Results 2,821-2,840 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The proposal to discontinue or amend entitlement to the treatment benefit scheme will be considered as part of the Estimates and Budget process for 2010. This will include consideration of the report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes, and the decisions on all of the issues arising will be a matter for the Government. It would not be appropriate for me...

Written Answers — Civil Registrations: Civil Registrations (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The legislative provision governing the registration of domestic adoptions and the issue of birth certificates drawn from the register of adoptions is set out at section 22 of the Adoption Act, 1952. Under this provision the Registrar General is charged with maintaining an Adopted Children Register and also to maintain an index to make traceable the connection between each entry in the...

Written Answers — Asylum Applications: Asylum Applications (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 161 and 175 together. The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1st May 2004. It was introduced in the context of the Government's decision to open the Irish labour market to workers from the new EU Member States without the limitations...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The range of benefits and pensions to which different groups of workers may establish entitlement reflects the risks associated with the nature of their work. This in turn reflects the rate of contribution payable. Self-employed people are liable for PRSI at the Class S rate of 3% and are consequently eligible for a narrower range of benefits than general employees who, together with their...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The annual control target for my Department in 2009 is €616.5 million of which nearly €312 million was achieved by the end of last August. These target control savings for 2009 are incorporated in my Department's Revised Estimate for 2009. In the supplementary budget in April, it was announced that the December bonus payment would not be paid this year. There are no plans to alter this...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Family Income Supplement (FIS) is a non taxable payment, introduced in 1984 to provide income support for employees on low earnings with families and thereby preserve the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where they might otherwise only be marginally better off than if they were fully reliant on social welfare payments. To qualify for FIS, a family must have at least one...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The mortgage interest supplement scheme provides support for people who have difficulty meeting their mortgage repayments and whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The scheme provides a short-term income "safety net" within the overall social welfare system to ensure that people do not suffer undue hardship as a result of losing their employment. A supplement in respect of...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes made a range of recommendations relating to the Department of Social and Family Affairs including recommendations relating to the Family Support Agency and its programmes. The Department will consider, as part of the Estimates and budgetary process for 2010, the report's recommendations and decisions on all...

Written Answers — Departmental Schemes: Departmental Schemes (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I presume that this question should refer to the Pensions Insolvency Payment Scheme (PIPS), currently being established by the Minister for Finance on a pilot basis for a three year period. This scheme is intended as an option of last resort and a social protection measure to assist pension schemes where the sponsoring employer is insolvent and the pension scheme is being wound up in deficit....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It is the policy of the Department to ensure that all customers are advised of any change in their entitlements. In the case of a person whose payment has been terminated the Deputy will be aware that anyone suffering hardship may apply for supplementary welfare allowance. This scheme is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service...

Social Welfare Fraud. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: In fact, the Department is now working on the basis of not only fraud and error surveys but, as a result of those, of identifying the high-risk categories, and at the time of application even noting which are the ones that need to be constantly reviewed. For example, the Department is aware that within child benefit there are certain sectors that must be followed up frequently. In the case...

Social Welfare Fraud. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Comptroller and Auditor General is using a fraud and error survey to determine that overpayments were made, although the survey was done to identify the high-risk groups in order to make savings in the future. I am not saying no overpayments were made; of course they were, and we always try to get them back. However, the Comptroller and Auditor General was using a survey that was...

Social Welfare Fraud. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There are currently 398 inspector posts occupied in the Department, and an additional 40 inspector posts were approved this year, of which 21 have already been filled. The remaining 19 will be assigned over the coming weeks.

Social Welfare Fraud. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The amount of money recorded as control savings by the Department by the end of August 2009 was €312 million, which represented an increase of €5.5 million on the same period last year. It should be noted the Department only records as control savings moneys which are saved as a result of reviews of existing claims. However, particular focus is currently being placed on prevention of...

Social Welfare Fraud. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It was worth mentioning in my reply that people are making reports of possible fraud to the Department because it shows the value people are placing on money. Even if many of those who are the subjects of such reports are not fraudulently claiming, the State saves money from the ones who are, so it is still valuable. What people generally do not realise is that there can be quite a high...

Social Welfare Fraud. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: All of that to which the Deputy refers comes in under the heading of control. We have an amount we expect to achieve in respect of each of the different schemes.

Social Welfare Fraud. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It is only when one identifies a case that one can determine what is fraud and what is error.

Social Welfare Fraud. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: We have identified how many reviews we will make within each scheme and how much we hope to gain from those reviews. We have over-achieved in respect of the number of reviews in some areas and have under-achieved in terms of the amount of money saved. As I stated earlier, we recouped more than we expected in respect of carers and less than we thought under other schemes. The number of...

Departmental Staff. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Since May 2008, 357 extra staff have been assigned to local offices, new central support units and the Department's inspectorate. Of these, some 200 have been assigned since January 2009 as follows: 16 social welfare inspectors were assigned in March 2009 to various locations around the country to undertake means testing and other work associated with processing claims for the jobseekers...

Departmental Staff. (7 Oct 2009)

Mary Hanafin: If the current appointment system is not working local managers need only increase the time for appointments from 30 to 40 minutes. It is a local matter. It is far more preferable to tell a person who attends in respect of a claim to call back on a specific date at a specific time to a particular hatch rather than simply tell him or her to join the queue. As I understand it, the system is...