Results 781-800 of 26,396 for speaker:David Cullinane

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Something like that. However, people who are somewhat incapacitated need time to recover. That is the reality if they are victims of accidents at work.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Yes, but the disablement benefit is being cut and they will not be able to avail of it if the loss of faculty is less than 15%. It is 15% now, but can the Minister give us a guarantee that in future budgets, that figure will not become 20%, 30%, or 40%? How is this figure assessed? Does an independent medical doctor assess it? I look forward to the Minister's response.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: The only part of this section with which I can agree is the change in the definition of "spouse" to include "civil partner or cohabitant". Apart from this, I must oppose the thrust of what the Minister is trying to do. The section cuts the half rate qualified child increase for people on invalidity pension or contributory pension or in receipt of carer's benefit. The Minister has said...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: That is in section 7.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: The spin from the Government side has been mentioned, in that its representatives have stated that the people affected by this cut are entitled to secondary benefits.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: We are aware of that. In some situations, they may qualify for an increase in family income supplement, FIS, but that will not compensate for this cut. The Minister is trying to put everyone on a par with the jobseeker's allowance, but not everyone should be. How can carers be on a par with jobseekers? There is a clear difference. The half-rate qualified child increase exists for a...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: There is some confusion because I was minded to support section 5——

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: ——because I saw section 5 supporting an anomaly in the system.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: However, the explanatory memorandum may cause some confusion. It states: "Section 5 provides that the implementation of certain provisions of Schedule 6 to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, relating to changes in the entitlement conditions for State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Transition) with effect from 6 April 2012, will not apply to existing recipients of those...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: That was the first part of it. I understood that because there was some difficulty with the timeframe that was inserted into the Act——

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: The purpose of this is to exclude those recipients because overnight their payments could be ceased if this was not changed.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: However, the Minister might be able to explain the second part of the explanatory memorandum: "Paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 provides for the increase in the minimum number of paid employment or self-employment contributions required to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory) and the State Pension (Transition) from 260 to 520 with effect from 6 April 2012." Perhaps that is where the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: This section deals with an increase in the number of contributions that will be necessary to avail of a widow's pension or a surviving civil partner's pension. Judging from the Bill, the threshold will increase next year from 156 contributions to 260 and in the following year from 260 to 520.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Certainly in 2012, an increase from 156 contributions to 260 is envisaged. This is an increase from three years' contributions to five years'. This is similar to the debate that took place earlier on the disablement allowance payment in that Sinn Féin is concerned that this, again, could be a slippery slope, as the threshold appears to be increasing all the time. The number of...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: Very good.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: After all that.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: This section deals with the cuts in child benefit. One of the parties in government made a very clear pre-election promise not to cut child benefit. This needs to be stated because when people go to vote into the polling booth, they vote on the basis of what they have heard from politicians and parties. While voters do not accept everything parties state, when politicians said this was a...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: The Labour Party and Barnardos.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: To be fair to him, he is the CEO of Barnardos and it was in that capacity that he made his remarks.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (15 Dec 2011)

David Cullinane: I am not interested in what he is paid, rather I am interested in what he has to say on this issue because he speaks with authority, given the organisation he represents. Mr. Finlay stated: It is well known that larger families are at a greater risk of poverty ... 23% of families in Ireland have three or more children and it is their childhoods that are being compromised. This is a policy...