Results 2,681-2,700 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

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

Séamus Brennan: On budget day, I was pleased to announce that I proposed to establish, in September 2006, a standardised State non-contributory pension, replacing the old age pension and, for recipients aged 66 years and over, blind pension, widow/widower's pension, one-parent family payment, deserted wife's allowance and prisoner's wife's allowance. In addition to the simplification and rationalisation of...

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department employs over 4,500 people. There are 12 people on the payroll in my Department who are currently deployed outside of the Department. The following is a breakdown of the numbers and details involved. One assistant principal and four assistant principals, acting, are completing a two year masters programme in public policy analysis; one assistant principal is on secondment to the...

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

Séamus Brennan: The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment which provides income support to people who are providing certain elderly or incapacitated persons with full-time care and attention and whose incomes fall below a certain limit. The primary objective of the social welfare system is to provide income support and, as a general rule, only one weekly social welfare payment is payable to an...

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

Séamus Brennan: The risk of poverty, especially child poverty, tends to be higher among one-parent families, larger families and those faced by long-term unemployment, due mainly to the direct costs of rearing children, including child care costs, and the opportunity costs related to the reduced earning capacity of parents arising from their care responsibilities. This applies particularly to one-parent...

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

Séamus Brennan: I understand that the Deputy is concerned, in particular, about the current arrangements applying in the case of old age pensions and other social assistance pensions where the claimant is in possession of a farm. In assessing means for social assistance purposes, account is taken of any cash income the person may have, including income from farming, together with the value of capital and...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (28 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Under the Government's decentralisation programme for the civil and public service, the Department's headquarter sections and the social welfare appeals office are scheduled to relocate to six locations — Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon, Donegal, Buncrana, Carrickmacross and Drogheda. In addition, the Combat Poverty Agency and Comhairle, which operate under the aegis of the Department, are...

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Bill 2006: Second Stage (Resumed). (28 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I thank the Deputies for their consideration of Second Stage of this Bill. I will bring forward a small number of technical amendments on Committee Stage. I would like to deal with many of the items raised during this debate on Committee Stage because they are very detailed. Deputy Connaughton listed four or five cases involving individuals and I would like to deal with those issues in detail...

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Bill 2006: Referral to Select Committee. (28 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Social and Family Affairs, in accordance with Standing Order 120(1) and paragraph 1(a)(i) of the Orders of Reference of that committee.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The legislative provisions on late claims for social welfare payments are set out in section 241 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 and in statutory instruments. These provisions set out the times within which a person must claim the disqualifications which apply where a claim is made late and the circumstances in which the time limits may be extended. All late claims are...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Feb 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. Rent supplement is not payable to people in full-time education. However, an exception is made for people who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments on a long-term basis who wish...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (23 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Deputy will be aware that the case in question has been a subject of previous correspondence in relation to the person's entitlement to a reduced rate contributory pension. The question at issue at this stage relates to entitlement to credited contributions, retrospectively for periods spent outside the workforce. PRSI credited contributions are an integral part of the social insurance...

Written Answers — Traveller Community: Traveller Community (23 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The national action plan against poverty and social exclusion, NAP/inclusion, which recognises Travellers as a vulnerable group, includes the objective to improve their life experience through the provision of appropriate education, health and housing services and to remove any remaining barriers to their full participation in the work and social life of the country. To that end a number of...

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Bill 2006: Second Stage (Resumed). (23 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Myself and Fukuyama are very close.

Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Bill 2006: Second Stage (Resumed). (23 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: It is a pity to stop him.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Feb 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 rent supplement to eligible people whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs. I am very conscious of the need to facilitate persons in receipt of social welfare payments when taking up employment...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The schemes administered by my Department which assist pensioners with energy costs include the national fuel scheme and the electricity or gas allowance. 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. The fuel allowance is paid for...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned is in receipt of unemployment assistance at the maximum weekly rate of €165.80 from 8 February 2006. She had applied to have her claim made retrospective from 17 December 2005. A deciding officer disallowed her retrospective claim on the grounds that she failed to satisfy all the conditions for receipt of unemployment assistance and also that she failed to show that...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment which provides income support to people who are providing certain older people or people with a disability with full-time care and attention and whose incomes fall below a certain limit. In the course of the carer's allowance means test, account is taken of the claimant's own means and, in the case of a couple, the joint means are assessed....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 426, 435 and 439 together. 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...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Disability benefit is a social insurance payment made to people who are unable to work due to illness. To satisfy the PRSI contribution conditions and to underpin the contributory principle underlying the social insurance system, a person must have paid 52 contributions since entry into insurable employment, with 39 contributions paid or credited in the relevant contribution year and 13...