Results 3,221-3,240 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Expenditure on rent and mortgage payments has increased significantly in recent years and there are currently over 88,000 recipients of rent supplement and 12,900 recipients of mortgage interest supplement. Increased expenditure on these payments is driven not only by rises in the live register but also by an increase in recipients on other schemes such as one-parent family payment and...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There is very close co-operation between my Department and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Deputy is correct. It is very frustrating to see houses boarded up when people are in need of housing and are in rented accommodation. We are working closely with the Department to ensure more people are transferred onto the RAS scheme. In the last few years,...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It is important that there should be a waiting time for people who are in rented accommodation before they get what is a priority scheme, that is, RAS.

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There are people on housing waiting lists, as the Deputy knows far better than I do, who are in overcrowded accommodation at home but are not in rented accommodation and need to take their place in receiving social housing and the type of housing available for them.

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: A waiting time is important.

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It is important because I believe it is. The changes in the supplementary budget are also important, such as the provision that people should have been in rented accommodation for six months or have a full assessment, rather than setting up new households with a view to getting rent supplement.

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: It makes total sense because these are important controls. Deputy Durkan asked about the amount spent. There are currently 88,000 people on rent supplement and 12,720 on mortgage interest supplement. Deputy Enright mentioned repossessions. She is correct regarding the repossession orders, but in some cases they are waiting for a lean on the home or building. I hope the protocol will...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: -----will guide our future thinking on the issue.

Flood Relief. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I thank the Deputy for giving me an opportunity to come to the House to discuss the severe flooding which occurred in the Gweedore Gaeltacht area in County Donegal on 23 June 2009. It is ironic that this flooding took place at a time when most of the rest of the country was basking in sunshine. The Donegal fire service has described the weather as freakish. My colleague, Deputy Martin...

Mental Health Services. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I thank Deputy Neville for raising this important matter, to which I will reply on behalf of my colleagues, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney, and the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy John Moloney. The report made for very difficult reading, highlighting significant deficiencies in the mental health services in Clonmel. The Minister of...

Special Educational Needs. (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I thank Deputy Deenihan for raising this matter and apologise on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who could not be present. I am pleased to have been given the opportunity by the Deputy to clarify the position with regard to the matter raised by him. The Department of Education and Science funds post-school provision for young adults,...

Written Answers — Departmental Offices: Departmental Offices (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: As many local offices are very close to capacity as regards accommodating further staff, earlier this year the Department commenced the process of establishing a number of central decision units around the country. These units are being staffed primarily by the redeployment of existing civil servants from other Government Departments. The current remit of the units is to support local offices...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Since May 2008, some 300 extra staff have been assigned to local offices, new Central Support Units and the Departments Inspectorate. Of these 150 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...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12, 26 and 35 together. I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that during 2008 the average time taken to process all appeals (i.e. those decided summarily and by way of oral hearing) was 22 weeks. However, if allowance was made for the 25% most protracted cases, the average time fell to just over 14 weeks. These processing times replicate those...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There are currently almost 88,800 tenants benefiting from a rent supplement payment - an increase of 49% since the end of 2007. Over half of these recipients have been in payment for more than one year, while over 32,000 have been in payment for 18 months or more. The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), which was introduced in 2004, gives local authorities specific responsibility for meeting...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 28 together. In the context of very tough decisions having to be made across the whole range of Government expenditure, the provision of €21.3 billion for social welfare services in 2009 – 20% more than the amount spent in 2008 – is a clear demonstration of the Government's commitment to protecting the vulnerable and providing income support to...

Written Answers — Money Advice and Budgeting Service: Money Advice and Budgeting Service (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17, 19 and 55 together. The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) provides assistance to people who are over-indebted and need help and advice in coping with debt problems. There are 53 independent MABS companies with voluntary boards of management operating the local services throughout the country. In addition, the MABS National Telephone Helpline is...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to expand the current free telephone rental scheme by providing for free broadband for older people. The Department is examining how best to implement this commitment. As a first step it has been agreed that where people access the internet using a landline, the telephone allowance can be used to cover the cost of calls or internet usage up...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20, 24 and 53 together. There are currently almost 88,800 people in receipt of rent supplement, an increase of 49% since the end of December 2007. The recent Supplementary Budget provided that the weekly minimum contribution towards rent be increased from €18 to €24 a week, with effect from 1 June 2009. It also provided that payments currently being made...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (25 Jun 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 21 and 159 together. Facilitators work closely with FÁS and other agencies at national and local level, to identify appropriate training and developmental programmes for social welfare recipients of working age to enhance the skills those individuals have and ultimately improve their employments chances as well as help them to develop personally. The...