Results 1,921-1,940 of 14,127 for speaker:David Stanton
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: I will speak to amendment No. 12 which the select committee discussed in detail on Committee Stage. Free legal aid centres contacted Deputies expressing concern that the parents of certain children resident in the State have few resources to provide necessities. Although they receive food and a roof over their heads, they also have other needs. Some of the children in question have been...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: The Minister will no longer be in his position by then.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: I thank the Minister for his comments and concern on this issue. I hope he will be proactive in this regard. He has said he is not aware of any evidence of persons enduring hardship as a consequence of this condition. Perhaps he might ask the Combat Poverty Agency or another suitable body to examine the situation. If children in such circumstances are living in consistent poverty â to...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: It is only 34 or 35 years ago since the marriage bar was removed and only now its impact has become evident as a result of women affected by it reaching pension age and realising the injustice done to them. While the number of women involved is increasing, it is a limited number. The Minister is losing his touch and has slipped up badly. I am amazed he has not featured on the front page of...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: Of course. We will wait and see what happens. The Minister has already featured with regard to pensions, lone parents and others, but we wait for him to feature with regard to sorting out the problem of the marriage bar. I am amazed it has not happened yet. Deputy Penrose was right to say we need a report on the issue. Perhaps the issue will feature in the pensions' report which is due to...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: On amendment No. 18, concerns were raised at a recent meeting of the End Child Poverty Coalition regarding the administration of the RAS. Recipients of rent supplement were transferred to local authority housing lists. The Minister might let us know how the system is functioning. A lot of money has been transferred from his Department to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: What is the point in transferring all this money when it is not being used? The Department obviously has a huge surplus considering that just â¬8 million of the â¬63 million allocated has been spent to date. What is the rationale for this? Is the Minister serious about the target of accommodating 10,000 by the end of this year considering that only 3,000 have been accommodated so far,...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: I move amendment No. 13: In page 5, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: "1.âThe Minister for Social and Family Affairs shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on the introduction of a second-tier, employment-neutral, child income support payments to target child poverty levels.". This is one of the issues the...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: I welcome that payment, for which we have been pushing for some time on this side of the House. Will the Minister state when the NESC was first asked to report on this matter and when he expects to receive its report? Has he given any indication on the extension of the deadline for the back to school clothing and footwear grant, which is part of the second tier payment, to closer to...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: It finishes at the end of September and we would like to give people until, perhaps, the end of the November or Christmas to claim it.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: I thank the Minister for making that commitment. If he brought the payment as far as the end of October, it would be a natural full-stop in the time limit. It is not that much further on but it would give people the extra time because September is such a busy month in school â I spent long enough at the chalk board to know that parents are under pressure and do not think about these...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: I move amendment No. 15: In page 5, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: "1.âThe Minister for Social and Family Affairs shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on the progress to date in replacing the One Parent Family Payment with the new parental allowance for all low income families.". This is another issue...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: The Minister has said this is a very important issue and that it is right that we proceed carefully. A number of issues arise. I was told by a lady recently that her son and his girlfriend wanted to get married but they found out that they would lose out financially if they did. There are other issues tied up with this one. On the issue of work, a lone parent with a 14 month old boy...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: I urge whatever Government is in power after the general election to take up this issue.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: I move amendment No. 16: In page 5, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: 1.â"The Minister for Social and Family Affairs shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on the introduction of targeted social and community supports for young carers.". I have raised this issue many times. The social partners which make up...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: Yes.
- Written Answers — Human Trafficking: Human Trafficking (21 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: Question 143: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps being taken by his Department to combat human trafficking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10405/07]
- Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (22 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: Question 56: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she has received correspondence from a school (details supplied) in County Cork; the current enrolment in the school; the projected enrolment for September 2007; when and if she will sanction the additional teachers and classrooms required; the discussions her Department has had with Cork County Council regarding the long-term...
- Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (22 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: Question 279: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if a mechanism exists to appeal the granting of a disabled person's grant when the applicant feels that the amount granted is not enough; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10882/07]
- Written Answers — Electricity Generation: Electricity Generation (27 Mar 2007)
David Stanton: Question 134: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the number of electricity generating stations scheduled for closure here; his intentions in regard to future use of these stations; the number and location of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11469/07]