Results 3,361-3,380 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan
- Social Welfare Benefits. (27 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I do not have a figure on file and the Deputy should not hold me to this but I recall that about 40% of decisions are overturned, which is quite high. On the one hand it shows people are being strict and on the other hand it shows that the appeal mechanism works. I will examine the matter.
- Written Answers — Foreign Travel: Foreign Travel (26 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The information sought by the Deputy is as follows: 3-6 October 2002, annual conference of the coalition of Irish immigrant centre in Philadelphia, attended by the Minister, an adviser,and three officials; 15-6 October 2004, EU Presidency round table conference on poverty and social exclusion in Turin, hosted and by the Italian Presidency, attended by the Minister and seven officials; 6-8 May...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance, BSCFA, is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any function with regard to decisions on individual claims. The midland area of the executive has advised that it has no record of an application for BSCFA from the person concerned. If she wishes to apply,...
- Written Answers — Nursing Home Subventions: Nursing Home Subventions (26 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 197 to 199, inclusive, together. Earlier this year, the Government agreed the key elements of a scheme for the repayment of long-term stay charges. As I previously announced, these repayments will not impact on the current pension entitlements of affected persons. It will be a matter for pensioners themselves to decide what they do with any repayments received...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: My Department assists and encourages long-term unemployed, and other welfare recipients including persons in receipt of widow-widower non-contributory pension to return to work, training or further education through a range of measures administered by my Department's social and family support service. One significant measure is the back to work allowance scheme which incentivises and...
- Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (26 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Detailed measures to give effect to the strategies to combat child poverty in Ireland are set out in the national action plan against poverty and social exclusion and in the national children's strategy. Ending child poverty is also one of ten special initiatives in Sustaining Progress. The most significant measure to support families with children in recent years has been the substantial...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: From 1 May 2004 a requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes including child benefit. The basis for the restriction contained in the rules is the applicant's habitual residence. The restriction is not based on citizenship, nationality, immigration status or any other factor. Irish citizens, including returned...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years, or over. It is also available to carers and to people with disabilities who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments. It applies to travel within the State and cross-Border journeys between here and Northern Ireland. There has been a number of requests and inquiries in relation to the extension of...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: A deciding officer disallowed the farm assist claim of the person concerned from 26 May 2005, on the grounds that his means exceeded the statutory limit of â¬148.80 per week, which is the rate applicable in this person's case. The means of the person concerned are derived from income from a holding and the capital value of a house. His means are assessed as follows: gross income from...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Section 172(1) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 provides that people in full-time education are not normally eligible to receive assistance, including rent supplements, under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. Section 172(3) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 and regulations made thereunder, provide that in a case where there are exceptional circumstances,...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Across the majority of social welfare payments, entitlement to an increase for a qualified adult is based, inter alia, on the spouse-partner's income. An increase at the maximum rate is payable where the spouse-partner's income is â¬88.88 per week or less, with a reduced or tapered rate payable where this income is between â¬88.88 and â¬220. This lower threshold of â¬88.88 was last...
- Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: My Department engages consultants to provide expertise across a range of its activities. Broadly, expertise is sought under three main headings: support with a number of strategic multi-annual programmes aimed at enhancing the delivery of the Department's services, for example, the service delivery modernisation programme; technical consultancies relating to the ongoing development of...
- Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The Department's activities require the engagement of a range of consultancy expertise. Broadly, expertise is sought under three main headings: support with a number of strategic multi-annual programmes aimed at enhancing the delivery of the Department's services, for example, the service delivery modernisation programme; technical consultancies relating to the ongoing development of...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 388 and 394 to 396, inclusive, together. The social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties are protected by carer's benefit, carer's allowance and the homemaker's scheme. The carer's benefit and allowance schemes are designed to provide financial support while the homemaker's scheme, which was introduced from 1994,...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity-gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66 who...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The person concerned has been awarded an electricity and telephone allowance with effect from 12 March 2005. The relevant service providers have been notified to apply the allowances to the customer's account. A free lifetime television licence has also been awarded with effect from the expiry date of the customer's current TV licence. If the person concerned has purchased a TV licence since...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: Providing quality customer service in Irish has always been a high priority in my Department. This includes provision of staff training in spoken and written Irish, translation of forms, leaflets and other documents, advertising, and the provision of bilingual signage in public areas. Expenditure on Irish is, therefore, part of the delivery of customer service and it is not possible to state...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The back to work allowance scheme which was introduced in September 1993 as 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 their return to work financially attractive and viable. It is designed to...
- Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: My Department arranges sessions at various centres around the country to assess or review the medical condition of people who are claiming a payment from my Department in respect of illness. These sessions are conducted by the Department's medical assessors and a nurse attendant is always present during the examinations. A nursing qualification, although advantageous to applicants, is not an...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 2005)
Séamus Brennan: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The scheme is open to applications from June to the end of September each year. The statistics requested by the Deputy for the years 2002, 2003 and 2004 are set out in the following table. Statistics for 2005 are not available as they have...