Results 2,921-2,940 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person's application for carer's allowance was disallowed by a deciding officer on the grounds that he is working, on his holding, for more than ten hours per week. The person appealed that decision to the social welfare appeals office. In accordance with the statutory requirements, the relevant departmental papers, including a report from a social welfare inspector and a submission from...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Widow's or widower's non-contributory pension is a means tested payment payable to a widow or widower, without dependent children, whose income falls below a certain level and who does not satisfy the contribution conditions for a contributory widow's or widower's payment. In assessing means for social assistance purposes, account is taken of any cash income the person or his or her spouse...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Family income supplement, FIS, is designed to provide an incentive for low-paid workers with families to take up or remain in full-time employment. An integral feature of the scheme is that, once the level of the FIS payment is determined, it continues to be payable at that level for a period of 52 weeks, provided that the claimant remains in employment. However, the rate of payment can be...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Rent supplements are provided through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department have a function in determining entitlement in individual cases. The southern area of the executive has advised that the person concerned originally applied for a rent supplement in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: A fuel allowance of €9.00 per week is payable to eligible households during a 29 week winter heating period from the end of September to the middle of April each year. An additional €3.90 per week is payable in the designated urban smokeless fuel zones. As announced in the recent budget, the rate of fuel allowance will be increased by €5 with effect from January 2006. That increase will...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: A fuel allowance of €9 per week is payable to eligible households during a 29-week winter heating period from end-September to mid-April each year. An additional €3.90 per week is payable in the designated urban smokeless fuel zones. As announced in the recent budget, the rate of fuel allowance will be increased by €5 with effect from January 2006. This increase will bring the basic...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function in relation to decisions on individual claims. The statutory rules of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme provide that, where it is determined that an applicant has...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In order to qualify for a contributory pension a person must satisfy a number of conditions in relation to social insurance contributions. However, only contributions made to the end of the contribution year before a person reaches pension age may be counted towards satisfying these qualifying conditions. An increase in workforce participation of older people is one of the more important...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In assessing means for non-contributory pension purposes, account is taken of any cash income the person or his or her spouse may have, together with the value of capital and property, except the home. Weekly means of €7.60 per week are disregarded and all means in excess of that figure, including those from earnings from employment, are assessed in full. The recent budget made provision...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In assessing means for non-contributory pension purposes, account is taken of any cash income the person or his or her spouse may have, together with the value of capital and property, except the home. Weekly means of €7.60 per week are disregarded and all means in excess of that figure, including those from earnings from employment, are assessed in full. The recent budget made provision...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (15 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 225 and 226 together. The social welfare pensions system comprises both social insurance and non-contributory payments. Payment of the former depends on a person achieving a minimum level of social insurance contributions over their working lives while the latter is subject to a means test. Within that basic structure every effort is made to ensure that as a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Deserted wife's benefit is a payment made to a woman deserted by her husband. Entitlement to payment is based on social insurance contributions paid by the wife or her husband. Following the introduction of the one-parent family payment in 1997, the deserted wives benefit scheme was discontinued with effect from 2 January in that year. The scheme for deserted wives under social insurance has...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (14 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The five statutory agencies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Combat Poverty Agency, Comhairle, the Social Welfare Tribunal and the Family Support Agency. In addition, the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of my Department. Responsibility for replying to parliamentary questions about the above mentioned bodies comes within the remit of my...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The EU rules on the co-ordination of social security schemes are contained in Regulation (EEC) No. 1408/71 and its implementing Regulation (EEC) No. 574/72. The EU rules on the co-ordination of social security schemes are binding in nature and ensure that people who have worked in a number of member states do not lose entitlement to benefits because they have exercised their right of movement...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (14 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I understand the Deputy's question refers to the Safe Home programme which is based in Mulranny, County Mayo. The Safe Home programme is core funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, through the DION fund and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The main objective of the Safe Home programme is to help elderly Irish emigrants wishing to return to Ireland to...

Social Welfare Bill 2005: Committee and Remaining Stages. (14 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: All the points made have one thing in common, namely, that they all cost a few bob. I had to make choices in this budget, as one does in every one. I have made those choices and will have to stand over those as priorities. Regarding carer's allowance for the self-employed, that group is not specifically banned from receiving it, but they may only work up to ten hours a week, a figure that has...

Social Welfare Bill 2005: Committee and Remaining Stages. (14 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: ——and one realises what a nightmare it is. We continue to work on that. According to the Central Statistics Office, the overall consumer price index increased by 12% from the start of 2002 to November 2005. In the same period, energy products increased by 41%. Liquid heating fuel is up by 70%, and solid fuel by 20%. The 41% figure is something of a crude average. The budget increase that...

Social Welfare Bill 2005: Committee and Remaining Stages. (14 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Making reports to the House poses no problem. We regularly answer parliamentary questions so we should be able to find time to produce the reports envisaged in these amendments. I hope more lone parents can be persuaded to join the back to education allowance scheme. The number of people availing of this scheme has doubled in the past six years, with the number of lone parents participating...

Social Welfare Bill 2005: Committee and Remaining Stages. (14 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The estimated cost of extending the household benefits scheme and free travel to all widows and widowers, irrespective of their age, would be €45 million. We are obviously talking about widows and widowers under 66 because approximately 66,200 widows and widowers over 66 receive free travel. A total of approximately 12,900 recipients of the widow's-widower's non-contributory pension receive...

Social Welfare Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (14 Dec 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá mar gheall ar an gcás sin. B'fhéidir go ndéanfainn scrúdú faoi leith air, más mian leis an Teachta an litir sin a thabhairt dom. Is éard atá i gceist ná liúntas faoi leith tar éis é a bheith 70 bliain d'aois nó níos sine. Déanfaidh mé scrúdú faoi leith ar sin. More than 22 Deputies contributed to this debate and I thank every one of them for...