Results 17,841-17,860 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Social Insurance. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: One of the criteria is to look at the time the person took out the mortgage, and whether he or she had an ability to repay it. That is reasonably valid, because the question could be asked as to whether he or she will be able to repay it. It must be asked if the State should continue to pay the mortgage interest for somebody who this time next year might never be able to attain that level...

Social Insurance. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It is difficult, but it is a legitimate question. One of the other questions is to ask whether the person is in a house that is greater than his or her needs. In other words, are there other ways in which he or she can get an income? Can a room be let out or can the house be shared? That is a valid question when supplementary welfare is being provided to somebody.

Social Insurance. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I have had people in my own clinic who have done this. One man with a large house ran into difficulty, and it was suggested to him that the house was bigger than his needs. He told me he was looking to see if he could let out a room, because it is a tax free income. It would give him the same amount of money as he would get from the mortgage interest supplement.

Social Insurance. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There is also a protocol that has attached to the financial institutions. No move is to be made on repossession for six months on people who are making a genuine effort to make repayments. The issue that the Deputy raised regarding hours is being considered.

Social Insurance. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It is a priority that people need to be supported to remain in their own homes. Mortgage interest supplement is only one way of doing that. The mortgage interest supplement will only apply to a relatively small number of people who find themselves in difficulty in repaying their mortgages. People might find themselves in that difficulty by virtue of lower incomes or having lost their job,...

Social Insurance. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There are other ways. Somebody may be in negative equity and a number of people are very upset-----

Social Insurance. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There is a number of people who are in negative equity, but that does not mean that they are not able to repay the mortgage. They are still repaying a mortgage which relates to the loan that they took out but unfortunately, the value of the house has declined and that would impact on them if they sold it. Where real support can be given to mortgage holders is with regard to the...

Social Insurance. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: This issue is being dealt with. The mortgage interest supplement is just one small element. It is a valuable element of it, but what is just as important is the work that is going on with the Department of Finance and the Department and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

Social Insurance. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: In so far as people need and qualify for the scheme, additional money will of course be made available. A total of €40.2 million was originally provided for this year, but we anticipate that the scheme will cost about €59 million. Before I answer the next question, I would like to clarify for Deputy Reilly that the Office of Public Works has secured premises for the Department in...

Back to Education Allowances. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 108 and 155 together. The back to education allowance, BTEA, is designed to facilitate people of working age on welfare payments to return to education to gain qualifications which will help to enhance their employment prospects. Jobseekers who avail of the scheme are exempt from the requirement to be available for work while participating in an approved...

Back to Education Allowances. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I will have to come back to the Deputy on that, but I do not believe they are taken into account. The table will be of assistance to Deputies in seeing the number of applicants from each different area. There has been an increase in the numbers this year because we have promoted the initiative significantly, the facilitators have been very positive and there has been a significant increase...

Back to Education Allowances. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Currently, if people have a masters degree they are considered not to need anything else. The allowance is restricted to people doing a course in education or the higher diploma in education. I intend to see if other post-graduate courses that might lead to a professional qualification can be considered for it.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 109, 111, 114, 121, 122, 124, 137, 144,145 and 176 together. The average processing times for claims decided in September was 3.63 weeks for jobseekers benefit and 7.53 weeks for jobseekers allowance. This is the average nationally and there are fluctuations between offices. The length of time it takes to process claims varies depending on the complexity...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Under the Social Welfare Acts, a customer is disqualified for receiving jobseeker's allowance while resident, either permanently or temporarily, outside the State. Consequently, the allowance is not payable to persons travelling to other EU countries to seek employment. There are, however, two exceptions to this disqualification. A person may receive jobseeker's allowance for up to two weeks...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There are currently almost 91,000 tenants benefiting from a rent supplement payment - an increase of 52% since the end of 2007. Over half of these recipients have been in payment for more than one year, while over 32,000 have been in payment for 18 months or more. The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), which was introduced in 2004, gives local authorities specific responsibility for meeting...

Written Answers — Pensions Board: Pensions Board (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 151 together. The Office of the Pensions Ombudsman is a statutory office established in 2003 under the terms of the Pensions Act 1990, as amended. The Pensions Ombudsman is charged with investigating and deciding complaints and disputes concerning occupational pension schemes, trust-based retirement annuity contracts and personal retirement savings...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Facilitators work with social welfare recipients to identify appropriate training or development programmes which will enhance the skills that the individual has and ultimately improve their employment chances, as well as help them to continue to develop personally. They work in close co-operation with other agencies and service providers including FÁS, VEC, other education and training...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 130 together. I want to assure the Deputy that the Department is committed to ensuring that claims for all schemes are processed and that decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions that apply. People who apply for the One Parent Family Payment must satisfy a means test and provide...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The number of facilitators currently in place is 61.5 (half post due to a work sharing arrangement). It is envisaged that this number will increase to 70 in the coming months. The facilitator service is available locally to all social welfare recipients via the local network. Facilitators are assigned to cover a geographical area. They hold open clinics and meet with people who have been...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 118, 127, 140, 143 and 149 together. The prevention of fraud and abuse of the social welfare system is an integral part of the day-to-day work of the Department. A key objective of the Department's control strategy is to ensure that the right person is paid the right amount of money at the right time. The Department processes in excess of 2 million claims each...