Results 10,061-10,080 of 12,637 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Services Programme (29 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: 531. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the funding to community services programmes; the cost of increasing funding in line with the national minimum wage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51231/17]

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I apologise to the committee for my absence. I was in the Dáil Chamber. I will not elaborate on the amendment in view of the fact the section has already been dealt with. I tabled the amendment because the working family payment was the Government's big idea. We were told a lot of work was being done on it. It was going to replace the family income supplement, which was heavily...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I went out last night to meet the women to whom Deputy Joan Collins referred. It was a very cold night and many of the people outside were in their 60s and 70s. Obviously, many of them feel very strongly about this. I communicated to them - in so far as I was able to - what the Minister had actually said, and they were quite heartened by that. As Deputy Brady has said, they expect...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: If the Cabinet sub-committee agrees the report, can it be published at that stage?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: Can the report be published after the Cabinet meeting?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: That is the most prudent approach we could take.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I move amendment No. 33:In page 13, after line 38, to insert the following new section: “Review of Bereavement Grant 17. The Minister for Employment and Social Protection shall, after the passing of this Act, prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas reviewing the abolition of the Bereavement Grant and setting out the options for restoring those grants.”....

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I apologise. I had meant to stipulate a timeframe, but that did not happen for some reason. I can withdraw the amendment and resubmit it on Report Stage with a timeframe. However, I would be interested to hear what the Minister has to say. Further to what Deputy Collins said, death is a sad time for a family and I have come across some very tragic cases. As people are grieving and all...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: Some of them are.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: It is utterly wrong and bordering on the bizarre to say that anybody who is paid social insurance will never have a difficulty in meeting funeral expenses. That is completely incorrect. Many people who are on low wages and already paying social insurance are supported by FIS. A family's circumstances can change. That is absurd. I am afraid a campaign will not do the business. There is...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: What was the figure in the year before the bereavement grant was abolished?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: When was that?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I am not talking about last year. I am talking about the year before the bereavement grant was abolished in 2011. I would appreciate the Minister getting me that figure.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: The Minister might have misunderstood Deputy Brady's point about lack of uniformity, which is staggering. I could guess how certain people in my constituency would be treated by different social welfare officers, depending on whom they go to. There is a very wide interpretation of the rules on hardship etc. I can be more specific about the report I want and can put a timeline on it. We...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I will withdraw the amendment on that basis and will return with an amendment on Report Stage.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: There is no doubt that fuel poverty is rampant in this country. The figure of 28% is frightening because it is more than one in four. It has been exacerbated by the cuts to the fuel allowance but the partial restoration, however small, is very welcome. I do not know if doing a report on the matter will bring any immediate improvements but I do not see any reason a report would not be done....

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: The report the Minister refers to was prepared under the aegis of another Department. Is that right? I believe it was the Department of energy.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: However, as I understand it, there is no report that specifically homes in on social welfare and the fuel allowance. What the proposer of the amendment has in mind, if I interpret him correctly, is that we have something to show the impact of the cuts on the actual levels of fuel poverty and how much of an impact it would have on fuel poverty on an incremental basis if those cuts were...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: I was about to ask the same question. If Deputy Gino Kenny were to amend his amendment for Report Stage to specify a six month timeframe rather than three, would the Minister be disposed to accept it?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Willie O'Dea: Perhaps Deputy Kenny might resubmit a new amendment at Report Stage specifying a six month timeframe.