Results 18,661-18,680 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There are many young widows.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It will be next year.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The numbers of those who were found not to satisfy the habitual residence condition, broken down by scheme and for each of the last 3 years, is as follows: 2007 2008 2009 Jobseeker's Allowance 4007 3891 7260 One-parent Family 284 210 381 Child Benefit 577 1102 1860 Disability Allowance 196 278 629 Carers Allowance 65 87 210 It is...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: All of the Department's Medical Assessors must have at least six years satisfactory experience in the practice of medicine since registration and must be registered on the general register of medical practitioners while holding an appointment. They are all fully qualified and experienced practitioners who provide a second opinion to that of the person's own doctor for the guidance of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Offices: Social Welfare Offices (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The length of time it takes to process claims varies depending on the complexity of the claim, the availability of the necessary documentation from the applicant and or his/her employer. The average processing times for Jobseeker's Benefit have been reduced to 2 weeks in November 2009. In the case of Jobseeker's Allowance, the need to carry out additional enquires including the assessment...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The number of criminal cases finalised in court for the first 11 months of 2009 was 334. The breakdown of the cases by type is set down in the tabular statement. Criminal cases finalised in Court to end November 2009 UNEMPLOYMENT ILLNESS OTHERS Employer TOTAL OUTCOME JA JB IB/DA OPFP ** Withdrawn 1 1 0 0 0 1 3 Fined 120 95 6 3 0 3 227* Probation Act 23 20 1 1 0 1...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The number of people prosecuted between 2000 and the end of November 2009 is set down in the tabular statement below. Under social welfare legislation, a prosecution for a summary offence may be brought within 2 years from the date that the offence was committed; or 18 months from when sufficient evidence to justify instituting legal proceedings came into the possession of the Department. ...

Written Answers — Public Service Cards: Public Service Cards (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Department has developed, in conjunction with a number of other government departments, the specifications for a Public Service Card (PSC) under the SAFE (Standard Authentication Framework Environment) programme. The specification provides for identification features, including a photograph. The PSC is to act as a key for access to public services in general, identifying and helping to...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Under the current decentralisation programme, the Department's Head Quarters, Social Welfare Appeals Office, Information and Communications Technology Division (ICT) and Citizens Information Board are designated to relocate to Drogheda. Following a recent review of the decentralisation programme, which took account of the changed economic circumstances and the deterioration in public...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the attached tabular statement.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Under the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) all persons between the ages of 18 and 65 years who are approaching 3 months on the Live Register are identified by the Department of Social and Family Affairs and referred to FÁS for interview. The purpose is to facilitate access to the range of employment and training services offered by FÁS. FÁS captures detailed data on the profile of...

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 264 to 267, inclusive, together. Since my appointment as Minister for Social and Family Affairs on 7th May 2008, I have appointed, on a contract basis for my term of office, one Special Advisor, Ms. Averil Power, whose current annual salary is €100,191. This salary will be reduced as a result of the reduction in public service pay rates as announced in...

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Department is committed to providing a quality customer service in Irish and meeting obligations under the Official Languages Act. The number of documents translated to Irish and the associated costs in the years 2007, 2008, and to date in 2009 is given in the attached table. Year Documents Translated into Irish Cost€ Number of Documents 2007 DSFA Annual Report 2006 Social Welfare...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that, following receipt of the relevant Departmental papers including comments on the grounds of appeal, the appeal from the person concerned has been referred to an Appeals Officer for consideration. The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an office of the Department that is independently responsible for determining appeals against decisions on...

Written Answers — Ministerial Travel: Ministerial Travel (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The amounts spent on commercial flights by my predecessors and me while on Government business for 2006, 2007, 2008 and to date in 2009 are set out in the following table: From - To Minister Home Travel Foreign Travel 1/1/09 – date Mary Hanafin 0 10,773 2009 Total: 10,773 7/5/08 – 31/12/08 Mary Hanafin 0 922 1/1/08 – 7/5/08 Martin Cullen 0 7,750 2008 Total: 8,672 14/6/07 –...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I thank Senators for their contributions. There is no doubt we all appreciate the difficulties people with disabilities must endure in carrying on with their lives, the contribution carers make in looking after their loved ones and the difficulties people who have lost their jobs face. It is no solace to people on social welfare to make economic arguments. However, if we had not made the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: A person drawing a disability allowance is very likely to have a medical card.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: They are more likely than anybody else. The people will not be caught by that cut either. There is no doubt that the disregards, additional benefits and supports for carers have been increased significantly over recent years. A couple with two children earning €60,000 can still get the carer's allowance as the income disregards are very generous. A carer gets free travel and household...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There has been an increase. An extra €10 million has gone into home care packages announced in this budget. Many people with disabilities have said it would have been worse to take away services than the payment, no matter how difficult that is. With regard to young workers, the best way of reducing the social welfare budget is to get people back to work.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: That is our priority. In this budget we have announced a capital programme which, proportionately, is the largest in Europe at €6.5 billion. That ensures that 60,000 to 70,000 are to be kept in the construction industry working on schools, infrastructure, environmental projects etc.