Results 18,321-18,340 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: 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 the Department has any function in relation to decisions on individual claims. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation...
- Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: With the exception of Bridgewater House, Inchicore Dublin 1, the Department's office accommodation is either State owned or held under leases negotiated and managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW). Details of annual rental, annual price per square metre, and lease reviews (if any) insofar as these offices are concerned, are held by the OPW. Following the integration of the Combat...
- Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The Department has supported the organisation in question over a period of many years and funding of â¬386,250 was provided in 2009. This funding is provided under the "Grants for the Development and Promotion of Information and Welfare Rights". In considering the allocation of funding under this scheme for 2010, the Department recently advised this organisation that an efficiency saving...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned claimed jobseeker's allowance from 17 July 2009. One of the qualifying conditions for receipt of jobseeker's allowance is that a person must be habitually resident in the state. A deciding officer decided that he is not habitually resident in the state. The person concerned was notified of the decision on 20 November and of his right to appeal against the decision...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Nov 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. Payment of Rent Supplement is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance appropriate to their family circumstances,...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: In order to qualify for Domiciliary Care Allowance a child must have a disability so severe that it requires the child needing care and attention and/or supervision substantially in excess of another child of the same age. This care and attention must be given by another person, effectively full-time so that the child can deal with the activities of daily living. The child must be likely to...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The telephone allowance, administered under the household benefits package, provides assistance towards customers' landline or mobile phone costs. The current amount of the allowance is â¬26.00 per month. Details of the number of people benefiting from the telephone allowance and the costs for each of the last five years are set out in the following table. Telephone Allowance 2004 2005...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned applied for a State Pension (Contributory) in November 2008 but was disallowed on grounds that she had not entered into insurable employment before age 56. She is currently awaiting a decision to have a commercial partnership between her and her spouse recognised for the purposes of gaining addition social insurance contributions. Following this decision, her...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that, the appeal from the person concerned has been referred to an Appeals Officer who proposes to hold an oral hearing on 10 December 2009. The person concerned has been notified of the arrangements. The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an office of the Department that is independently responsible for determining appeals against decisions on...
- Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The Family Support Agency funds the Scheme of Grants to voluntary and community organisations providing marriage, relationship, child and bereavement counselling services. The organisation referred to by the Deputy receives funding under the counselling grants scheme. This year, funding of over â¬11 million is being granted to some 600 counselling organisations. The Report of the Special...
- Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: To date 21.5 of the 30 additional facilitator posts announced as part of Building Ireland's Smart Economy: A Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal Report in December 2008 have been appointed to the Department's social and family support service. The number of facilitator posts currently filled is 61.5 (half post is due to a work sharing arrangement). It is envisaged that this number...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The application for a State Pension (Contributory) from the person concerned was disallowed in June 2009 on the grounds that she had a yearly average of 8 social welfare contributions. In order to qualify for a minimum SPC, a yearly average of at least 10 is required. She subsequently submitted an application to a have a commercial partnership between her and her spouse recognised for the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: An application for State Pension (Non-Contributory) was received from the person concerned on 23 June 2009. The claim was investigated by a Social Welfare Inspector and a decision issued to the customer on 14 September 2009 stating that she does not qualify for State Pension (Non-Contributory) as her means, derived from the capital value of land and a US retirement pension, exceed the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Annual statistics are collated by the Department for the number of participants on the back to education allowance (BTEA) scheme on the basis of the relevant academic year. There were 11,646 people in receipt of the back to education allowance for the 2008/2009 academic year. The figures for the 2009/2010 academic year will be significantly higher with over 18,700 applications approved by...
- Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (24 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The total cost of translating documents to Irish in the Department was approximately â¬93,000 in 2008 and â¬43,000 to date in 2009. The printing costs for State documents, including Statement of Strategy, Annual Reports and policy documents, amounted to some â¬40,000 in 2008 and â¬1,600 in 2009. It is the Department's policy to minimise costs by restricting the printing of documents....
- Written Answers — Money Advice and Budgeting Service: Money Advice and Budgeting Service (26 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: 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. The role of money advisors is to help clients to assess their financial situation, make a budget plan and deal with creditors. The MABS is now dealing with increasingly complex debt situations in...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 Nov 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. It is a requirement of the rent supplement scheme that a person makes an application, on being so required by the Executive, to a housing authority to be assessed for a housing need. The Health Service Executive has...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned does not qualify for a qualified child increase as his ex-spouse who is in receipt of a social welfare payment receives an increase for that child. If the position with regard to the residency of the child has changed it is open to him to contact his Local Social Welfare Office to have his case reviewed.
- Written Answers — PRSI Refunds: PRSI Refunds (26 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The application for a refund of PRSI was received from the person concerned on 16 November 2009 as she paid PRSI on her full salary while in receipt of Illness Benefit payments for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Department endeavours to process applications for refunds of PRSI as soon as possible. However, as the volume of applications for refunds of PRSI has increased dramatically in...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (26 Nov 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The claim for illness benefit by the person concerned was disallowed by a Deciding Officer of the Department following an examination by a Medical Assessor who expressed the opinion that she was capable of work. Her application for invalidity pension was similarly disallowed. She appealed this decision and was examined by a second Medical Assessor who also expressed the opinion that she was...