Results 18,841-18,860 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Pension Provisions. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: It is a question on pensions and I anticipated it. There is no change in policy in respect of commercial partnerships and there is no change of budget in respect of commercial partnerships. Approximately 1,000 people applied for partnership under the scheme by showing that they were in partnership with their spouses. Generally, it refers to farm spouses. Of those 1,000 people, 579 cases...

Pension Provisions. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: There are two elements to this pension. In the first instance, people must prove that the partnership existed and then people must qualify under social insurance contributions. The section that determines whether a partnership existed did not communicate properly with the social insurance end. When the partnership was found to exist and the application was approved in respect of this, it...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Changes to the treatment benefit scheme were announced in the 2010 budget. From 1 January 2010, treatments available under the scheme are limited to a free optical and dental examination together with the treatments previously available under the medical appliance scheme, namely hearing aids and contact lenses required for medical reasons. People who at 31 December 2009 were undergoing a...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: This phenomenon came to light when applications were submitted in bulk and in alphabetical order. In some cases, all of the forms were signed with the same signature. That may have been erroneously done by receptionists. When departmental officials conducted cross-checks within the system, they found that some of the customers who were anticipating getting treatment in the future were...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I mentioned in my reply that the bulk of the claims to which I refer came from eight dental practices. In fairness to the officials in the relevant section of the Department, they copped on very quickly to what was happening and started to contact the dentists in question. By the time they contacted the third dentist, the word had got out and he was expecting the telephone call. Two...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: People have been making their contributions into a fund that is now in deficit.

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I know it is not.

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: When we made decisions in advance of last month's budget, we had to ascertain how best the fund could be protected. We do not intend to retain these changes on a permanent basis. My aim is that they will be in place for just one year. We have maintained the two most critical elements of this scheme. The examination can highlight basic difficulties in addition to a myriad of much more...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The first sanction is that somebody can be reported to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. The use of people's information without their permission is quite a serious offence. The Department may consider the possibility of striking individual dentists from the panel, if it is felt they were deliberately trying to defraud the system. The relevant section of the Department is...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: As this is just the third week of January, we are still in the process of taking a look at the names.

Social Welfare Inspections. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Jobseeker's allowance and farm assist are means tested payments. In each case, social welfare inspectors interview claimants and make the inquiries necessary to ascertain their means. Historically, self-employed people were assessed on their income in the 12 months prior to claiming, and decisions were made on that basis. This has proved an effective measure of means during periods of...

Social Welfare Inspections. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Genuine issues arise in respect of self-employed people seeking unemployment assistance. We took these issues on board in recognising that the income a person earned over the preceding 12 months could not reflect what he or she could earn during the following year. This is why new circulars were issued to inspectors. Bearing in mind some of the concerns raised by Deputy Crawford on...

Social Welfare Inspections. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Inspectors have already received three circulars and they have also been brought together in a workshop so that the details of the scheme could be explained and their fair implementation ensured. We will continue to keep the matter under review.

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Arising from the changes made in the Social Welfare Act 2010 the rates of payment for both jobseeker's allowance and farm assist payments were reduced. Accordingly, the farm assist payment of the person concerned was reduced in line with these provisions with effect from 1 January 2010. The person concerned applied for and was awarded farm assist with effect from 19 November 2008. In such...

Social Welfare Benefits. (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Difficulties arise where the wife is also working because her income is also taken into account. We accept that somebody might need farm assist but the household income must be considered. This is a social issue because in the past the man was the main breadwinner but the roles have now reversed and men are being refused social welfare assistance because their household income is being...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 124 together. There are currently over 93,000 tenants benefiting from a rent supplement payment - an increase of almost 26% since the end of 2008. Over 35,000 or 38% have been in payment for 18 months or more. The Rental Accommodation Scheme or RAS, which was introduced in 2004, gives local authorities specific responsibility for meeting the longer term...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: In order to identify fraud and error levels in schemes the Department carries out detailed fraud and error surveys on individual schemes. These surveys provide evidence based indicators for the levels of fraud and error within those schemes at that particular time. As reported by the Comptroller and Auditor General the percentage of expenditure resulting from fraud identified in these...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos 87, 106, 112 and 119 together. I fully appreciate that becoming unemployed and having to claim a jobseeker's payment is stressful enough in itself and that it is vital that people get access to financial supports as quickly as possible. As Deputies will be aware, the number of people on the live register grew by over 45% in the 12 months to December 2009. The...

Written Answers — Money Advice and Budgeting Service: Money Advice and Budgeting Service (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Responsibility for the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) transferred to the Citizens Information Board (CIB) in 2009 and will provide strong management support to the local voluntary MABS companies. MABS assists 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...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jan 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The Department is committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers. To this end, operational processes and procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed in all areas of the Department. These reviews are supported by modern technology, the potential of which is continuously harnessed. Claims are processed in the most efficient and expeditious way...