Results 17,081-17,100 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Money is paid to tenants who forward it to the landlord with whom they have an agreement. As I indicated, letters will issue to all tenants indicating that rent supplement will be reduced by 8%. As a result, tenants will be required to negotiate with their landlords. People who are working and experiencing a drop in their income are seeking and securing a reduction in their rents. Tenants...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: One of the reasons for the decision to reduce rent supplement was the substantial decline in rents throughout the country. Rented accommodation has also become much more widely available. Landlords are aware that existing tenants have a choice. Losing a tenant imposes costs on landlords because they must prepare accommodation for new tenants and then find them. They would prefer to hold...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The indication of people turning down accommodation came from housing officers who said because one can buy time where perhaps three offers would be made to a person, pending on when such offers would be made, one could perhaps buy an extra year or whatever in rental accommodation. Regarding the last question-----
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: No.
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: One new measure being introduced is that one must have been an existing tenant for six months, but if one is forming a new household, one has to go through the full housing assessment to qualify for housing, unless one is homeless, which is one of the criteria. I will of course raise all aspects of tax, particularly in this scheme. It is costing the State half a billion euro.
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: We need to ensure wherever there is clawback it should be availed of.
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I am not willing to allow a situation where those on rent supplement are dictating the rents and guaranteeing landlords an income they would not get from a private tenant. If a tenant goes to their landlord and the rent is not reduce the tenant can do exactly what they would do in a private situation, namely, threaten to leave or leave. However, if they find themselves in a homeless...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I do not have the figure on the number of landlords registered with the PRTB to hand, but if I have it I will send it to Deputy Enright.
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Standards are also linked to the PRTB.
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: If they were in the PRTB, one could follow it through that way. I will get the information and follow up.
- Social Welfare Benefits. (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I already indicated community welfare officers will deal with that.
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: As the House is aware, the Green Paper on Pensions was published in October 2007 and was followed by an extensive consultation process which concluded at the end of May 2008. Almost 400 submissions were received on the range of issues presented in the Green Paper, indicating a strong desire for pension reform but there was little consensus on the type of reforms required. The Government is...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Family income supplement (FIS) is designed to provide income for employees on low earnings with families. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were unemployed and claiming other social welfare payments. To qualify for payment of FIS a person must be engaged in full time insurable...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The Department currently delivers a service from 62 branch offices which are operated by private individuals on a contract for service basis. Branch managers are responsible for recruiting their own staff. Each branch office reports to a parent local office of the Department. The main services provided from branch offices include jobseekers payment, one-parent family payment and an...
- Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The department's facilitators work with social welfare recipients of working age in order to determine their needs and arrange through direct provision or jointly with other agencies, appropriate training and developmental programmes to equip them to progress to employment, training or further education. The current economic climate has determined that a large part of a facilitator's work at...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The Government is anxious to ensure that as many people as possible can be accommodated within the social welfare pensions system, with due regard being paid to the contributory principle underlying entitlement to contributory payments and, in the case of non-contributory payments, the need to ensure that resources are directed to those who are most in need. Over the last 10 years, means...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 21, 41, 47, 54 and 176 together. The Live Register has increased to unprecedented levels as a result of the economic downturn that the country is currently experiencing. There are currently almost 72,000 claims awaiting decisions for jobseeker's benefit and jobseekers allowance. Approximately 10,000 claims are decided upon in a given week. (See the...
- Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The vast majority of workers pay social insurance contributions at the PRSI Class A rate. These general employees, together with their employers, pay a total social insurance contribution of 14.05%, excluding levies, under the full-rate PRSI Class A. These contributions provide entitlement to a range of contingency-based payments under various social insurance schemes. Traditionally, social...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Entitlement to state pension contributory and non-contributory is not affected by a person's residency in a nursing home. However entitlement to household benefits, which comprise allowances for electricity or gas, telephone and free television licence, generally ceases when a person is a resident of a nursing home. There are a number of control measures in place to ensure the...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (30 Apr 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 18, 27, 34, 55, 56 and 62 together. Under the Pensions Act, defined benefit pension schemes must meet a minimum funding standard which requires that schemes maintain sufficient assets to enable them discharge accrued liabilities in the event of the scheme winding up. Where schemes do not satisfy the Funding Standard, the sponsors/trustees must submit a...