assist individuals with a specific need for a short period until they could sort themselves out. When it was observed that the scheme had expanded beyond what...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: If I were to do so, I would fundamentally change relationships. All sorts of issues, including means testing, would come to the fore. It would become an entirely different payment. I would not be using resources properly if I were to try to change the entire system for 18 months.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: We will see.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I would have to devise an entirelyââ
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: In general, there is no limit or restriction on the proportion or number who may receive rent supplement in an area. However, section 25 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 provides that payment of rent supplement can be refused in respect of accommodation situated in an area notified to the Minister for Social and Family Affairs by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I stated it would return to its original role of providing short-term income support.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I do.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: That is unfair.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I have stated I understand the problem; I had first hand experience of it and intend to discuss the matter with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. There is no point in me making a unilateral decision in legislation that will have no practical effect.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: It would be a pointless exercise. I want to ensure that if there is a clear way forward, we will do something about the matter. It is not easy.