Results 2,781-2,800 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Further to the previous parliamentary question referred to, the appeals officer of the social welfare appeals office who decided the case was Ms Una Reidy. Also in attendance at the oral hearing in this case were the appellant, his wife, his daughter and a note-taker, Ms Julie Gallagher, staff officer.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: In the case of contributory pensions and most other contributory and non-contributory social welfare payments, a qualified adult allowance, QAA, is payable in respect of a spouse or partner who is wholly or mainly maintained by the claimant. Account is taken of the spouse or partner's income for the purposes of determining whether the spouse is wholly or mainly dependent. A spouse or...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity-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 who...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Widows and widowers can qualify for one of a number of different schemes depending on their particular circumstances. The contributory widow's-widower's pension is available to those who satisfy the necessary PRSI contribution conditions, either on their own record or that of the deceased spouse. Those qualifying for this benefit are not subject to any means test. Those without the necessary...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The back to education allowance is a second chance education opportunities programme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. As the Deputy may be aware, I reduced the qualifying period for access to the third level option of the scheme to 12...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The main purpose of the EU and bilateral social security arrangements is to protect the pension rights of persons who have paid social insurance contributions in Ireland and have reckonable periods of insurance in another country. The arrangements protect pension rights by allowing reckonable periods in each country to be taken into account in either country in determining entitlement to...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Missionaries who have made sufficient social insurance contributions can qualify for an old age contributory pension. Contributory pensions are payable abroad and so missionaries who qualify and who chose to settle overseas can receive a payment. Non-contributory pensions are only payable where a person is resident in this country. Accordingly, missionaries who return here and who satisfy the...

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Ireland has social security agreements with seven countries Austria, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the USA and Switzerland. These agreements came into effect between 1989 and 1999, except for that with the UK which came into effect in 1971. Ireland also has a bilateral understanding with Quebec since 1 October 1994. In the case of Austria, Switzerland and the United...

Written Answers — Civil Service Travel Scheme: Civil Service Travel Scheme (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The travel pass scheme was introduced by the Minister for Finance on 1 January 2002 in respect of permanent employees. Temporary employees, therefore, cannot be accommodated under the scheme. My Department operates a flexible approach to the scheme whereby permanent employees of this Department can apply for an annual travel pass at any time throughout the year on a monthly basis. For the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: A claim for maternity benefit was received from the woman in question on 18 October 2005. Her expected date of confinement was certified as 22 December 2005, with her maternity leave due to commence on 5 December 2005. Details included on her application form indicated that she was working with her husband and that PRSI contributions had been paid in respect of that employment at PRSI Class...

Pension Provisions. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: At the end of December 2005 there were just under 124,000 people in receipt of a widow's or widower's pension. More than 109,000 of these were getting a contributory pension based on social insurance contributions. There is no means test in such cases and therefore the question of earnings or income disregards does not arise. Of approximately 14,700 persons who get a non-contributory...

Pension Provisions. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I am considering the extension of the €100 which we introduced in the budget for non-contributory old age pensioners. That is currently not available to widows on non-contributory pensions. It obviously does not apply to widows on contributory pensions because there is no means test in that regard. On the numbers I gave the Deputy in my reply, he can see that there is quite a small number...

Pension Provisions. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Is the Deputy talking about the CDA being added on to the contributory pension and being part of the contributory pension?

Pension Provisions. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The contributory pension is not taxed as such but if it is added to other income which takes one above the threshold of tax allowances, then it is taxed. Perhaps that is what is happening in this case. CDAs are not taxed as such——

Pension Provisions. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: ——but if it is added on to other income, I could see how it would fall into the income net. I will take a look at it but I suspect the answer is as I stated, that if the total income from whatever sources — one's welfare and non-welfare income added together — brings one over the limit, then one pays tax on the combined figure.

Social Welfare Benefits. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The one-parent family payment is the income support scheme for separated, unmarried and widowed persons and also for prisoners' spouses bringing up a child or children without the support of a partner. At the end of December 2005, the total number of one-parent family recipients being paid by my Department was 83,066, including 906 widowed persons. Under the scheme, lone parents are...

Social Welfare Benefits. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: This new arrangement is a result of the localisation of the payment of one-parent family allowances which has reduced the processing time from 16 weeks to seven weeks. When preparing my response to the Deputy's question I read the background material, including the circular that issued about this change. It states that payments will be in the post office on Thursday and must be collected by...

Pension Provisions. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: One of the most important policy challenges facing this country and this generation is the foundation for the future retirement in security and with dignity of all of our people. There is no quick fix for the problem that almost half the country's workforce of 2 million people do not have personal pensions. Ireland is not unique in having a future pensions problem. All around the world,...

Pension Provisions. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I have said many times that these are major inter-generational questions and I do not believe there is any quick fix for them. We are trying to begin a process that will allow for decisions to be made as quickly as possible. I have not delayed on this and I brought forward the national pensions review by a year. The review produced a raft of proposals within a few months, many of which are...

Pension Provisions. (9 Feb 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The budget decision was very practical because the SSIAs are coming to maturity so the Government needed to move quickly to make it clear there was an alternative for those taking money out of an SSIA. The alternative is that if €7,500 of SSIA money is invested in a pension fund for retirement purposes, the State will donate €2,500 on top of that, being a cash payment to top up the...