Results 801-820 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Settlements: Social Welfare Settlements (13 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The position in this instance is that an out of court settlement was reached in the case of one Waterford docker without any implication of liability on behalf of my Department. The settlement applied to the person concerned alone and does not apply in the case of other dockers.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (14 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The executive has advised that the person concerned applied for supplementary welfare allowance after she left her direct provision accommodation at the end of December 2004. Her application was refused on the statutory grounds that she was not habitually...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: One of the qualifying conditions for one parent family allowance is that a person be separated for at least three months. On examining the application of the person concerned, it was noted that she separated from her partner on 10 March 2005 and, therefore, her claim cannot be considered at this time. If the circumstances of the person concerned do not change before 10 June 2005 it will be...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The position remains as set out in my reply to Question No. 174, which I answered for the Deputy on 25 November 2004. The relevant office of the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive has again advised that it has no record of an application for rent supplement from the person concerned. If he wishes to apply for a rent supplement he should contact the community welfare...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In budget 2005, I announced the extension of the respite care grant scheme to all carers providing full-time care to an older person or a person with a disability, regardless of means and subject to certain qualifying conditions. The respite care grant will continue to be payable to recipients of carer's allowance, carer's benefit, prescribed relative allowance, constant attendance allowance...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The back to education allowance is a second chance education opportunities programme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications. The objective is to increase their prospects of returning to the active workforce and reduce the risk of them becoming dependent on social welfare on a long-term basis. The allowance...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: It would cost €6.7 million over three years to do that. I will make that decision well in advance of next September.

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: As the Deputy is aware, the qualifying period was six months and I increased it to 12 months in the budget. I have said consistently since then that it does not come into effect until September and that well in advance of September I will finalise my thinking on that, particularly in terms of sourcing the additional funding. The timescale is fine. It is nothing different from what I have been...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Money.

Nursing Home Subventions. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I understand my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, will very shortly bring proposals to Government on repayments to residents and former residents of publicly-funded long-stay care places. Over the period in question, my Department paid affected persons their full pension and other social welfare entitlements and had no function in the deduction of the charges...

Nursing Home Subventions. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: It is my intention that any repayments will not impact on current pension entitlements. I will bring forward proposals in this regard when I have full details of the repayments scheme. The repayments scheme has not yet been signed off by Government or finally approved and as soon as we have that scheme finalised, I will be able to bring forward proposals to give effect to my intention that...

Nursing Home Subventions. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I will review the matter, especially as it relates to deceased persons. The Deputy should be aware, however, that the funds being recouped to the Exchequer were not, for whatever reason, the legal entitlements of whoever received them. Means may inadvertently not have been disclosed for example. We are clawing back money to which people were not entitled. Having said that, I will review the...

Nursing Home Subventions. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I will review the matter.

Child Support. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The Deputy refers, perhaps, to a review on the possible merging of child dependant allowances and family income supplement to form a second tier of child benefit support. The review is being undertaken by the National Economic and Social Council. Under its terms of reference, the review does not specifically deal with the backdating of claims as there is a general obligation on people to...

Child Support. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I can see how difficulties arise for individuals. It has been a long-standing feature of the social welfare code here and in other jurisdictions that, other than in exceptional circumstances, claims are accepted only from a current date. Where extenuating circumstances exist, backdated payments can be made for up to six months, or longer in the case of some schemes, where proof of entitlement...

Child Support. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Applicants for one parent family payment are required to make ongoing efforts to obtain adequate maintenance from former spouses or, in the case of unmarried applicants, the other parent of a child. Generally, maintenance is obtained through negotiation or court order, although it is increasingly the case that separated couples use my Department's family mediation service which is being...

Child Support. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I have acknowledged that this area is in need of a serious overhaul. Only 14% of single fathers — by and large the maintenance comes from fathers — have had determination orders issued against them. No contributions are due from a further 49% who, although they were working, their income was deemed to be low. Some 13% of liable relatives are on social welfare and it has been deemed that...

Child Support. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: It is not that simple. I wish that it were. The mother is in receipt of the lone parent's allowance. The money paid to the Department by fathers is almost certainly considerably less than the lone parent's allowance. It is not a matter of the money not being passed on to families. If it were passed on, it would likely interfere with the mother's lone parent's allowance because her income...

Child Support. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: It is not the case that the Department is holding money back from children who are entitled to it. A mother is entitled to a lone parent's allowance but maintenance funds from the Department could affect her means-tested payment.

Child Support. (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Only half of it is not affected.