Results 2,901-2,920 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (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) programme through which funding is provided by my Department to...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Parental Leave Act, 1998, allows fathers and mothers to take unpaid leave to look after young children. It may be taken either as a continuous block of 14 weeks or, with an employer's agreement, broken up over a period of time. The Act also allows limited paid leave, known as force majeure leave, of up to 3 days in any 12 months, or up to 5 days in any 36 months, to deal with...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: My Department spent €39,168.38 on official hospitality in the 12 month period to the end of September 2007.

Written Answers — Departmental Facilities: Departmental Facilities (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: My Department provides facilities for a canteen service for staff in a number of locations i.e. in Longford, Sligo, Letterkenny, Áras Mhic Dhiarmada and Kilmainham. However, it is not directly involved in the provision of meals or in the running of these facilities. Arrangements for the provision of services in these facilities are put in place by voluntary committees of staff in the...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: Credited contributions, or 'credits' as they are termed, are intended to protect the entitlements, particularly the pension rights, of employees and other persons participating in the social insurance system when they are ill or unemployed. A person who is providing full time care and attention as a carer is awarded credits on the same basis as if they were out of the workforce due to...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties are protected by the homemaker's scheme which was introduced in and took effect from 1994. The scheme allows up to 20 years spent caring for children or incapacitated adults to be disregarded when a person's social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes. However, the scheme will...

Written Answers — International Agreements: International Agreements (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: Ireland has social security agreements with 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 covers the Isle of Man and Channel Islands and came into effect on 1st October 2007. Ireland also has a bilateral understanding with Quebec since 1 October 1994. In the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: My Department provides a wide range of second chance education opportunities to facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. The back to education allowance (BTEA) is one of these second chance education opportunities schemes. It is paid at a standard weekly rate...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: 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 of May 2004. The basis for the restriction is the applicant's habitual residence. The restriction is not based on citizenship, nationality or any other factor. The question of what is a person's "habitual residence" is...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: I do not accept that little progress has been made. In recent years, the investment in child benefit and direct funding to children in families has been phenomenal and bears no relation to the position in previous years. In the discussions with the social partners, those involved with the relevant agencies wanted much of the available resources to be targeted specifically at families in...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: I am committed to more than that. I am committed to a huge range of improvements, particularly for the less well off in society, including direct support for children.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Deputy is trying to force me to give a figure in advance of the budget, which she knows I cannot and will not do. She will have to wait for the budget to see what the figure will be when the process is completed.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The National Anti-Poverty Strategy target set in 2002 was to reduce the numbers of those who are consistently poor, including children, to 2% by 2007 and, if possible, to eliminate consistent poverty as then defined. Survey information produced by the ESRI showed that the level of consistent poverty had steadily fallen from 8.3% in 1994 to 4.1% in 2001. The Government considered that...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: On the last point, the Department of Social and Family Affairs is probably the best at informing people and produces a range of information packs and works carefully with its customers.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: That is acknowledged generally throughout society. In terms of trying to get to individual families and deal with them, the Department does that daily. The National Action Plan for Social Inclusion, 2007 — 2016, set out to do that. I gave Deputy Shortall the figures. The object of the plan is to reduce consistent poverty to between 2% and 4% by 2012, with the aim of eliminating it...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 63, 75 and 101 together. The reduction and eventual elimination of child poverty is a national priority and at the very core of the strategic process to combat poverty and social exclusion, as set out in Towards 2016, the NAPinclusion, and the social inclusion commitments in the NDP. One of the 12 high level goals set out in the NAPinclusion focuses on...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Leas-Cheann Comhairle is being hard on me.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: Deputy Shortall is correct to some degree regarding the family income supplement and the other payments in that there is a myriad of payments. I think the question the Deputy is trying to ask is how one can amalgamate the payments to get the best from them. The problem is that when one puts the figures together, one hits the barrier to what people are entitled on a means tested basis. In...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: I am answering the Deputy's question. I agree——

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (31 Oct 2007)

Martin Cullen: As the Deputy well knows, one cannot just pick one payment in isolation from all the different payments that exist.