Results 2,041-2,060 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I would never fly a kite.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: As I stated, that is my intention. I am in no doubt about that. I want to bring this matter to a conclusion. I want to set it out before the end of this year and then bring legislative proposals in the next available Bill thereafter.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I suspect it will probably be in this Bill's successor next year. I am not sure if it will be the one immediately after the budget. It will be in either one or the other. It depends on how quickly I can do it.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: The working group has been established under the chairmanship of the Department of the Taoiseach. All the different agencies and stakeholders are involved in the process and it is intended to publish the strategy later this year. That is important work and was well rehearsed in Towards 2016 and in the social partnership arena. On amendment No. 25, the issue of dealing with young carers is a...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: It will look at the issue of caring generally. I will talk to the Minister of State with responsibility for children with regard to that matter to ensure any necessary inputs are included.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I thank colleagues for their thorough examination of this Bill and for their support for many aspects of it. I have taken on board a number of the points the Deputies have made, some in the context of ongoing discussions to make substantial changes. Hopefully, we will see those changes. I appreciate the general welcome for the Bill through all Stages and the formidable efforts of...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: We have had a good discussion on the matters raised. Between both Deputies Shortall and Enright there wasââ
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: In fairness, I have. There are a number of stakeholders involved in the social and family affairs area. The delivery of policy in the social economy area approaches a budget of some â¬17 billion. We forget, as a result of the transformation over the past ten or 15 years, that less than 9% of that budget now deals directly with unemployment. The significant policy area that has emerged...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: The position in Kilkenny and Coolock where the two studies are under way is very interesting. Those lone parents who have come in to meet staff and officials have found it extremely beneficial and have encouraged some of their friends and colleagues that this is a non-threatening approach to dealing with their individual needs. We all understand it is not just about financial payments, but...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Order for Report Stage (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now."
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Under the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, landlords are legally obliged to register tenancies with the Private Residential Tenancies Board. It is a matter for the PRTB to ensure that landlords comply with the requirements of the Act. Neither my Department nor the Health Service Executive has a role in this matter and it would be an unnecessary duplication of functions for...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Perhaps I was misunderstood or did not make my point clearly but the Department already provides the PRTB with all of that information.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Does the Deputy want the Department to take over the role of the Private Rental Tenancies Board? We provide the PRTB with the information. There is a legal obligation on those involved to register with the board. Deputy Shortall makes the point that when a client of ours is going to agree that one should be registered, he or she cannot register in advance of taking possession of the...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: We are trying to be as helpful as we can in ensuring everybody is compliant. In the amendment Deputy Shortall is effectively suggesting the Department should take responsibility and that somehow the matter should come under its aegis but I do not agree. There is a properly constituted legal entity which has the responsibility and legal weight to deal with the matter and it should get on...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Is the Deputy suggesting that if a landlord does not register, the Department should withdraw the money from the social welfare recipient?
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Is the Deputy suggesting the social welfare recipient should be punished and left homeless because somebody else will not do his or her job? It is an interesting concept that the Labour Party is bringing forward. That is the alternative but it is not fair.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: Rent supplement is administered on my behalf by the community welfare service division of the Health Service Executive as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible persons living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: I acknowledged that.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: It will be a one-off cost.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (4 Mar 2008)
Martin Cullen: The substantial process that is under way recognises that the rent supplement scheme is starting to be used to support people on rent supplement in the long term, which is not what it was originally designed to do. It was designed to assist individuals with a specific need for a short period until they could sort themselves out. When it was observed that the scheme had expanded beyond what...