Results 16,721-16,740 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The enterprise stream of the back to work allowance (BTWA) scheme is designed to assist people, who are long term dependant on social welfare payments, to take up self-employment. Participants receive a tapered percentage of their social welfare payment over a four year period for those who become self employed and they may also retain entitlement to certain other secondary benefits. A...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Spouses of self-employed contributors, who are actively engaged in a commercial partnership, including the operation of a farm, can apply to the Department to have the commercial partnership formally recognised, and to be treated as an individual self-employed contributor. In this way, both spouses incur a liability to pay Class S self-employed PRSI, which can count towards qualification for...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Social Welfare legislation provides for the payment of jobseeker's benefit in respect of days of unemployment. Any day on which a person either receives or has an entitlement to holiday pay is not regarded as a day of unemployment and a person has no entitlement to jobseeker's benefit in respect of that day. Employees who are laid off temporarily (i.e. where they expect to return to the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 186 and 187 together. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement and mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE). There are currently 2,311 recipients of rent supplement and 330 recipients of mortgage interest supplement in...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I am aware of the CSO figures on regional income and unemployment rates. This Department's role is to mainly to provide income support to people who qualify for social welfare payments. The value of the lowest rate of welfare payment was fully maintained in Budget 2009 and now stands at â¬204.30 per week following an increase of â¬6.50 per week or over 3%. In the last six Budgets, the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned has been awarded farm assist at the weekly rate of â¬158.90 with effect from 11 December, 2008. His first payment and arrears due will issue shortly. Under Social Welfare legislation decisions in relation to claims must be made by Deciding Officers and Appeals Officers. These officers are statutorily appointed and I have no role in regard to making such decisions.
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned submitted an application for Jobseeker's Allowance on 12 February 2008. One of the conditions for receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance is that the person must be habitually resident in this State. The person concerned was found not to be habitually resident in the State at that time and, accordingly, her application was disallowed and she was notified of this decision on 8...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The Health Service Executive has advised that payment of rent supplement and arrears due was made to the person concerned on 30 March 2009. Payment is effective from 2 February 2009.
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The number of persons in receipt of a jobseeker's payment is as follows: Jobseeker's Benefit Number EU nationals 176,452 Non-EU nationals 3,782 Jobseeker's Allowance Number EU nationals 149,821 Non-EU nationals 6,432 A breakdown of the actual costs in each category is not available. However the average weekly entitlement (not including Fuel/Smog Allowance) is given in the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The Early Childcare Supplement was introduced in April 2006 and is administered by the Department of Social and Family Affairs on behalf of the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The expenditure on the Early Childcare Supplement (ECS) for 2006, in respect of non resident children, payable under EU regulations, was â¬0.4m, the corresponding figure for 2007 was â¬1.1m and...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: No commitment regarding payment was given by an official of the department in this case, as this claim is under appeal with the Social Welfare Appeals Office. The department has been informed that an Appeals officer has made a revised decision dated 30th March 2009, partially allowing the appeal and that the file will be returned to the department for follow up action. On receipt of the...
- Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (2 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Section 7 of the Finance (No.2) Act 2008 introduced an exemption from an income tax charge under section 118 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 in respect of a benefit in the form of a bicycle or associated safety equipment provided to a director or employee by his or her employer, where the bicycle/associated safety equipment is used by the employee or director mainly for qualifying...
- Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (7 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 247 and 252 together. A breakdown by occupation or the nature of the self-employment of recipients of the back to work enterprise allowance scheme is not available from records held by the Department. A person in receipt of a social welfare payment who decides to set up a business may be eligible to apply for the back to work enterprise allowance. In order to...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the department by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. Rent supplement is calculated to ensure that an eligible person after the payment of rent has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her family circumstances, less a...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the department by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. Rent supplement is calculated to ensure that an eligible person after the payment of rent has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her family circumstances, less a...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned applied for a farm assist payment on 4 March 2009. Her claim is currently with a Social Welfare Inspector for investigation of her circumstances. On completion of enquiries, a decision will be made as soon as possible and she will be notified of the outcome. Under Social Welfare legislation decisions in relation to claims must be made by Deciding Officers and Appeals...
- Written Answers — State Agencies: State Agencies (7 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The agencies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Citizens Information Board, the Family Support Agency, the Combat Poverty Agency and the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman. The annual salary of the Chief Executive of the Pensions Board is â¬158,644. He is a member of the Board's Superannuation Scheme. The annual salary of the Chief Executive of the Citizens...
- Written Answers — National Carer's Strategy: National Carer's Strategy (7 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 253, 256 and 263 together. During 2008 an interdepartmental group, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach, with secretariat support provided by my Department, undertook work, including a public consultation process, to develop a National Carers' Strategy. The work of developing a Carer's Strategy was well advanced by the group. However, faced with the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The jobseeker's schemes provide income support for people who are seeking their first job or have lost work and are seeking alternative employment. A fundamental qualifying condition for both the Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance is that a person must be available for full-time work. Where a person is employed for up to three days in a week, they may claim Jobseeker's Benefit or...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (7 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned was awarded Jobseeker's Allowance at a reduced rate from 30 September 2008 based on means assessed by a Deciding Officer of the Department. An appeal against this decision was opened on 24 November 2008 and I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the case has been referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to hold an oral hearing. It is not possible at...