Results 22,301-22,320 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: This amendment proposes that, "The Minister shall, within 2 months of the enactment of this Act, report to the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection on the progress made in establishing a register of Irish citizens that have died abroad". I have no problem. If the Senator wants me to report progress, all he has to do is table a motion for the Adjournment or on Private Members' time and...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: -----I know the grandparents particularly well. While the issues identified do not appear to represent insurmountable barriers, it is clear that whatever is decided will require careful consideration, comprehensive interdepartmental consultation and discussion among Government agencies. The families accepted that this was going to take time and I was very clear in my comments. When one is...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I have no problem in coming back. I know why amendments are tabled in this manner. There are constraints on Senators that I found frustrating when I was a Member of this House. I have no problem at any time in coming back to the Seanad, if requested by Members, to debate any issue and keep the House informed on what has happened. It is the right of Senators as parliamentarians. We have...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: In any event, there is a saying in Irish: "Is fearr deireanach ná go brách." I trust it will be a great success, because we all hope employment picks up and that we can encourage employers to take on more staff. Unemployment and money problems at the individual level are horrendous legacies of what has happened in recent years.

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: We had a fines Bill which allows for instalment payments. The court decides what a person can pay. There is always a problem with people on social welfare. One cannot go below the supplementary welfare rate which is the same as the jobseeker's allowance basic rate and the jobseeker's benefit basic rate. The fines Bill is the way to go. The Department recovers moneys owed to it. I get...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I accept that. If people knew the system, they should not go to jail for debts. A court will not require them to pay a debt they cannot pay. A court will not order someone to pay an amount of their income that they need to live on. The instalment payment system introduced by the Fines Act has been a step forward in this regard. Over the years I have seen people go to jail for the...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I approach this from different angles. The Department carries out fraud and error surveys in payments. At times it can be very hard to differentiate between fraud and error and whether a person culpably held back certain information. We all have had constituents in our offices telling us they did not understand the system. Sometimes one believes them; other times not. Then there is the...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am not going to accept the amendment but I accept the point being made. There are many issues relating to the 36 rates of PRSI, the different classes, etc. I am aware of a case, which might be similar to the one to which the amendment refers, where a person who had worked as a PAYE taxpayer in a shop subsequently married the employer and then had a child. She applied for the maternity...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I fully accept the spirit of what Senator McCarthy says. I have had a great deal of experience with the social welfare system and how it has developed over the years because at one stage I was effectively the employer. I was a manager of a co-operative and I learnt many of the crinkles of the social welfare system, unemployment rules, casual labour and so on. What I have seen over years...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Several elements are involved here. One issue relates to the requirement on insurance companies to compensate the Minister for illness and disability payments due to be refunded. I agreed in the Dáil to examine this issue. If there is a great heap of money available, it would be very attractive to get it. It is worth noting that the level of recovery by the compensation recovery unit...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Such people are perfectly entitled to jobseeker's allowance. Many constituents of mine, who are also constituents of the Senator, are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance. Some such people were self-employed and may still have a small self-employed income. This was the first question I double checked when I came to the Department. In the old days, when I was working in the commercial...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: If such a person has a titim tubaisteach in income, last year might have shown a profit. This would not entitle a person to a payment but the position may be different this year. In that case the rule is not absolute. I have answered innumerable parliamentary questions about this. If one can prove that the income this year will be nil, one is still entitled to jobseeker's allowance. I...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Revenue must go after and collect taxes where possible, but if a person has no income or assets, it is difficult to collect anything. If these individuals were taken to court, the court would have to take into account their lack of income. On the social welfare side of the equation, we are dealing primarily with small operators and we advise them to go to their accountants and ask them to do...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Part 12 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 imposes an obligation on spouses to maintain each other and their children and on parents to maintain their children. The Act also imposes a liability on liable relatives of recipients of certain social welfare payments to contribute a determined amount to the Department towards that payment. All one-parent family payment claimants are...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The amendment states: "The Courts Service is required automatically to notify the Minister of upward or any changes in maintenance orders." The Senators can bet their bottom dollar if there is money owing to the Department, I will go after it. Sometimes in the debate on social welfare, there is a lack of proportion regarding the amounts we are dealing with. While I am not one to sneeze at...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: No. There is an even bigger saving to be made by way of an arrangement to enable a claimant's voice to be recognised. If it is not the claimant's voice, the messaging service will switch off.

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: No, it is an interactive service. One is asked for one's name and PRSI number and if whoever responds is not the claimant, the system will switch off. It will also be location sensitive. In other words, if a claimant rings from outside the jurisdiction, the system will cut them off. The only way the system can be fooled is if a claimant is working and rings from the place of employment....

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: It is not 5%.

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am delighted the Senator has asked that question because the ash cloud story is one of the great urban myths. Some journalist had the story written and then asked the question. When he received the information, it took him three weeks to disaggregate the information in a way that would allow him retain the original story. We check claims in the third week of every month. When the...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2010)

Éamon Ó Cuív: There were people from almost every country in the world, including eastern European countries, Pakistan and Australia. The list was two pages long. The myth about cheap flight is nonsensical; some of the countries are so far away it would not be worth someone's while flying here, even to claim the dole for one month. Therefore, the research proved that virtually no one was availing of...