Results 2,381-2,400 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The living alone increase 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 who are under 66 years of age who are living alone and receiving payments under one of a number of invalidity type schemes. The increase is intended as a contribution towards...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a one-off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when their children start school each autumn. The allowance is not intended to meet the full cost of school clothing and footwear but only to provide assistance towards these costs. A person may qualify for payment of an allowance if they are in...

Written Answers — Health Services: Health Services (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Government has made significant improvements to the carers allowance and Carers Benefit in recent years. The number of hours a person can work and continue to receive payment has increased from 12 to 15 hours per week. The income disregard has been increased in Budget 2008 to €332.50 for a single person and €665 for a couple. The respite care grant was extended to all people...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The reduction and eventual elimination of child poverty is a national priority and at the core of the strategic process to combat poverty and social exclusion, as set out in Towards 2016, the National Action Plan for social inclusion (NAPinclusion) and the social inclusion commitments in the NDP. Children growing up in low income or jobless households are the most vulnerable to poverty. A...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The state pensions contributory and transitional include, where appropriate, an increase for a dependent spouse or partner. This increase is means-tested and a full increase is payable where a spouse's income is less than €100 per week, and reduced rates are payable until income exceeds €300 per week, up from €280 before the recent Budget. The decision is made on the basis of the...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: Budget 2007 provided for the telephone allowance to be extended to cover mobile phones. Under this new arrangement, customers have the choice to opt either for a direct credit to a telephone company for their landline as before or for a cash payment in respect of their mobile phone. This means that it is no longer necessary for a person to have a landline installed in order to benefit from...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Disability Awareness training programme, in accordance with my Department's Disability Sectoral Plan, is currently underway. To date, training has been provided to staff in my Department's decentralised headquarters office in Longford which has responsibility for the administration of the main disability-related schemes. All Access Officers, who are at senior management levels, have...

Written Answers — Departmental Strategy Statements: Departmental Strategy Statements (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: A strategic review of the website was completed in June 2006 which recommended a full redesign and redevelopment of the website. Work is currently underway on the development of the new website which is scheduled for implementation in the second half of 2008. A promotional campaign to encourage greater use of the website will be undertaken thereafter.

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: In July 2006 my Department launched its Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act 2005. The plan is aimed at developing services that not only give people with disabilities financial security but encourage maximum participation in society. One of the objectives of the plan is to engage meaningfully with persons of working age, particularly marginalised groups and provide services directly and in...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The person concerned is in receipt of maximum rate Widow's (Contributory) Pension of €191.30 plus € 21.90 fuel allowance, per week. As her spouse had worked in England, the relevant information was referred to the Department of Social Security in Newcastle upon Tyne (DHSS) to assess her eligibility for a widow's pension. It is a matter for that Department to advise the person concerned of...

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (19 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: To date, 177 posts have relocated from the Department's Dublin Offices to Carrick-on-Shannon and Sligo, of whom 65 were Dublin based and 112 were provincially based. In addition, a further 136 employees, of whom 104 are Dublin based and 32 are provincially based, have transferred to this Department's existing decentralised offices in Dundalk, Letterkenny, Longford, Sligo and Waterford to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (18 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The social welfare system is designed to provide income supports and access to relevant services in a timely manner to all our customers. The system is neutral with regard to how it treats men and women; receipt of payment is generally dependent on contingency and other conditions being met. A person in receipt of a social welfare payment may claim an increase, known as a qualified adult...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (18 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Question Nos. 313 and 330 together. 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 in and took effect 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...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (18 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 315 together. The concept of a parental allowance referred to by the Deputy was proposed in the Government discussion paper "Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents". The discussion paper put forward proposals for the introduction of a new social assistance payment for lone parents and other low income families with young children. It also proposed a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (18 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: Where both members of a couple are claiming social welfare payments and one or both of the claimants is in receipt of jobseekers allowance (JA), 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...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (18 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Health Service Executive has advised that it has not received an application for rent supplement from the person concerned. It has further advised that the person concerned should contact the community welfare officer if he wishes to discuss his entitlement to rent supplement.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (18 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The person concerned applied for carer's allowance on 9 October 2007. The medical criteria for award of Carer's Allowance have been satisfied, and the case is being examined to determine that all other conditions for receipt of the allowance are satisfied. On completion of the necessary investigations a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (18 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The person concerned applied for half rate carer's allowance on 5 October 2007. The case has been referred to my Department's Medical Assessor to determine if the medical criteria are satisfied; in addition the case is being examined to determine that all other conditions for receipt of the allowance are satisfied. On completion of the necessary investigations a decision will be made and the...