Results 2,521-2,540 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) and Energia supply the electricity requirements for my Department and agencies. Some 27 offices of my Department, including all headquarter offices, are supplied by Energia with the remaining 108 offices, together with agencies of my Department, being supplied by the Electricity Supply Board. It is not possible to identify explicitly the generation sources...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The final report on the investigation by the Competition Authority into the dental profession, published in October 2007, made the following recommendations which affect this Department: 1.The Health Service Executive and the Department of Social and Family Affairs should allow clinical dental technicians who are on the Register of Clinical Dental Technicians to be directly reimbursed under...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 520, 521, 522, together. The Department supplies some 1,200 members of staff with mobile phones to assist in the performance of their official duties. The costs of official calls and phone rental on these devices are borne by the department. Arrangements are in place for staff to reimburse costs associated with personal calls on Departmental phones. There are...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos: 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 529, 532, 533, and 536 together. There are four civil servants in my Department's Press Office. The Press Officer is a Higher Executive Officer on a pay scale of €44,314 to €56,250. There are two Deputy Press Officers at Executive Officer grade. One of these is on a pay scale of €29,093 to €46,167 and the other is on a pay...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: There are currently five credit/charge cards held by officials of my Department and two held by agencies under the aegis of the Department. The cards are issued on the strict condition that they will be used solely for official purposes and the named card holder is the only person authorized to use the card. Such official usage includes purchase of equipment, air-fares, training courses,...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: According to Departmental records make up expenses were not incurred for the period requested.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: My Department has spent €41,847 on official entertainment in the 11 months to the end of November 2007, the latest date for which figures are available. Expenditure in the previous ten years is detailed below. Year € 1997 33,121 1998 35,032 1999 41,499 2000 54,744 2001 34,813 2002 76,935 2003 49,976 2004 35,438 2005 27,586 2006 34,135

Written Answers — Departmental Transport: Departmental Transport (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The cost to my Department for 1997 for transport costs incurred by the then Minster was € 13,189. During the period July 1997 to date no Minister of State was formally assigned to my Department. However, Minister of State, Máire Hoctor, who is Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, has special responsibility for older people, areas of which fall within the remit of...

Written Answers — Departmental Transport: Departmental Transport (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: Details of public transport expenditure are not recorded separately but are included in the overall Travel and Subsistence subhead. There is a significant level of travel expenditure in my Department's budget, arising from the dispersed nature of my Department's services and, inter alia, the fact that a considerable level of investigative work must be carried out in the course of delivering...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 537 and 538 together. The details requested by the Deputy are not immediately available but are being collated. I will provide this information in writing to the deputy as soon as it becomes available.

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: Meeting the needs of older people is a priority for this Government. Since 2005, and including the increases announced in the recent Budget, cumulative increases in the state pension (contributory) and the state pension (non contributory) amounted to €56 and €58 per week respectively. During this period the Government reached its commitment for a minimum target of €200 per week for...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 540 and 545 together. Supporting and recognising carers in our society is, and has been, a priority of the Government since 1997. Over that period, weekly payment rates to carers have been greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have been significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: Under EU regulations 1408/71, an employed person who is working in a Member State is entitled to the family benefits provided by that State even though their family may be residing in another Member State. When both parents are employed in two different States, the country of residence of the children pays the family benefits. The person concerned is currently employed in Ireland and...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The review of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme was carried out as part of the Government's Expenditure Review Initiative series of Programme Evaluation reviews. Given the extensive and complex nature of the scheme, the review was undertaken in two phases. A report was published at the end of the first phase in December 2004. That report gave a broad appraisal of the scheme and...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The review of the jobseeker schemes which was undertaken under the expenditure review process, focused on the application of the schemes conditions to workers who are not employed on a full-time basis. The review was completed in November 2006. The review contained a range of recommendations, some of which may result in savings to the Exchequer or to the Social Insurance Fund while others...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The review of the one-parent family payment was one of two strands of work undertaken with regard to lone parents and their families under the auspices of the Senior Officials Group on Social Inclusion, the other being an analysis of obstacles to employment for lone parents. Both of these reports are contained within the 'Government Discussion Paper: Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents'...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: Disability allowance was one of the payments which formed part of the Expenditure Review of Illness and Disability Payment Schemes that was carried out by my Department in 2003 and subsequently published in 2004. The review examined and reported on the trend and level of expenditure and found that disability allowance is well targeted in addressing income maintenance requirements of...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: My department is carrying out a Value for Money Review of its information services together with the relevant agencies under the aegis of the Department that are engaged in information provision, i.e. Citizens Information Board and Reach. The review will cover the period 2005-2007 and will examine direct and indirect expenditure incurred in the provision of information on welfare schemes....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE). The person concerned applied for SWA on 18th September 2007. The HSE has advised that payment was awarded from that date and remained in payment until 29 October 2007. Retrospective payments are not made under the terms of the SWA scheme....

Written Answers — Departmental Transport: Departmental Transport (11 Dec 2007)

Martin Cullen: My staff require the use of taxis for travelling to various meetings when public transport is not suitable. This service is provided by the taxi firm, selected following a tender process, with whom my Department has an account. The table shows the relevant expenditure from January 1997 to November 2007. Information in relation to transport costs incurred in the course of Ministerial trips...