Results 18,581-18,600 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Deputy McGinley referred to the half rate payment for carers. The rate will be reduced to half the new rate of the carer's benefit. Carers asked us not to abolish the half rate carer's allowance, as recommended in the McCarthy report. While I understand that no one wants the payment to be reduced by €4.25 per week, carers are relieved that the scheme was not abolished. The case raised by...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The purpose of the family income supplement is to support people on low incomes and acknowledge that they make a contribution through participation in the workforce but need to be supported by virtue of being on lower incomes than others. The case I cited is a good example of a person who can receive this support. A widow with an income of €725 per week would receive €562 from the...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Deputy Ferris who focused on farmers and the farm assist scheme will have noted that a new environmental scheme has been introduced. The scheme, which has been welcomed by farmers, is designed to support farmers and keep them where they are.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Deputy Stanton asked about the policy on young carers. The Minister of State with responsibility for children and youth affairs is working on this issue. As we did not have empirical evidence on the number of carers, the issue is the subject of a study. Deputy Morgan asked about reductions in jobseeker's allowance and welfare dependency. Family income supplement, which bridges the gap...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Two statements the Deputy made in the House need to be corrected. First, he indicated that a young person who worked from the age of 17 to 24 years would only receive €150 per week. This is wrong because a person with a work record would receive the full adult rate of jobseeker's benefit. If the person subsequently dropped to jobseeker's allowance, he or she would continue to receive the...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Unfortunately, those who receive disability or invalidity payments will be affected by the cuts. Deputies have asked how much it would have cost if we had not reduced payments to those in receipt of disability payments and so on. The cost of not doing so would have been almost €108 million. It would have been necessary to find this expenditure in other Departments or in my Department's...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I was asked whether I had spoken to disability groups. I met representatives of these groups separately and they attended the pre-budget forum.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It is worth repeating that they placed greater emphasis on services on the ground and in the community. They want and need these services - Deputy Crawford is nodding his head - because they are very important to people with disability.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Cutbacks have not been made in respite care beds, day care places, primary care teams or any other services available to people with a disability.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: An additional €10 million has been provided to deliver more home care packages. The choice facing us was whether to reduce payments, bad as such a step is, or place the burden on the Department of Health and Children. I believe that if one reduced services by more - there are many with disabilities who would agree-----

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: -----it would have impacted upon such people more seriously. I agree with the remarks of Deputy Ó Snodaigh on the salaries of some people in the agencies to which he referred. The Government does not set those salaries. I fully agree it is outrageous for the head of a body such as Coillte or the ESB to receive a salary of €400,000 or more. It goes against everything that people in this...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: That is the reason we took a voluntary 10% reduction last year. Under legislation this year, we will take a 15% cut.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: This 15% cut is formal, legal and permanent. There is a substantial difference between permanent legislation and a voluntary contribution. It is true to say the Taoiseach is taking a 20% cut and Minister's are taking a 15% cut. We are not making anything of it. I am not trying to excuse-----

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I am simply setting the record straight because certain people in the House are trying to state it is something less than that. It was very important that we did that to give the type of leadership that the country needs and that is what we have attempted to show in this regard. Certain Members have criticised us for making these choices. It was not a case of trying to generate more in...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Revenue raising measures came to €8.5 billion from all income earners in the past two budgets. That was imposed on income earners in a very progressive way up to a high limit.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: We have seen our tax returns decrease. The health levy was doubled for higher income earners.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Some €105 million less has come in and 4% of people will pay half of the income tax for next year.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The pool of high income earners is becoming smaller and smaller because we rightly hit them in the last budget and the previous one. It is not true to say that one can concentrate on a tiny group of people and hope to save €4,000 million.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Even if one did try to make it all from revenue one would cripple the economy and increase the cost of doing work in this country.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: That would impact on our competitiveness and there would be no jobs in future.