Results 21,161-21,180 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: We are involved in auction politics in that two parties are putting forward diametrically opposed policies. One is to try to court the supporters in one camp and the other is to try-----

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: We would never do that.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: There is no right for anybody to stop anybody from applying.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Under the social welfare code anybody can apply for any scheme he or she wants.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Whether a person qualifies then is a matter for adjudication. Nobody can stop anybody from completing a form and submitting it. If a form is submitted it must be processed.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Any social welfare officer telling any person that he or she has no right to complete a form is in dereliction of his or her duty. I ask the Deputy to give me the names of the officials who are telling people they cannot make an application, I will immediately arrange for them to be informed that everybody and anybody can make an application on a form to my Department and it must be processed.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: If they believed they were entitled they should have applied.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: It does not happen.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Deputy keeps perpetrating this lie against the officials of my Department.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: It does not happen.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: It casts a serious slur on the officials of the Department to allege they are not applying the law. I can absolutely assure the Deputy that both the appeals office and the officials in my Department do this on an objective basis. No instruction is given and it would not be legal to give one, other than that this is done in accordance with the law. The Deputy keeps repeating this allegation...

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The problem is negative equity.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I thank all the Deputies for their contribution. Many valid points were made and I will try to deal with as many as I can. Deputy Ring asked about the universal social charge. The charge is not payable on any social welfare payment. We must start from the premise that €6 billion had to be taken out. Fine Gael agrees with that premise and the Labour Party does not. My belief is that if...

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Rightly so. It was less than €100 million in 2000 and it is now more than €600 million. A great many fundamental reforms took place. For example, we introduced the half-rate carer's allowance.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: This allowed one, for the first time, to obtain the half-rate carer's allowance in addition to an underlying social welfare payment. We introduced the respite care grant, amounting to €1,700 per year, which is more than €30 per week. There is an arrangement whereby a carer caring for somebody down the street or a quarter of a mile away can get the free benefits, worth €20 per week,...

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: This should be compared to the new basic rate for one in receipt of the jobseeker's allowance, €188 per week. I felt it was important to retain the architecture put in place. I refer to the universal respite grant paid to all carers. Many carers are not entitled to the carer's allowance but they do receive the respite grant in recognition of the work they do. I felt it was very important...

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Exactly. The Deputy is right. With my background, it would have been tempting to pick out the blind and treat them separately.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am interested in hearing the Deputy's views on this. The difficulty with his proposal is that somebody would approach one with a very valid case-----

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The blind pension for those over 66 is now paid as a State pension; it is not affected.

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am coming to those. Had I picked out the 1,400 blind people, which would not have had any significant effect on the arithmetic, the Deputy would have argued that there are many on the disability allowance whose multiple disabilities are far worse than partial sight. The Deputy would have made this case to me very cogently. I know people whose disabilities are far worse than that of...