Results 15,701-15,720 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Nov 2008)

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

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 129 and 448 together. Following changes announced in budget 2009 in relation to the length of time for which jobseeker's benefit will be paid, it is envisaged that in 2009 a weekly average of 2,400 people will be affected by the reduction in duration from 312 days to 234 days and 3,860 people in a full year. A weekly average of 6,750 people will be affected by...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 149 together. The Government discussion paper, "Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents," put forward proposals to tackle obstacles to employment for lone parents and other low income families. Under the proposals the lone parenthood category of payment would no longer exist. Instead, a new payment would be made to all parents (living alone or with a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The number of Child Benefit claims processed in 2008 to date and corresponding figures for 2007 and 2006 are detailed in the following table. Year to October Total received Total processed 2006 70,834 73,185 2007 76,756 74,887 2008 79,901 86,140 In addition to these claims, a further 84,000 claims for the extension of payment for children over 16 years of age were also processed in the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The question of the age thresholds which apply to Disability Allowance is one of a wide range of issues now being addressed in the context of a comprehensive review of the scheme which is being undertaken by the Department. This review is assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Disability Allowance scheme. It draws on new data being made available by the Central Statistics Office...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Significant improvements in child benefit have been made in recent years. For example, the rates of payment have been increased by between 185% and 200% in the period from 2001 to 2008, while total expenditure on the scheme has increased by almost 300% during the same period. However, in the context of the current economic circumstances it has been necessary for the Government to take a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 137 together. In order to qualify for a social insurance payment, a person must fulfil all of the relevant conditions including the social insurance contribution conditions relating to the particular benefit being claimed. These contribution rules aim to preserve a balance between the level of contributions paid and the amount of benefits received, by...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Private sector pensions include occupational pension schemes; either defined benefit or defined contribution schemes, and personal pensions such as personal retirement savings accounts (PRSAs) and retired annuity contracts (RACs). Defined benefit pension schemes are required to hold sufficient assets to discharge their liabilities in the event that the scheme is wound up. These reserves are...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The back to education allowance (BTEA) Scheme is designed to help those in receipt of a social welfare payment who have not worked for some time to improve their employability and job-readiness by acquiring educational qualifications. It is a recognition of the special difficulties which such persons can face when attempting to gain a foothold in the labour market. The allowance is paid at a...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Programme for Government contains two commitments in relation to family supports. These are: Continue to fully resource the Family Support Agency and its programmes of Counselling, Family Resource Centres, etc. and Continue to support community groups, and other appropriate family support structures to promote better parenting. The Family Support Agency's (FSA) budget for 2008 amounts...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The social welfare related measures in Budget 2009 were subjected to a Poverty Impact Assessment in accordance with guidelines issued by the Office for Social Inclusion in March of this year. Poverty Impact Assessment is the process by which government departments, local authorities and State Agencies assess policies and programmes at design, implementation and review stages in relation to...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 155 together. Supplementary pension coverage for workers in general was 54% in the first quarter of 2008 and, for the key target group, those aged 30 years and over it, stood at 61%. Overall, the process was very successful with a wide range of submissions received from both representative organisations and members of the public. All the submissions...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Combating poverty and building an inclusive society are key priorities for the Government. The overall goal of the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion (NAPinclusion) introduced in February 2007 is to reduce the number of those experiencing consistent poverty to between 2 % and 4 % by 2012, with the aim of eliminating consistent poverty by 2016. These commitments and the social...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The purpose of the review of the social welfare code, which is currently being undertaken in the Department, is to examine its compatibility with the Equal Status Act, 2000 (as amended). The review is examining all the schemes and services provided for both in social welfare legislation and the administrative schemes operated by the Department. It will identify any instances of direct or...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Under the PRSI system social insurance contributions are compulsorily payable by employers, employed and self-employed workers. The employee PRSI ceiling is reviewed annually in accordance with the legislative stipulations of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005. The legislation requires that changes in the average earnings of workers, as recorded by the Central Statistics Office,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 150 and 161 together. The back to work allowance scheme is designed to assist and encourage the long term unemployed, lone parents, people with disabilities and other social welfare recipients to return to the active labour force. These allowances provide a monetary incentive for people who are long term dependant on social welfare payments to make the return...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The introduction of a paternity benefit payment would be contingent on an underlying entitlement to statutory paternity leave. Responsibility for issues relating to paternity leave rests with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Following commitments made in the social partnership agreement 'Towards 2016', a Working Group led by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law...

Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The telephone allowance is a component of the household benefits package which also includes the electricity/gas allowance and free television license schemes. The package is generally available to people living in the State, aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare payment or who satisfy a means test. It is also available to people aged under 66 who are in receipt of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The one-parent family payment is a means tested income support scheme for separated, unmarried and widowed persons who are rearing a child or children without the support of a partner. The number of people in receipt of one-parent family payment at 31 October 2008 is 85,977. The corresponding figure for the end of October 2007 was 84,462 and 82,524 at the end of October 2006. The increase in...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Nov 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Representatives of Tara Mines Disabled Workers and Pensioners Association have been in touch with the Department over a number of years in relation to the operation of the Tara Mines scheme. The issues raised are multifaceted and include the interaction of the pension scheme with the associated income continuance plan, the employment status of disabled miners and, more recently, the election...