Results 3,221-3,240 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (5 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: An integrated occupational pension scheme is one where the pension payable, or the design of the benefit promise made, takes into account the state pension (contributory), or other similar contributory benefits payable by the State. In the public sector, these schemes are usually referred to as "coordinated" schemes. Integrating occupational and social welfare pensions is a common practice...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The back to education allowance (BTEA) facilitates people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. The scheme enables qualified people who have been getting a social welfare payment to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education course. The scheme also...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The following tables detail the increases in the weekly personal and qualified adult rates of social welfare payment across a range of social welfare schemes over the past ten years: Table 1: Long-Term Jobseeker's Allowance & Jobseeker's Benefit — Increases in personal and qualified adult rates of payment 1998-2007 Long-Term Jobseeker's Allowance & Jobseeker's Benefit Personal Rate...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: There is no record in the Department of a current jobseeker's allowance or benefit claim from the person concerned. An application form has been issued to him.

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (5 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The majority of Irish citizens now have a PPS number and since the modernisation of civil registration in 2003, all children born in the Republic of Ireland are automatically issued with a PPS number following the registration of the birth. Foreign nationals coming to live and work in Ireland are allocated PPS numbers on application to the Department through the network of Local and Branch...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The living alone increase is an additional payment of €7.70 per week made to people aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. It is also available to people who are under 66 years of age who are living alone and who receive payments under one of a number of invalidity type schemes. The increase is intended as a contribution towards...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: My Department is responsible for developing specific social welfare schemes for people with disabilities to ensure that they have an adequate, secure and sustainable income and related supports so as to ensure their full participation in society. This is achieved principally through the contribution based Illness Benefit and Invalidity Pension, and the non-contributory Disability Allowance. A...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (5 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: To date, under the Government's programme of decentralisation, 128 posts have relocated from the Department's Dublin offices. 66 posts have decentralised to Sligo and 62 posts to Carrick-on-Shannon. All 128 posts have relocated from Dublin with their respective business units to either Sligo or Carrick-on-Shannon, thus decreasing the number of posts in the Department's Dublin offices by 128....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, an exceptional needs payment (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which the applicant is unable to meet out of his/her own resources. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment. Each application is determined by...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (4 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The national fuel scheme, administered by my Department, is aimed at assisting 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. Some 274,000 people benefited...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (4 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The majority of Irish citizens now have a PPS number and since the modernisation of civil registration in 2003, all children born in the Republic of Ireland are automatically issued with a PPS number following the registration of the birth. Foreign nationals coming to live and work in Ireland are allocated PPS numbers on application to the Department which is conducted through the network of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, provides for the payment of a rent supplement to assist eligible people who are unable to provide for their immediate accommodation needs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (3 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 329, 334, 336 and 339 together. The PRSI system is designed to provide income protection to employees and the self employed in insurable employment, with entitlement to benefits based on a person experiencing certain contingencies and satisfying prescribed contribution conditions. Insurable employment is employment which involves earnings from €38 per week...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (3 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: Under the Government decentralisation programme, this Department is due to decentralise all of its Dublin based headquarters sections, comprising some 1,210 staff, to six locations — Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon, Drogheda, Buncrana, Donegal and Carrickmacross. To date, under the decentralisation programme, 66 posts have relocated to Sligo and 62 posts to Carrick-on-Shannon. A further 68 posts...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (3 Jul 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 — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Family Income Supplement (FIS) is an income support for employees on low earnings with families. There are some 21,055 people in receipt of a weekly FIS payment with a current average weekly value of over €139. Entitlement to FIS is based on an applicant satisfying a means test and on certification of employment by the employer. My Department has publicised the scheme regularly in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (3 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: Since 2004, when 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, there have been significant improvements in the area of child income supports to low-income families, many of which...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (3 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The five statutory agencies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Combat Poverty Agency, the Citizens Information Board (formerly Comhairle), the Family Support Agency and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of my Department. No appointments have been made to any of the above Boards from 24th May 2007 to date....

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (3 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: The Government is committed to producing a Green Paper on pensions in accordance with the partnership agreement "Towards 2016". A draft has been completed by my Department in co-operation with the Departments of the Taoiseach, Finance, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and the Pensions Board and this was submitted to the Government in April for its consideration. The development of an...

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (3 Jul 2007)

Martin Cullen: Self-employed (Class S) contributors are entitled to the following payments: Widow's/Widower's (Contributory) Pension; Orphan's (Contributory) Allowance; Old Age (Contributory) Pension; Maternity Benefit; Adoptive Benefit, and Bereavement Grant. When Class S was introduced for self-employed persons in 1988, coverage for both short-term insurance-based payments such as disability benefit and...