Results 2,881-2,900 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: Under the terms of an earlier Social Partnership agreement the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) was asked to examine the feasibility of merging the family income supplement with qualified child increases and possibly including other child supports such as the back to school clothing and footwear allowance, resulting in a single second tier child income support. Such a payment...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: It important that those who wish to continue in employment after normal retirement age should, as far as is possible, be facilitated and supported. Longer working can play an important role in ensuring that the pensions system is sustainable in the future and can be beneficial to the individual. The Green Paper on Pensions includes proposals for the examination of issues surrounding...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: The recently published Pre-Budget Outlook provides for total social welfare expenditure between Vote and Social Insurance Fund of â¬16.113 billion in 2008. This is a 5.1% increase over the 2007 allocation and reflects the full-year impact of the Budget changes announced last December, as well as forecasted changes in numbers of recipients. The Pre-Budget estimates are on an existing level of...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128, 345 and 346 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 (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: My Department provides a range of information on social welfare entitlements aimed and people moving to and from Ireland. A combination of information is available from the Departmental website, printed material and directly from staff. The Departmental website, www.welfare.ie, provides a multi-lingual guide to Irish Social Welfare Services as well as information on entitlements of the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: The legislative provisions relating to late claims for social welfare benefits are set out in Section 241 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, and in Regulations made under that section. 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....
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: In January 2007 my Department completed a comprehensive review of the maximum levels of rent which a person may incur and still be eligible to receive a rent supplement. The purpose of the review process was to ensure that the new rent limits, applicable from January 2007, reflect realistic market conditions throughout the country, and that they would continue to enable the different...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: The Green Paper on pensions policy was published on the 17th October and a major consultation process in relation to future pensions policy is now underway. Following the completion of the consultation process the Government is to respond to the views expressed by publishing a framework for future policy. Pensions is one of the major issues the country must tackle for the future and any...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: As a qualified child increase is considered to be a part of the relevant social welfare weekly payment to which it is attached, it is not normally presented as a separate cost. However, as of the end of June 2007, there were 253,433 full rate and 82,730 half rate qualified child increases in payment across the range of social welfare schemes, with an estimated annual cost of some â¬340 million.
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: Local authorities are responsible for determining rents payable under the differential rents scheme including the income to be assessed for this purpose, subject to broad principles laid down by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I understand that these guidelines recommend that no more than 15% of any increase in welfare income should be absorbed by an...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: My Department is in regular contact with the Pensions Ombudsman in relation to changes to the Pensions Act he feels are necessary to deal with issues which have come to his attention in the course of his investigations or where he feels his powers to investigate particular problems are not adequate. In this regard, a number of changes have already been made to the Pensions Act at the request...
- Written Answers — Programmes for Government: Programmes for Government (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: 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 benefit and the respite care grant have been introduced and...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: The Green Paper on pensions policy was published on the 17th October and a major consultation process is now underway. Following the completion of the consultation process the Government is to respond to the views expressed by publishing a framework for future policy. Pensions is one of the major issues the country must tackle for the future and any decision taken at this stage will impact on...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on behalf of my Department by the Health Service Executive. It 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 general people engaged in full-time employment are not...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: 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 end-September to mid-April and are not intended to meet the full cost of heating. The main conditions that applies to the scheme are that a...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: One of the qualifying conditions for entitlement to Disability Allowance is that an applicant must be resident in the State. Section 249 6(a) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, states "a person shall be disqualified for receipt of jobseeker's allowance, pre-retirement allowance, disability allowance or farm assist while he or she isâ (a) resident, whether temporarily or...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: Rent supplement is subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant for rent supplement may incur. These limits take household size into account. The objective is to ensure that rent supplement is not paid in respect of overly expensive accommodation. The Health Service Executive which administers the scheme on behalf of my Department has advised that the person concerned was in...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: A special Christmas Bonus payment was first introduced in December, 1980, for social welfare pensioners and people who depend solely on their social welfare payments for income support. I will make an announcement in relation to the special Christmas Bonus payment for 2007 shortly. The person concerned is not currently in receipt of any income support from the Department of Social and Family...
- Written Answers — School Meals: School Meals (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: The school meals programme operated by my Department gives funding towards provision of food services for disadvantaged school children through two schemes. The first is the long-standing statutory urban school meals scheme, currently operated by 36 local authorities. The second is the school meals community (local projects) scheme through which funding is provided by my Department to...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (31 Oct 2007)
Martin Cullen: According to my Department's records, the person concerned has a total of 72 Irish insurance contributions paid over the 48 year period from 1953 to 2001. This gives a yearly average of 2, which is not sufficient to qualify the person concerned for a standard State Pension Contributory. A minimum yearly average of 10 is required to entitle a person to a State Pension Contributory. As the...