Results 3,521-3,540 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 726, 739 and 754 together. The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders that are in receipt of long-term social welfare or Health Service Executive payments towards meeting their additional heating needs during the winter season. Under the scheme a fuel allowance of €9 per week is paid to eligible households during a 29 week winter heating...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: A deciding officer assessed the weekly means of the person concerned at €355 derived from income from spouse earnings and from a holding. This assessment exceeds the maximum weekly rate of farm assist payable, which in her case is €174. Her application for farm assist was disallowed and she was notified accordingly on 10 August 2005. The delay in processing this case is regretted. Further...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned has been awarded an electricity allowance with effect from 5 September 2005. The relevant service provider has been notified to apply the allowance to the account. A free lifetime television licence has also been awarded with effect from the expiry date of the customer's current TV licence. The person concerned did not apply for a telephone allowance and stated on his...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 729 and 732 together. The person concerned claimed unemployment benefit from 27 June 2005. The deciding officer disallowed the claim on the grounds that the person was not available for or genuinely seeking employment. She has appealed against this decision to the social welfare appeals office. An appeals officer has considered the case and is of the opinion...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned was awarded the respite care grant and payment was made to him on 23 August 2005.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned applied for a respite care grant on 10 May 2005. The grant was not approved by the deciding officer on the basis of the medical evidence. The person appealed against this decision to the social welfare appeals office. The case was referred to an appeals officer who has decided that further investigations are necessary in this case. The case will be further considered when...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Family income supplement was introduced in 1984 to provide income support for employees with families who are on low earnings, preserving the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where they might only be marginally better off than if they were fully reliant on social welfare payments. Weekly payments of FIS are made to families, including one-parent families, with children —...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The Government is committed to increasing the level of the basic State pension to €200 per week by 2007. Significant progress towards achieving this target has already been made in the last three budgets. In budgets 2003 and 2004, the weekly rates of payment for all pensioners were increased by €10 per week in each budget while budget 2005 provided for an increase of €12 per week. The...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The wife of the couple in question claimed disability allowance and she was awarded an allowance in 2000 at a weekly rate appropriate to a person with nil means. She subsequently took up various part-time employments from 2001 onwards and her rate of payment was reduced accordingly. Her husband applied for disability allowance in December 2004. In the course of investigating his entitlement...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: All Acts for which my Department has responsibility have been commenced. The Social Welfare Consolidation Bill 2005, which was published at the end of June and which will be progressed during the course of the coming Dáil sitting, contains all the social welfare provisions which have been enacted and continue in force since the last consolidation of social welfare legislation in 1993....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 738 and 751 together. The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders that are in receipt of long-term social welfare or Health Service Executive payments towards meeting their additional heating needs during the winter season. Under the scheme a fuel allowance of €9 per week is paid to eligible households during a 29 week winter heating period...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The payment methods currently available to old age pensioners are payment at post offices by means of a pension order book and direct payment to a bank, building society or post office savings account. Customers are invited to choose the method of payment which best suits them when they are making a claim and can change the payment method at any stage during the life of the claim. There is no...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department provides people receiving social welfare payments with a range of payment methods, including electronic fund transfer, EFT. Prior to 25 August 2005 people paid by EFT received their payments one week in arrears. From that date their payment frequency was changed to one week in advance. To facilitate this change EFT pension and allowance customers received a once off double...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: An increase in workforce participation of older people is one of the more important measures identified at EU level as a means of ensuring the sustainability of pensions systems in the future. One of the main factors contributing to the projected problems for the pensions system is a reduction in the available workforce in the years ahead. Accordingly, it is important to maximise the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 743, 744, 755 and 756 together. For the purposes of most social welfare payments, entitlement to an increase for a qualified adult is based on the income of the spouse or partner. A qualified adult increase at the maximum rate is payable where the spouse's or partner's income is €88.88 per week or less and tapered reduced rates are payable where income is...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: There is a statutory obligation on all claimants of one-parent family payment to satisfy, and continue to satisfy, the conditions for entitlement to the payment. In the case of the person concerned her one-parent family payment was terminated in May 2004. The payment was terminated on the grounds that she failed to fully disclose her means. The person concerned contacted the Department in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Rent supplements are available to eligible people 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 has any function in determining entitlement in individual cases. In general, people in full-time education are excluded from receiving income support, including...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: All claimants of one-parent family payment have a statutory obligation to satisfy, and continue to satisfy, the conditions for entitlement to the payment. In the case of the person concerned an application for one-parent family payment was refused in March 2003 on the grounds that she failed to provide requested documentation. The claimant was informed of the decision and afforded the right...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned is currently in receipt of deserted wife's benefit, DWB. This benefit is a payment made to a woman deserted by her husband. An earnings limit was introduced for the deserted wife's benefit scheme in 1992. A recipient of deserted wife's benefit can earn up €12,698.38 gross per year without the rate of deserted wife's benefit being affected. Earnings between €12,698.39...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (28 Sep 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I am aware that members of the Civil and Public Services Union, CPSU, working in the pensions services office in Sligo have held a ballot and voted to take industrial action, up to and including strike, in the event of mobile telecommunications equipment being installed on the building. The building in question is State owned and the decision to install this equipment rests with the Office of...