Results 9,661-9,680 of 12,637 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: If one looks at chart 11 in the documentation submitted to members, A11 - other working age income supports. The reduction is €4.25 million, or 10%.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: Will the Department supply figures for that item of expenditure since the abolition of the bereavement grant? Is that possible? The reason I ask is that when we raised the abolition of the bereavement grant initially with the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Burton, she said people would be taken care of from the exceptional needs fund. It was my experience at constituency level that even...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: Rents keep going up but the figure keeps going down. Is that due to the transition to HAP?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: Do we have any figures for it? What Department provides the assistance for housing assistance payments?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: The Minister referred to maternity benefits and I thank him for his advice regarding online applications. I am still not clear why many people are not yet in a position to apply online. I am still a bit unclear about how a glitch seems to have developed in the ordinary system by means of which people make written applications. It is not clear from the Minister's reply. Perhaps he will...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: Is it €2.4 million?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: Working age employment supports is where we should be discussing JobPath. As I understand it, JobPath is an aid to employment. It is an employment support. Where exactly is it accounted for in chart 15? Community employment schemes, rural social schemes and all the other aids to employment are here but which refers to JobPath? We have JobsPlus and we have the wage subsidy scheme.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: To make a general point on this section of the Estimates, as the Minister said in his opening statement, an awful lot of the payments in social protection are demand-led. Obviously, if someone fulfils the qualifications, one gets a number and multiplies the number by the rate and that is straightforward. This section is one of the smaller items of expenditure, only about 5%, but that is...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: In his opening statement, the Minister mentioned he expected an increase in the number of recipients of carer's allowance. I ask him to give us details on that. Regarding the metrics, the target is to have a decision on disability allowance within 12 weeks. Only 73% of claims are being decided within 12 weeks. People can experience great hardship waiting for disability allowance. They...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: What will that bring the total figure to?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I understand that.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (18 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I was looking at the total allocation for social protection for 2017 and it is €19.854 billion. I submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister on the amount of that allocation which related to fraud and the figure of €41 million was provided. I have done a quick calculation and determined that €41 million is one fifth of 1% of the total social welfare budget. It...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Labour Activation Measures (23 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: 317. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons that have been subject to sanctions for non-engagement with activation services in each of the years 2012 to 2016 and to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24082/17]

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Poverty Data (23 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: 318. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the rate of severe material deprivation for lone parent households here as measured by EUROSTAT in tabular form; the way in which this rate compares to the EU average; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24083/17]

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Unemployment Levels (23 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: 319. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the long-term unemployment rate here; the way in which this compares to the EU average; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24084/17]

Pension Fund (Prohibition of Levies) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members] (25 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This Bill is part of a two phase process. I have produced it in its current form to ascertain the views of the House on the matter. If the House is prepared to support it I will then bring forward legislation to provide for a constitutional referendum so this prohibition can be written into the Constitution. I understand that we do...

Pension Fund (Prohibition of Levies) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members] (25 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: It is dated 3 March 2010. I can make a copy of it available to the Minister.

Pension Fund (Prohibition of Levies) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members] (25 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: My apologies, the Minister is correct. To the best of my recollection, the Fine Gael-Labour Party programme for Government contained a similar commitment. Deputy Burton, when Minister for Social Protection, mentioned this numerous times but we have seen no action on it. The current Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar, in his recent campaign for the leadership of Fine Gael...

Pension Fund (Prohibition of Levies) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members] (25 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I appreciate that there is no levy in place now but we want to ensure that it will not, at some point in the future, be brought back in the format in which it previously existed. No Government wants to bring in a levy like that, but the amount of moneys held by pension funds is an irresistible temptation to Governments when times are hard and when ready cash is needed. The Minister...

Pension Fund (Prohibition of Levies) Bill 2016: Second Stage [Private Members] (25 May 2017)

Willie O'Dea: Deputy Brady accused me of hypocrisy. Being accused of hypocrisy by the party that was spawned by Freddie Scappaticci and Slab Murphy is like being called big, green and ugly by the Incredible Hulk. It really is a joke.