Results 2,061-2,080 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support, in the form of a weekly or monthly payment, to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders on long-term social welfare or health service executive payments with meeting the cost of their additional heating needs during the winter season. Fuel allowances are paid for 29 weeks from end-September to mid-April. The allowance represents a contribution towards a person's normal heating expenses. A number of improvements have...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, provides for the payment of a rent supplement to assist eligible people who are unable to provide for their immediate accommodation needs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Rent...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Pensions Board in its report on the national pensions review, published last January, suggested a number of measures in relation to social welfare pensions designed to encourage people to continue working after normal retirement age. These included making such employment fully insurable for pensions purposes and allowing for enhanced payments when a person decides to defer claiming...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Supporting and recognising carers in our society has been a priority of the Government since 1997. Over that period, weekly payment rates to carers have been greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have been significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's benefit and the respite care grant have been introduced and extended....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1 May 2004. The basis of the restriction contained in the rules is the applicant's habitual residence. The effect is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere is not paid social welfare payments on arrival in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The back to education allowance is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. To qualify for participation in the BTEA scheme an applicant must, inter alia, be in receipt of a relevant social...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The application for a Respite Care Grant from the person to whom the Deputy refers was received in my Department on 31 July 2006. It is currently being processed and my Department hopes to be in a position to make a decision on it and inform the applicant of the outcome shortly.

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contribution is made up of a number of different components including: social insurance at the appropriate percentage rate for employees and employers, which varies according to the pay of the employee and the benefits for which he or she is insured; the 2% health contribution, and the 0.70% national training fund levy which is included in the...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The higher PRSI rate for employers currently stands at 10.05 per cent. An increase in the employer's share of the PRSI contribution to the pre-Budget 2002 rate of 12 per cent would yield an estimated €817.8 million in additional income to the social insurance fund in a full year. This estimate does not take into account the national training fund levy of 0.7% which is collected as part of...

Written Answers — Fiscal Policy: Fiscal Policy (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The employee PRSI ceiling is reviewed annually in accordance with the legislative stipulations of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005. The legislation requires the Minister to take into account any changes in the average earnings of workers in the transportable good industries as recorded by the Central Statistics Office since the ceiling was previously reviewed. The current...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned was in receipt of Disability Allowance from 28 August 2002. The claim was reviewed and as a result payment was suspended from 12 April 2006 on the grounds that she failed to show that her means did not exceed the statutory limit. A deciding officer subsequently decided on 3/7/06 that the person was not entitled to receive Disability Allowance from 12/4/06. The person...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The pensioner in this case who is now deceased was in receipt of old age non-contributory pension from my Department since 1985. Following his death in August 2004, his schedule of assets indicated that he had a substantial amount of savings which he did not declare to the Department as he was legally obliged to do. His circumstances were investigated by my Department and an overpayment of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Workers are insured under social welfare legislation as either employed or self-employed contributors. Employees and their employers generally pay contributions at PRSI Class A whereas self-employed workers generally pay contributions at PRSI Class S. The class and number of contributions paid determine the range of benefits towards which contributors can build entitlement. While employees...

Written Answers — Departmental Investigations: Departmental Investigations (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005, requires that the Minister undertake an actuarial review of the financial condition of the social insurance fund at five-year intervals. The first actuarial review, as required under this legislation, was published in October, 2002, and reflected the position of the Social Insurance Fund at the end of 2000. A request for tender inviting...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Supporting and recognising carers in our society has been a priority of the Government since 1997. Over that period, weekly payment rates to carers have been greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have been significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's benefit and the respite care grant have been introduced and extended....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years, or over, to all carers in receipt of carer's allowance and to carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance. It is also available to people under age 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such as disability allowance, invalidity pension and...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties are protected by the homemakers scheme which was introduced from 1994. The scheme allows up to 20 years spent caring for children or incapacitated adults to be disregarded when a person's social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes. However, the scheme will not of itself...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1046 to 1049, inclusive, together. The Outline Sectoral Plan, produced by my Department under the Disability Act 2005 and as part of the National Disability Strategy, proposed that Comhairle prepare a scheme relating to sign language interpretation (SLI) services in Ireland. In preparation for this task, Comhairle commissioned consultants to review existing...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (27 Sep 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1050 and 1051 together. The case to which the Deputy refers relates to Directive 80/987/EEC which provides for the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer. The High Court in the U.K. referred a case to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling on whether Article 8 of this Directive requires "Member States to...