Results 15,581-15,600 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (4 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The processing time for claims that fall to be examined under EU and Bilateral agreements take longer than that for standard Irish entitlements, reflecting the added complexity that arises in determining entitlements under these agreements, and the necessity to obtain the relevant insurance details from overseas social security institutions. The majority of social insurance records are...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support, to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Self-employed persons pay a modified rate of PRSI contribution (Class S). These contributions provide cover for long-term pensions such as state pension and widow's/widower's contributory pension. However they do not provide cover for short-term benefits such as jobseeker's and illness benefits. Where a self-employed person had been in insurable employment and has PRSI contribution at...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Carer's allowance is a means tested income support payment for people who are providing full-time care and attention to a person in need of such care. Budget 2007 provided for new arrangements whereby people can receive a maximum payment equivalent to a half-rate carers allowance while receiving another social welfare payment, other than jobseeker's benefit or allowance. Persons in receipt of...
- Training Programmes: Motion (Resumed) (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: I wish to share my time with Deputies Nolan, White, O'Connor, Byrne and O'Rourke. As Minister for Social and Family Affairs, I am naturally very concerned about the number of people who are unemployed, those 250,000 individuals who are on the live register today and the impact this experience has on them and on their families. On the one hand, my role is to ensure that we have sufficient...
- Written Answers — Human Rights Issues: Human Rights Issues (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: This issue was the subject of a High Court judgment concerning the rights of a person, who has undergone gender reassignment surgery, to recognition of her acquired gender. On foot of a High Court judgement, delivered on 19 October 2007, the judge made a declaration, pursuant to Section 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003, that Sections 25, 63 and 64 of the Civil...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE), a diet supplement may be paid to a person who is receiving a Social Welfare or Health Service Executive payment where a special diet is prescribed as a result of a specified medical condition. The Dublin/Mid-Leinster Area...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: An increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) is payable in respect of a spouse/partner of a recipient of State Pension (Transition) or State Pension (Contributory), where the spouse/partner is being wholly or mainly maintained by the pensioner. Payment of IQA is subject to the qualified adult satisfying a means test based solely on their means. Where the pensioner and his/her spouse/partner...
- Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The Department of Social and Family Affairs has one Press Office which is staffed by three established civil servants: Press Officer (Assistant Principal on secondment from another Government Department), Press Officer (Higher Executive Officer) and Deputy Press Officer (Executive Officer). The role of the Press Office is to deal centrally with all queries from the media in relation to the...
- Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The Minister for Finance announced as part of Budget 2009 that a number of decentralisation projects are to be deferred pending a review in 2011. The projects relevant to this Department are: Carrickmacross; Carrick-on-Shannon (Phase II); Donegal; Drogheda (Citizens Information Board); Monaghan (Combat Poverty Agency). Since the commencement of the decentralisation programme in the...
- Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Under the Government's current decentralisation programme for the civil and public service, some 1,200 posts comprising the Department's headquarter sections and the Social Welfare Appeals Office are relocating to 6 locations â Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon, Donegal Town, Buncrana, Carrickmacross and Drogheda. To date, 212 posts have relocated from the Department's Dublin Offices to...
- Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Under the Government's current decentralisation programme for the civil and public service, some 1,200 posts comprising the Department's headquarter sections and the Social Welfare Appeals Office are relocating to 6 locations â Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon, Donegal Town, Buncrana, Carrickmacross and Drogheda. To date, 212 posts have relocated from the Department's Dublin Offices to...
- Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Under the Decentralisation programme, it is planned to relocate some 114 posts from the Department to Buncrana. The first phase of this proposed move will commence in early 2010 and will include 70 staff relocating from one Dublin based headquarter office (Gandon House). The estimated floor space vacated as a result of the relocation will be of the order of 750 square metres. It is also...
- Written Answers — National Disability Strategy: National Disability Strategy (5 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: My Department's Disability Sectoral Plan, published in 2006 in accordance with the provisions of the Disability Act 2005 and in line with the National Disability Strategy and Towards 2016, aims to develop services that not only give people with disabilities financial security but also encourage their maximum participation in society. The Department of Social and Family Affairs has a pivotal...
- Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (6 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: There is a total of five full-time administrative staff assigned to deal with matters in my constituency office. The staff in question are based in my Department's headquarters in Ãras Mhic Dhiarmada, Store Street, Dublin 1. There are four established civil servants, one Executive Officer on a payscale of â¬32,179 to â¬51,054, two Clerical Officers on a payscale of â¬24,397 to â¬39,558...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the department by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor the Department has any function in relation to decisions on individual claims. Mortgage interest supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people who are unable to...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (6 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare Division of the Health Service Executive, provides for the payment of rent supplement to eligible people whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs. The Health Service Executive has advised that the person concerned is not eligible for rent supplement. She has been...
- Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (6 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: It is currently estimated that the balance of the social insurance fund will be approximately â¬3.4 billion, based on an expected annual deficit of â¬223 million, at end 2008. For end 2009, the balance is estimated to be â¬2.5 billion, based on an expected annual deficit of â¬900 million. A projected outturn for 2010 has not yet been finalised. These estimates are similar to those of the...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (6 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The primary purpose of credited contributions is to preserve the continuity of a person's insurance record during periods when they are unable to work and pay PRSI in the normal way. In order to qualify for credited contributions, absences from work would generally have to be for reasons outside of the person's control, such as periods of proven illness or registered unemployment, or periods...
- Written Answers — Unemployment Levels: Unemployment Levels (6 Nov 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The number on the live register at 31st October 2008 was 251,951. Of these, a total of 195,561 have been signing continuously for less than one year. A total of 56,390 have been signing continuously for a year or more. A breakdown of the live register at 31/10/08 by occupational category is given in the following table: Category Number Agriculture, Fishing and Related Industries 4,170...