Results 2,661-2,680 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. All carers in receipt of carer's allowance and carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance, regardless of their age, receive a free travel pass. It is also available to people under age 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such as...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Mar 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 exceptional needs payments to assist with essential once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of his or her household income or other resources. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders on long-term social welfare or health service executive payments with meeting the cost of their additional heating needs during the winter season. Fuel allowances are paid for 29 weeks from the end of September to mid-April. The allowance represents a contribution towards a person's normal heating expenses. In addition, many of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Entitlement to maternity benefit is generally contingent in the first instance on entitlement to statutory leave. The right to maternity leave is established under the maternity protection legislation, which is the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Maternity benefit payments serve as a non-means tested income transfer in lieu of earnings forgone...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 355 to 357, inclusive, together. Rent supplements are available to eligible people through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department have any function in determining entitlement in individual cases. Under section 190(1) of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The back to work enterprise allowance is designed to encourage the long-term unemployed to take up self-employment opportunities by allowing them to retain a reducing proportion of their social welfare payment, plus secondary benefits, over four years. From 1 March 2006, I have reduced the qualifying period for the back to work enterprise allowance — self employed — from the previous...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned was awarded disability benefit from 15 February 1996. Her claim was disallowed from 23 February 2004 after she was found capable of work by a medical assessor of the Department. She appealed against the disallowance and she was examined by a different medical assessor who also considered her to be capable of work. Her case was then referred to an appeals officer who...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Rent supplements are available to eligible people through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in determining entitlement in individual cases. Section 190(1) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 provides that people in full-time...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (2 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The five statutory agencies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Combat Poverty Agency, Comhairle, the Family Support Agency and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition, the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of my Department. Appointments made to these agencies since 1 March 2001 are outlined in the following tables. The Pensions Board was established...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Mar 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 have any function in relation to decisions on individual claims. Under supplementary welfare allowance rules, rent supplement is not normally payable to couples where either of them is engaged in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (1 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on behalf of my Department by the Health Service Executive, provides for the payment of a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of rent to eligible persons in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation needs. In order to qualify for rent supplement a person must satisfy a number of conditions...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (1 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Rent supplements are payable under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in determining entitlement in individual cases. The western region of the executive has advised that the person concerned was refused rent supplement as the household...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (1 Mar 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The over 80 allowance is an extra payment to people receiving social welfare pensions and in budget 2006 I was pleased to raise this to €10 per week. The allowance is paid in respect of the main claimant and is not currently available to those receiving social welfare support as qualified adults on the pension of their spouse or partner. At present, there are almost 3,700 qualified adults...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (28 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The child-minding relief, announced by the Minister for Finance in the budget, is provided for in the Finance Bill 2006. The scheme allows an individual to supervise up to three children in his or her own home with all related child-minding earnings, up to a maximum ceiling of €10,000 per annum, exempted from taxation. To ensure that all those who participate in this scheme are afforded the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Feb 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. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation...

Written Answers — Departmental Advertising: Departmental Advertising (28 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The use of advertising is a vital medium in the effective delivery of social welfare services to ensure all citizens are kept informed of the broad range of social insurance, social assistance schemes and other supports available to them and of changes and improvements to the schemes and services as they occur. My Department spent €176,228 on advertising in the national newspapers in 2005....

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (28 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity and gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Special arrangements for volunteer development workers have provided since 1983 for the award of credited social insurance contributions up to an aggregate of five years while they are outside the country on development activities. These credited contributions enable the workers to qualify for short-term benefits on their return from their overseas development work and it supports their...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (28 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: In regard to self-employed contributors who are outside the PAYE system, there is no provision for payments made towards future personal pension provision to be exempted from liability for PRSI contributions. However, self-employed contributors on the PAYE schedule E system may avail of PRSI refunds on these payments. The relevant provisions are contained in section 38 of the Social Welfare...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The carer's benefit scheme is a weekly income support payment operated and paid by this Department. It is specifically intended to support people who must leave the workforce temporarily to care for someone who is in need of full-time care and attention. It is based on PRSI contributions paid by the carer. As provided for in the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Bill 2006, the benefit is...