Results 1,121-1,140 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Money Advice and Budgeting Service: Money Advice and Budgeting Service (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The money advice and budgeting service is provided by 52 MABS companies operating out of 65 centres throughout the country. At present, there are 150 money advisers and 78 administrative staff working in the MABS. The number of people availing of the MABS service for each year from 2000 to 2004 is detailed as follows: Year Total Number of Clients New Clients 2000 17,813 7,243 ...

Written Answers — Live Register: Live Register (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: As the operational areas of my Department's local offices are not coterminous with county boundaries, it is not possible to give a precise reply in this instance. However, there are three local offices in County Kildare which are located in Newbridge, Athy and Maynooth. The number of people on the live register in these offices at the end of each of the years from 1997 to 2004 is detailed as...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 255 and 256 together. As I stated in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 205 of 17 May 2005, the person concerned was refused rent supplement by the Health Service Executive based on its conclusions about the particular circumstances of her case. She has appealed against this decision. The executive has advised that a file is being prepared for...

Written Answers — Departmental Reviews: Departmental Reviews (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The first phase of the review of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme has been completed and the report of the working group is being printed for publication shortly. The second phase of the review commenced in January 2005. The work of the review group on this final phase is expected to be completed by December 2005 and its report will be published as soon as possible thereafter.

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The qualifying conditions for contributory old age pensions require a person to have paid at least 260 contributions at the appropriate rate, enter insurance ten years before pension age and achieve a yearly average of at least ten contributions paid or credited on their social insurance record from 1953 — when the unified system of social insurance came into effect — or the date of entry...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department administers several child income support measures, including child benefit, which delivers a standard rate of payment in respect of all children in a family, regardless of income levels or employment status. Child benefit supports all children but delivers proportionately more assistance to those on low incomes and with larger families. It is not intended primarily to meet child...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The treatment benefit scheme operated by my Department provides to insured persons, and their dependent spouses, a range of services in the area of dental, optical and aural benefit. The availability of these benefits is subject to certain PRSI contribution conditions. The PRSI contribution classes which qualify for treatment benefit are A, E, H and P. Operational improvements are made from...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned was in receipt of unemployment assistance from 16 April 1986 to 12 April 2005 when his claim was disallowed on the grounds he is not available for or genuinely seeking full-time employment. He applied for farm assist on 5 May 2005 and his file is with a social welfare inspector for investigation. A decision will be given as soon as possible and he will be notified of the...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (25 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The centre in question, based in inner city Dublin has been in receipt of funding since 2000 under the family and community services resource centre, FRC, programme, which is administered by the family support agency. All FRCs are funded on the basis of three year renewable contracts, subject to satisfactory progress being made. Under its contract, the centre received funding of €81,372 in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned has been awarded an electricity and a telephone allowance with effect from 27 March 2005. A lifetime free television licence has also been awarded to him with effect from the expiry date of his current television licence. The ESB and Eircom will be notified as soon as possible to apply the allowances to his account. He will receive his television licence with his...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned applied for invalidity pension on 23 August 2004. Although she fulfilled the medical eligibility criteria the social insurance, PRSI, conditions were not satisfied. She was refused invalidity pension and was notified of this decision on 14 October 2004, the reasons for it and of her right of appeal to the social welfare appeals office. The person concerned appealed this...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (25 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned, who is currently serving as a temporary clerical officer in the Department's Mullingar office, competed at a competition organised in 2002 by the Public Appointments Service, formerly Office of the Public and Civil Service Commission. This competition was for clerical positions and was confined to people who were employed in a temporary capacity. She was informed by the...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (25 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Family income supplement, FIS, was introduced in 1984 to provide income support for employees on low earnings with families and thereby preserve the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where they might otherwise only be marginally better off than if they were fully reliant on social welfare payments. Weekly payments of FIS are made to families, including one-parent families,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned attended her local office on 19 May and sought an application form for unemployment assistance. In the context of completing the application form she was requested to produce medical evidence of fitness for work. On production of this and the claim form duly completed, her claim will be processed as quickly as possible.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The free travel companion pass scheme was introduced in 1990 for persons who qualify for free travel and who, on account of their disability, are unable to travel alone. Those who are eligible for a companion free travel pass include: recipients of disability allowance or invalidity pension who are medically assessed as being unfit to travel unaccompanied; people who are blind or severely...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The rent supplement scheme is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any role in determining entitlement in individual cases. The position remains as advised in my reply to Question No. 128, which I answered for the Deputy on 12 May 2005. The Dublin-mid Leinster area of the executive advised then that it had...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Detailed data relating to the amount of social insurance contributions remitted by the child care sector is not held by my Department in a form which is suitable for directly estimating the cost of abolishing employers PRSI in their case. However, based on data from the national child care census report baseline data 1999-2000, it is tentatively estimated that exempting child care providers...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: There are currently three types of payments within the social welfare system: universal, which is payable regardless of contributions or income, for example, child benefit; insurance, which is payable according to contributions paid into the social insurance fund; assistance, which is payable based on need and subject to certain contingencies such as unemployment or old age — these payments...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: As part of the annual Estimates and budgetary cycles, my Department estimates the level of PRSI contribution revenue which can be expected in the coming year and also the impact of any possible changes in the key parameters within the PRSI system, such as contribution rates, earnings thresholds for different payment rates, the employee PRSI free allowance and the ceiling on employees...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned applied for carer's allowance on 14 April 2005. The principal conditions for receipt of the allowance are that full-time care and attention is required and being provided and that the means test that applies is satisfied. Her application was refused on the grounds that full-time care and attention as prescribed in regulations was not required in this case. She was...