Results 1,981-2,000 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

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

Mary Hanafin: People generally have found their experience of the social welfare office, once they are in receipt of payment, to be a positive one. The social welfare office does not take benefit from recipients unless there is good evidence to show that they no longer deserve it. When one considers the national employment action plan under which people are called to FÁS for interview with a view to...

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

Mary Hanafin: If there is a vexatious complaint, the person about whom the complaint is being made might not even know a complaint has been made. It is not as if one would go off investigating them. For example, people complain about lone parents cohabiting. That is very difficult to prove because the lone parent can say it only happened yesterday.

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

Mary Hanafin: How does one stop a back payment? I heard yesterday of an inspector who was sitting outside someone's door at 7 a.m. to see who was coming out.

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

Mary Hanafin: Exactly, and so does the inspector-----

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

Mary Hanafin: -----but that is part of the rules on cohabitation. We get many complaints in regard to that. People complain about those on disability payments being well able to work. What many do not realise is that as a lone parent one can earn €145 and still get one's full payment. One can still work when claiming disability benefit. People seem to think that it is a case of one or the other. A...

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

Mary Hanafin: No, there are no sanctions against a person making a complaint. In fairness, we cannot question a person's bona fides when what he or she is trying to do is save the public money. One does not create difficulty for the person against whom a complaint is made because the person might not even be aware of it. Inspectors do not arrive on a person's doorstep and say that a complaint has been...

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

Mary Hanafin: It is mostly women.

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

Mary Hanafin: There are thousands of lone parents in this country who do not come next, nigh nor near the social welfare system who are in employment and who make a full contribution to the economic life of this country and who resent the debate that takes place around lone parents who are on social welfare. However, there are approximately 90,000 lone parents depending on social welfare, a number which...

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

Mary Hanafin: "Cohabiting" is the word that is used.

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

Mary Hanafin: The increase in the qualified child allowance.

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

Mary Hanafin: Senators McFadden and Buttimer raised certain issues concerning the disincentive to work. It is very important that we ensure we keep an incentive to work. The value of family income supplement is that the low income earner can bridge the gap between social welfare and low paid employment. We have, therefore, protected it. We have also protected child benefit for those on family...

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

Mary Hanafin: On the flooding, because the issue is important, a sum of €10 million has been made available in humanitarian aid. So far community welfare officers have assisted 1,300 families. Many of the claims submitted to date have been quite small, but we envisage that, as people go back to their homes, they will realise exactly what is needed and the fund will be available to them. We, therefore,...

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.

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

Mary Hanafin: It is the largest, proportionately, in Europe and we are getting better value so we will get the same number of projects.

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

Mary Hanafin: There will be 60,000 to 70,000 people employed in that. There is a new retrofitting programme which will see people employed in that area and there will be direct funding for the tourism industry, especially with local attractions. Attracting tourists is one of our major industries. There is direct support for the food industry, the employment subsidy scheme and, within my own Department,...

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

Mary Hanafin: I am not finished yet. If people doing apprenticeships are not able to get work, they will be able to do off-the-job training and FÁS is working with all apprentices to facilitate that. We have changed the criteria in the work and graduate placement scheme to make it easier for employers and graduates to participate. When it was first launched there was not much take-up because a small...