Results 2,341-2,360 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (16 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Since I took up office, I have appointed on a contract basis for my term of office four non-established civil servants, a Special Adviser, Mr. Frank Lahiffe, a Press Adviser, Mr. Tom Rowley, a Personal Secretary, Ms. Mary Browne and a Personal Assistant, Mr. Bobby Holland. All four appointees are employed full-time. The duties carried out by the Advisers (Special Adviser and Press Adviser)...

Social Welfare Benefits. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Yes I can. We are dealing with those of the group of 300 between 15 and 17 who are under 16. A third to a half would be a good guess. There is a senior group of officials looking at long-term care. I raised the issue of young carers with that group and they have taken it into consideration. The bottom line is that young carers should be at school. We need to think long and hard before we have...

Social Welfare Benefits. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Barnardos' first recommendation is to carry out more research on this. We need to get a clear fix on how many people are involved and the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Social Welfare Benefits. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Yes. It is not just a matter of extending the carer's allowances, because a much broader solution is needed for this.

Community Welfare Service. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare scheme is administered by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive on my behalf. The establishment of the Health Service Executive prompted a fresh consideration of the role and structure of the community welfare service and of the most appropriate location for that service in the future. The commission on financial management and control systems...

Community Welfare Service. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The existing service will not be diluted or changed in any significant way. The role filled by community welfare officers is fundamental. They are at the front line in addressing income supports on a day-to-day basis. There are between 750 to 1,000 community welfare officers in different grades. This is not some new idea that I thought up. It goes back to the report on the commission on...

Community Welfare Service. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The idea is fundamentally sound. The officers are working for the HSE and reimbursed indirectly by the Department of Social and Family Affairs. Their real work is dealing with disadvantage at the front line. They will still maintain their current discretion, but they will work with the Department that is primarily responsible for dealing with the same kind of disadvantage. It is more sensible...

Pension Provisions. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 67 and 124 together. My Department operates two main types of pension schemes, contributory and non-contributory payments. Contributory payments are paid on the basis of social insurance contributions made over a person's working life. The standard qualifying conditions for contributory pensions require an ongoing commitment to the social insurance system...

Pension Provisions. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I do not have a timeframe for the report but I imagine it will be completed within the next few months.

Pension Provisions. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: We have not compiled statistics on those who might apply if a scheme were put in place. All those who apply for the non-contributory payment are subject to the provisions of the habitual residence condition. Missionaries retiring here are deemed to satisfy the condition and will, subject to a means test, qualify for pensions. Unfortunately, those who return here on visits cannot be deemed to...

Pension Provisions. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Given the great work the missionaries do, I am sympathetic to that proposal. If they return permanently to Ireland, they will in all likelihood qualify for non-contributory pensions. However, the position of other volunteer development workers must be considered before extending these provisions. Since 1985, social welfare regulations have been modified to provide a measure of assistance by...

Social Welfare Code. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7, 16, 25, 31, 66, 68, 127 and 128 together. The family income supplement is designed to provide support for people with families on low earnings to preserve the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where families might only be marginally better off than if they were claiming other social welfare payments. Family income supplement is a central...

Social Welfare Code. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I was not aware that people are confined to one book. We are keen to give out as many as we can and Deputies should have a supply. I will look into it.

Social Welfare Code. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: We are considering rerunning the FIS campaign, which we ran for one week. It is clear from the thousands of people who immediately called the helpline and the numbers that escalated in the week or two after the advertising campaign that it had a dramatic effect. I gave the Deputies the percentage take-up and the ESRI statistics, and it is clear that we have a distance to travel. The increased...

Social Welfare Code. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I read that article and I agree it was excellent. As a result, I sent for the form, instructed the Department to review it and suggested what could be dropped from it. However, when one wants to cut out red tape, everyone approves, and then someone suggests dropping Question No. 42, for example, but is told it is a health and safety matter, and Question No. 39 might be to do with a child's...

Social Welfare Code. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I do not anticipate a Supplementary Estimate being required. Social welfare schemes are almost all demand-led and as such they are provided for in the system. If demand goes up, the funds are forthcoming. Quite often, savings may well be made in schemes or other aspects of the Department, but if a Supplementary Estimate is required, once the scheme is demand-led, rather than a new policy...

Social Welfare Code. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I have not given much thought to extending the scheme to the self-employed. I would prefer to concentrate on increasing the number of applicants actually in employment. If one were to extend the scheme to the self-employed one would have to certify accounts and so on, and that would become very difficult. There might be a case for it but I do not propose to move on it now. I prefer to put our...

Social Welfare Benefits. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 37 together. In May 2005, the National Economic and Social Council published a report entitled The Developmental Welfare State in which it examined the evolution of the Irish welfare state, considered the issues that remain despite Ireland's economic progress and proposed a framework in which these might be addressed. The report raises a number of...

Garda Deployment. (11 May 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Thar ceann an Aire Dlí agus Cirt, Comhionannais agus Athchóirithe Dlí, táim buíoch den Teachta as ucht seans a thabhairt dom an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo a phlé. Cuirfidh mé an méid a dúirt sé in iúl don Aire. The Garda Commissioner is responsible for the detailed allocation of Garda resources, including personnel. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has been informed...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 May 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...