Results 14,881-14,900 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: To be entitled to jobseeker's benefit or allowance a person must be available for and capable of work. The person concerned had been in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and was paid in Dublin, until 1 April 2008, when her claim was suspended and then closed as she had failed to sign the live register as required. The person concerned applied for an illness benefit payment on 2 April 2008 but...

Written Answers — Industrial Disputes: Industrial Disputes (27 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Civil Public and Services Union is currently in dispute with my Department in relation to a claim for the extension of the flexible attendance bands. The industrial action being taken involves non co-operation with lunchtime opening in the Department's local offices and a ban on answering phones at lunchtime. I regret the inconvenience to the public arising as a result of the industrial...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (27 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The back to education allowance (BTEA) is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to work. It is paid at a standard weekly rate equivalent to the maximum rate of the relevant social welfare payment that qualifies the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (27 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly allowance administered by the Health Service Executive (HSE). Eligible children from birth to the age of 16 who are living at home and who have a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention which is substantially in excess of that normally required by a child of the same age may qualify for Domiciliary Care Allowance. The...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Disability allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a disability who are aged between 16 and 66 years. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to both a medical examination and a means test. Records in this Department show that 198 persons in the period February to December 2005, 246 persons in 2006, 248 persons in 2007 and 93...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (27 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the Department, by the Health Service Executive (HSE) as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. Rent supplement is subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant may incur. Rent limits are set at levels that enable the different eligible household types to secure and retain basic suitable rented accommodation, having...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Department supports government policy which aims to facilitate the greater use of electronic payment systems in the economy in the interests of developing a world class payments environment in Ireland. Our payment strategy is designed to ensure that cost effective arrangements are in place for making payments to social welfare customers by using a range of payment options and to ensure...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (28 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: One of the fundamental qualifying conditions for carer's allowance, carer's benefit and the respite care grant is that the person be providing full-time care and attention to a person who needs such care. The number of hours a person may engage in employment, self employment, training or education outside the home and still be considered to be providing full-time care and attention for the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The person concerned applied for Disability Allowance on 3 July 2007. He was awarded Disability Allowance from 11 July 2007 at a personal rate of €43.30 per week as he was assessed with means of €144.92 per week from an Incapacity Benefit Claim from the United Kingdom (UK). His claim was reviewed in February 2008 and he was awarded an increase in his personal rate to €60.80 per week...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (28 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Ireland has a bilateral Agreement on social security with Canada and it came into force on 1st January 1992. The main purpose of the agreement is to protect the social security pension rights of people who have worked in Ireland and who have worked and/or resided in Canada. The agreement also deals with the social security status of workers who are sent on temporary assignments from Ireland...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Responsibility forhomeless persons under 18 years of age lies with the Health Service Executive under the Child Care Act, 1991. While supplementary welfare allowance is not generally paid to persons under 18 years, payment may be made to young people who have left home for valid reasons and who are not being maintained by their family but who have the ability to live independently and where...

Written Answers — Education Schemes: Education Schemes (29 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The school meals programme gives funding towards provision of food services for disadvantaged school children through two schemes. The first is the long-standing statutory urban school meals scheme, which is operated by local authorities and part-financed by the Department. The second is the school meals local projects scheme through which funding is provided by the Department to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (29 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: There has been no change in the assessment of farm income for the purpose of the farm assist scheme. However, since 26 September 2007 there has been a change in the method of assessment of earnings from insurable employment for the jobseeker's allowance scheme and some farm assist claimants who are also in insurable employment can benefit under this new assessment. Under the new assessment...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (29 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The average processing times for applications for jobseeker's benefit in April 2008 was 2.61 weeks and for jobseeker's allowance was 4.59 weeks. The Department is committed to providing a quality customer service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible having regard to the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (29 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed and that decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions that apply. These conditions vary from scheme to scheme and may involve, among other things, the need to establish the customer's social insurance record, verify medical incapacity for work, establish a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (29 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Claims for State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Transition) are now fully processed within three weeks of receipt of the applications where all information is available. Average processing times for all claims now stand at less than 8 weeks for a State Pension (Contributory) and 5 weeks for State Pension (Transition). The Department has commenced claim initiation on the State...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (29 May 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 91 and 92 together. The BTEA scheme is a second chance education opportunity designed to remove the barriers to participation in second and third level education. It encourages and facilitates people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. The...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (4 Jun 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 275 and 277 together. The position in relation to the person in question is as outlined to the Deputy by written correspondence on 18 February 2008 and remains unchanged. The deployment of staff is a matter for the head of my Department and the Department of Finance and it would not be appropriate for me to intervene in the matter.

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (4 Jun 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Since 1st December 2006, 1 Clerical Officer has transferred in to the General Registrar's Office (GRO). The post was filled by reference to the Central Applications Facility (CAF), established to record applications for decentralisation, as this Clerical Officer vacancy arose due to decentralisation. Question No. 277 answered with Question No. 275.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jun 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 278 and 279 together. Details of the qualifying social welfare schemes payments in respect of participants on the back to education allowance scheme (BTEA) for the 2006/2007 academic year are set out in the table below. Records are not maintained as to the number refused entry to the scheme. The BTEA scheme is a second chance education opportunity designed to...