Results 14,841-14,860 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (20 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: A Deciding Officer awarded the person concerned jobseeker's allowance at the weekly rate of €56.80 from 8 February 2008. A claim for a retrospective jobseeker's allowance payment for the period from December 2007 to February 2008 is currently being examined. A decision will be given as soon as possible and he will be notified of the outcome. Under Social Welfare legislation decisions in...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (20 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: My Department's activities require the engagement of a range of consultancy expertise. In the main consultancy expertise is sought to support the Department with a number of strategic multi-annual programmes aimed at enhancing the delivery of the services to the customer e.g. the Service Delivery Modernisation Programme (SDM) and to provide technical consultancies relating to the ongoing...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (20 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: My Department administers around 50 schemes and makes payments to 1 million people each week. In order to deliver these services efficiently and effectively, a number of staff in the Department have been supplied with mobile phones for use in the course of their work. These phones are supplied for official use only and arrangements are in place to reimburse the department for any personal...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Offices: Social Welfare Offices (20 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: My Department delivers a front-line service through a network of 60 local offices and 65 branch offices countrywide. The 60 local offices are staffed by departmental staff. The 65 branch offices are run by private individuals who are employed under a contract for service by my department to administer social welfare services, with the exception of claims decisions, to members of the public in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Offices: Social Welfare Offices (20 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: My Department delivers a front-line service through a network of 60 local offices and 65 branch offices countrywide. The main services provided from these offices include jobseekers payments, one-parent family payment and a customer information service. The 60 local offices are staffed by departmental staff. The 65 branch offices are run by private individuals who are employed under a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (20 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Department and An Post are working on a solution to enable a person who collects their payment using a social services card to have an agent appointed if that becomes necessary. This solution will be rolled out from June 2008. In the meantime, if a person who normally collects his/her payment by card is unable to collect the payment for a short period, they can nominate a family member...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (20 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 335 and 337 together. The person concerned, who is a self-employed carpenter, applied for jobseeker's allowance on 18 April 2008. A Deciding Officer assessed his weekly means at €356.00 and awarded the allowance to him at the weekly rate of €69.10 from 22 April 2008. A first payment issued to him on 12 May 2008. The means assessment in this case is...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (20 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: A Deciding Officer disallowed the jobseeker's allowance claim of the person concerned from 19 November 2007 on the grounds that his means were in excess of the maximum rate payable. He was assessed with weekly means of €442.00. This includes means of €48.10 from self-employment and €393.93 (rounded to €394.00) from spouse's income. He appealed this decision and the Appeals Officer,...

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (20 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Details of the numbers of civil servants who worked in the constituency offices of the Minister and Minister of State in this Department for the period from 1997 to date are set out in the following table: Period No. of civil servants in Minister's Office No. of civil servants in Minister of State's Office January 1997 to June 1997 4 3 June 1997 to June 2002 5* — June 2002 to September...

Social Welfare Appeals. (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I thank both Deputies for raising this issue. Eligibility for respite care grant was originally confined to people in receipt of certain primary social welfare payments, who received it automatically. Such people continue to do so. In the 2005 budget, eligibility for the respite care grant was extended to include all carers irrespective of means or contribution record but subject to certain...

Written Answers — Civil Registration: Civil Registration (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: An tArd Chlaráitheoir (Registrar General) is the person with statutory responsibility for the administration of the civil registration system in Ireland. I have made enquiries with the Registrar General and he has informed me that the position is as follows. Section 46 of the Status of Children Act, 1987, provides that the husband in a legally subsisting marriage shall be presumed to be the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: My Department operates the free travel scheme which provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 90 private transport operators. Airlink and other special...

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: My Department has taken a lead role over the years in developing and implementing identity management policies and procedures based on the use of the Personal Public Services (PPS) number. This number was previously known as the Revenue and Social Insurance (RSI) number. The name was changed to indicate the broadening of its role to one which supports delivery of a broader range of public...

Written Answers — : (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I am conscious of the need to facilitate persons in receipt of social welfare payments when taking up employment opportunities. To ensure that supports are structured to support this objective, a number of measures have been introduced in recent years to remove disincentives to taking up employment and to assist in the transition from welfare to work. These include easing of means tests...

Written Answers — : (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The social welfare system has been improved over recent decades to make it easier for people, and women in particular, to qualify for contributory pensions. Social insurance coverage has been extended to include new categories of employment such as part-time workers and qualifying conditions for pensions have been eased. The home-makers scheme was introduced to limit the impact periods...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Programme for Government states that 'The role and economic contribution of spouses working on the farm will be better recognised within the social insurance system, following on from Budget 2007 which allowed recipients of Farm Assist to make PRSI contributions for the first time'. Spouses working for self-employed contributors are specifically excepted from social insurance...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Agreed Programme for Government includes the following commitment relating to the lowest rate of social welfare payments: Continue to maintain the value of the lowest rate of social welfare payments as agreed in the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion. In Budget 2008, the lowest rate of social welfare payment was increased by €12.00 per week or 6.5%, thereby fully maintaining the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 181 and 182 together. Supporting and recognising carers in our society is, and has been, a priority of the Government since 1997. Over that period, weekly payment rates to carers have greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's benefit and the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Supporting and recognising carers in our society is a priority of the Government. Since 1997, weekly payment rates to carers have greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's benefit and the respite care grant have been introduced and extended. Carers can also qualify for free...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The development of a National Carers' Strategy is a key Government commitment in both the national partnership agreement "Towards 2016" and the Programme for Government. A working group, chaired by the Department of An Taoiseach, has begun work on developing the strategy. My Department provides the secretariat to the working group which also includes representatives of the Departments of...