Results 3,241-3,260 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

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

Martin Cullen: The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, which is administered by the Community Welfare Division of the Health Service Executive (HSE), is designed to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. Under the legislation governing the scheme, the Health Service Executive (HSE) may make an exceptional needs payment...

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

Martin Cullen: Over the period since 1997, the Government has made the needs of older people a priority with the inclusion of several commitments in successive programmes for Government aimed specifically at the group. This included achieving the commitment to increase the basic State pension to €200 per week by 2007 in the last Budget. Increases in both contributory and non-contributory pensions have...

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

Martin Cullen: The Department makes annual reports on compliance with the European Code of Social Security to the Council of Europe, summarising changes to the social welfare system. These reports are then referred to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Committee of Experts for their examination. The Department's 1999 report included details of the self-employed provisions which are now the...

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. In the period 1st July to 31st December 2007 I will be in a position to make four...

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. Rent...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (28 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: The back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE). The Dublin/Mid-Leinster Area of the HSE has advised that it has no record of an application for BSCFA from the person concerned. If she wishes to apply, she should contact the Community Welfare Officer at her local health centre as...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme which includes rent and mortgage interest supplements is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. A mortgage interest supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: The back to work allowance scheme is part of my Department's programme of initiatives designed to assist long term unemployed people, lone parents and other social welfare recipients to return to the active labour force. The allowance provides a monetary incentive designed to make return to work financially attractive and viable. It is not intended that back to work allowance be paid in all...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: Pre-retirement allowance is a means tested payment. A person whose spouse/partner takes up insurable employment with an employer will be assessed with the spouse/partner's earnings less deductions for Income Tax, PRSI, Superannuation, Trade Union subscriptions and Health Insurance premiums. If the spouse/partner works 3 days or less a week, a disregard of €50 plus travel allowance, where...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: Family Income Supplement is designed to provide income support for employees on low earnings with children and thereby preserve the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if s/he were claiming other Social Welfare payments. My Department received an application for Family Income Supplement from the person concerned on 19...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: The back to education allowance (BTEA) is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. It is designed to assist people on long-term social welfare payments and is not intended for the general...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Jun 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. Some 274,000 people benefited from the fuel allowance in...

Written Answers — Interpretation Act 2005: Interpretation Act 2005 (27 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: In accordance with specific provisions of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 and the Pensions Act 1990, I am empowered to make regulations governing the operation and administration of the social welfare and supplementary pensions code. Given the nature and range of statutory social welfare schemes provided for in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, the regulations governing...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (27 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: Part III of the Pensions Act 1990 is designed to protect the pension entitlements built up by employees in a company pension scheme in the event of the person leaving his or her employment. The Act provides for the preservation of benefits accrued in an occupational pension scheme and the option for transferring such benefits to another pension scheme. All occupational pension schemes,...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (26 Jun 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...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (26 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: Under the Decentralisation Programme announced by the Government in 2003, the Department is to relocate 85 posts to Carrickmacross. In addition, the Combat Poverty Agency, which is under the aegis of the Department, is designated to relocate to Monaghan Town. The Decentralisation Implementation Group Progress Report to the Minister for Finance in September 2006 indicates that the indicative...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: The person concerned applied for State Pension (Contributory) in May 2006. According to the records of my Department, she has outstanding PRSI liabilities as a self-employed person for the following years, 1995/6, 1996/7, 1998/9 and 1999/00. Section 110 (1) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act of 2005 provides that a self-employed contributor shall not be regarded as satisfying the...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (26 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: An application for a bereavement grant from the person concerned was received on the 17/01/07 but, based on the information provided, a grant is not payable as there is no record of any reckonable PRSI contributions having been paid by the person concerned. A deciding officer disallowed the claim on 17/01/07 and a notice of the decision with a right of appeal was issued to the claimant on...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (26 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: The person's claim for disability allowance was refused by a Deciding Officer following an examination by a Medical Assessor of the Department who expressed the view that he was not medically qualified for this payment. The person appealed this decision and was examined by another Medical Assessor and the comments of the Deciding Officer were also sought. The papers have now been referred...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 Jun 2007)

Martin Cullen: The person concerned applied for an invalidity pension on 2 March 2007. Prior to this he was in receipt of Illness Benefit with effect from 23 November 2005. A medical examination was carried out on the 10th May 2007 following which the person concerned was found to be not permanently incapable of work. The application for Invalidity Pension was refused on 23rd May, 2007. The person...