Results 16,021-16,040 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Workers are insured under the Social Welfare Acts as either employed or self-employed contributors. All workers, both employed and self-employed, are obliged to pay PRSI contributions as a percentage of their personal reckonable income. These contributions provide entitlement to a range of contingency-based payments under various social insurance schemes — including pensions. Employments...

Written Answers — Money Advice and Budgeting Service: Money Advice and Budgeting Service (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 329 to 333, inclusive, together. The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) is the main Government funded service which provides assistance to people who are over-indebted and need help and advice in coping with debt problems. There are 53 independent companies with voluntary boards of management and over 240 money advice staff operating the local...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE), as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. The person concerned was refused rent supplement on the grounds that he had voluntarily surrendered local authority accommodation already available to him in Scotland. The HSE's Appeals Office has advised...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: 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 who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Rent supplement is subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant may incur. Rent limits are set at...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1 May 2004. All applicants — regardless of nationality — for the following payments are required to be habitually resident in the State: Jobseeker's Allowance; State Pension (Non-Contributory for persons aged over 66);...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Department provides supports 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. The back to work allowance is one of the main supports in this area. It provides a monetary incentive designed to make the return to work for people with long term dependency on social welfare...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Department provides supports 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. The back to work allowance is one of the main supports in this area. It provides a monetary incentive designed to make the return to work for people with long term dependency on social...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Further to my response to Question No. 50 on 15 October 2008, I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that they have now received the documentation in the case and the Deciding Officer's comments on the grounds of the appeal from the Department and the case has been referred to an Appeals Officer for consideration. The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an office of the Department...

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: There has been no Minister of State formally assigned to the Department. However, Minister of State, Ms. Máire Hoctor, who is Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, has special responsibility for older people, areas of which fall within the remit of the Department. There are no staff assigned to her office from the Department.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Disability Allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under age 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to both medical assessment and a means test. The person concerned made application for disability allowance on 22 October 2008. Her case was referred to a Social Welfare...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Disability Allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under age 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to both medical assessment and a means test. The person concerned made application for Disability Allowance on 30 October 2008. He has been refused disability allowance on the...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties are protected by the home-maker's scheme which was introduced in and took effect from 1994. The scheme allows up to 20 years spent caring for children or incapacitated adults to be disregarded when a person's social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes. However, the scheme will...

Written Answers — Live Register: Live Register (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Department is committed to providing a quality customer service. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions which apply. Every effort is being made to process claims in local offices as quickly as possible. This includes the prioritisation of work, assignment...

Written Answers — National Carers Strategy: National Carers Strategy (9 Dec 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, is working on developing the strategy. My Department provides the secretariat to the working group which also includes representatives of the Departments of Finance,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: All applicants regardless of nationality, from 1 May 2004, are required to be habitually resident in the State in order to qualify for supplementary welfare allowance. The person concerned was refused supplementary welfare allowance and rent supplement on the grounds that he is not habitually resident in the State. The designated Appeals Office of the Health Service Executive has advised that...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Second Stage (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I am pleased to introduce this Bill, which will implement the €515 million package of social welfare improvements announced in the 2009 budget. In very difficult economic circumstances, this package will bring total expenditure on social welfare in 2009 to €19.6 billion, which represents an increase of €2.6 billion, or 15.5%, over the Estimates allocation for 2008. At a time when...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Second Stage (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I accept that.

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Second Stage (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: If it is helpful, I am happy to give the Senator my own copy, which uses a much larger font. I accept that his copy is written in very small type.

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Second Stage (9 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis na Seanadóirí. At the outset, I apologise for the complete illegibility of the circulated speech which contains some good news which I would have liked Members to read. However, I appreciate that was impossible to do given the manner in which it was distributed. Judging by the contributions made, Members appear to have got the sense of...

Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Absolutely not.