Results 1,781-1,800 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (29 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: To qualify for a full Christmas bonus, an unemployment assistance customer must have been in receipt of the payment for a minimum of 390 days prior to 23 November 2005. The person concerned has been in receipt of unemployment assistance since 15 July 2005. He had a previous claim for the period 29 September 2003 to 7 September 2004. For the purpose of deciding his entitlement to a Christmas...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (29 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in relation to decisions on individual claims. The southern area of the Executive has advised that it has reviewed the rent supplement entitlements of the person concerned...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (29 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The Government is committed to increasing the rate of the qualified adult allowance for those over 66 years to the level of the maximum personal rate of the old age non-contributory pension. A number of special increases have been given over several budgets in pursuit of this target. In budget 2004, the rate of the allowance for persons aged 66 and over payable to invalidity pensioners was...
- Written Answers — Capital Expenditure: Capital Expenditure (29 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: My Department has a small capital allocation, which is governed by administrative budget rules rather than subject to the capital envelope process as outlined by the Deputy. The capital allocation for 2005 was â¬11.04 million, of which â¬5.8 million was allocated to ICT equipment, â¬5.2 million to Reach and â¬40,000 to the civil registration modernisation programme, GRO. The Department...
- Leaders' Questions. (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Correct.
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: My Department has developed a range of contingency plans to address interruption in payments through the postal or post office counter services. These plans are kept under review to ensure that they offer the best response to any disruption to payments. Among the approaches available to my Department is the option of changing the payment method used by the customer, changing the location...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Fuel allowances are a supplementary entitlement payable over the winter heating season to eligible people in receipt of pensions and other qualifying social welfare schemes. Some 274,000 people receive this allowance, at an aggregate cost of â¬85.4 million this year. Fuel allowances are incorporated in the recipient's weekly payment and are not intended to meet heating costs in full. The...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The person's claim for disability allowance was disallowed by a deciding officer on the grounds that they did not satisfy the statutory condition that a person must be habitually resident in this State. The person appealed this decision to the social welfare appeals office and an oral hearing was held on 8 November 2005. Having considered all the available evidence, including that adduced at...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: My Department operates a number of schemes which provide income support for people with disability or illness: disability benefit which is a payment made to insured people who are unable to work due to illness; invalidity pension which is paid to people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy contribution conditions; disability allowance, a...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: My Department has no specific clothing assistance scheme for adults, though there is a back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance scheme administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, HSE, in respect of school-going children. In general, people are expected to meet normal clothing and footwear requirements as they arise from their household...
- Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: There have been no recent changes to PRSI which could impact of work-sharing and part-time workers. The most significant changes benefiting these workers were implemented in 1991 when part-time workers were brought into full social insurance coverage subject to a minimum earnings threshold. In 1997, changes were made to the home-maker's scheme to allow for the award of credited contributions...
- Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Rent supplements are subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant for rent supplement may incur. The limits vary according to geographic location and household size. My Department completed a review of the rent limits earlier this year in order in determine if the existing maximum rent limits required any adjustments in the light of the market situation in the sector. Following...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders on long-term social welfare or health board payments towards the cost of their additional heating needs during the winter season. Fuel allowances are paid for 29 weeks from end-September to mid-April and are not intended to meet the full cost of heating. Some 274,000, 151,000 with basic fuel allowance and 123,000 with smokeless...
- Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (30 Nov 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Spouses of an employed or self-employed contributor are specifically excepted from social insurance contributions. This exclusion recognises the practical difficulties in establishing the nature of a genuine employment relationship in circumstances such as when a person employed under a contract of service, that is, as an employee, by his or her spouse is classed as an "excepted" contributor...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Dec 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The Government's objective is to ensure that a social welfare recipient's total weekly income is sufficient to meet all their basic living needs, including food and heating costs. In recent years significant budget resources have been concentrated on providing real increases over and above inflation in all primary social welfare pension, benefit and assistance rates. This approach delivers a...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Dec 2005)
Séamus Brennan: No, what I am saying is that there obviously is an issue here. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul does fantastic work on behalf of all of us. Its members are out and about meeting people and they know what they are talking about. I read carefully the society's pre-budget submission in which it made many strong points which, like all other submissions, will be taken into account in the...
- Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Dec 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Of course there is a problem, otherwise there would not be a Department like mine. There obviously is a problem and we are trying to address it in many ways. The submission from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is excellent. It is professional and well researched. I received submissions from between 50 and 100 organisations about the budget.
- Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Dec 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Organisations make submissions on the budget as to what they would like toââ
- Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Dec 2005)
Séamus Brennan: They make submissions as to their views on the setting of rates and how they would like to see the problem solved.
- Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Dec 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Heating costs is an issue which has been addressed up to now by a 37% increase in welfare payments since 2002 and it can be further addressed in future Social Welfare Bills and in budgets.