Results 2,101-2,120 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: An oral hearing for the person concerned was arranged for 3rd May 2006. However, the person concerned did not attend the hearing. She telephoned the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 4th May 2006 and said that she had not received the letter of notification as she had moved address. She undertook to write in giving details of her new address. As no letter was received, the Appeals Officer has...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: To qualify for credited Social Insurance contributions while unemployed (unemployment credits) a person must be available for full-time employment, capable of work and must be genuinely seeking work. A Deciding Officer disallowed the unemployment credits application of the person concerned from 29 May 2006, on the grounds that she is not genuinely seeking work. It is open to the person...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The average length of time taken to deal with all appeals (i.e. those decided summarily and by way of an oral hearing) by the Social Welfare Appeals Office in 2005 was 20 weeks. However, if allowance is made for the 25% most protracted cases, the average time falls to 13 weeks. The processing time for appeals covers all phases of the appeal process including the submission by the Department...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 390 and 397 together. Pay related social insurance (PRSI) was extended to self employed people from 6th April 1988, as class S PRSI. Class S benefits cover Widow or Widower's Contributory Pension, Orphan's Contributory Allowance, Old Age Contributory Pension, Maternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit, Bereavement Grant and Old Age Contributory Pension. In the case...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The current employee PRSI ceiling stands at €46,600 per annum. The abolition of this ceiling would yield an estimated €238.2 million in additional revenue to the Social Insurance Fund. Any changes to PRSI exemptions, thresholds and the ceiling would have to be considered in a budgetary context.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The qualifying conditions for the payment of Disability Benefit are that a person is under 66 years of age, unfit for work due to illness and satisfies the PRSI contribution conditions. Persons over the age of 66 are not insurable under the Social Welfare Acts at a class reckonable for Disability Benefit purposes and the age limit for receipt of Disability Benefit is thus 66 years. There is a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 393 and 404 to 409, inclusive, together. The number of estates cases in 2004 where the Pension Services Office of my Department raised overpayments was 335. There are no statistics available on the number of cases where the next-of-kin of the deceased pensioners in question stated that the overpayments arose partly or in total from savings accumulated from...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The pensioner in this case who is now deceased was in receipt of an old age non-contributory pension from my Department since 1982. Following her death in September 2003, her schedule of assets indicated that she had a substantial amount of savings which she did not declare to the Department as she was legally obliged to do. Her circumstances were investigated by a social welfare inspector of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The pensioner in this case who is now deceased received an old age non-contributory pension from my Department between September 1976 and the time he died in July 2005. Following his death, his schedule of assets indicated that he had a substantial amount of savings in four separate financial accounts. His circumstances were investigated by a social welfare inspector of my Department in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The living alone allowance or living alone increase as it is now known, is an additional payment of €7.70 per week made to people aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. It is also available to people under 66 years of age who are living alone and who receive payments under one of a number of invalidity type schemes. The increase...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Jul 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. Neither I nor my Department has any function in relation to decisions on individual claims or operational matters. The Health Service Executive has advised that, due to an administrative error, the rent supplement payment...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes mortgage interest supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in relation to decisions on individual claims. The Health Service Executive has advised that the person concerned was refused a mortgage interest supplement in April...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Personal Public Service (PPS) number is a unique personal identifier for transactions between individuals and Government Departments as well as other public bodies specified in the Social Welfare Acts. The number is required for a significant number of dealings with public agencies including, but not limited to, employment-related purposes. A person applying for a PPS number is required...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The cost of increasing the maximum weekly rate of all qualified adult allowances to the relevant maximum weekly personal rate of payment is estimated at €311 million in a full year.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Where both members of a couple are claiming social welfare payments and one or both of the claimants is in receipt of unemployment assistance, farm assist or pre-retirement allowance their combined payments cannot exceed the amount which would be payable if only one person was being paid with an increase for a qualified adult dependant, where appropriate. In this situation one or both of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: In general, the social insurance class paid by those affected by the marriage bar was a modified rate which now gives coverage for widow(er)'s and orphan's pensions and occupational injury benefit, bereavement grant and carer's benefit only. This class reflected their occupational pension position and general contract of service at that time. Accordingly, even if they had continued in...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The five statutory agencies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Combat Poverty Agency, Comhairle, the Social Welfare Tribunal, and the Family Support Agency. The budgetary allocation for 2006 for each agency is as follows: Board/Agency Allocation for 2006 € Pensions Board 1,300,000 Combat Poverty Agency 4,869,000 Comhairle 24,362,000 ...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The following are the number of positions affected by the increase in non-executive chairpersons' fees recently sanctioned by the Government: The Pensions Board, 1; Comhairle, 1; The Family Support Agency, 1; and Combat Poverty Agency, 1.

Written Answers — Departmental Task Forces: Departmental Task Forces (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy shortly.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Jul 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment which provides income support to people who are providing certain elderly or incapacitated persons with full time care and attention and whose incomes fall below a certain limit. The primary objective of the social welfare system is to provide income support and, as a general rule, only one weekly social welfare payment is payable to an...