Results 3,541-3,560 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 750 and 757 together. Rent supplements are available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, HSE. Neither I nor my Department has any function in determining or reviewing entitlement in individual cases. Entitlement to the supplement is determined...

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

Séamus Brennan: The qualifying conditions for the payment of disability benefit are that a person is under 66 years of age, unfit for work due to illness and satisfies the PRSI contribution conditions. Persons over the age of 66 are not insurable under the Social Welfare Acts for disability benefit purposes and the age limit for receipt of disability benefit is 66 years. There is a general rule in the social...

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

Séamus Brennan: Widows and widowers can qualify for one of a number of different schemes depending on their particular circumstances. The contributory widow's or widower's pension is available to those who satisfy the necessary PRSI contribution conditions, either on their own record or that of the deceased spouse. Those qualifying for this benefit are not subject to any means test. Those without the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Sep 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. The executive 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 soon as possible to enable her...

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

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned was paid the maximum 18 weeks maternity benefit from 14 January 2005 to 19 May 2005. As her baby was born prematurely, her maternity leave and payment of benefit commenced from the date of birth of her child. There is provision, under current regulations, to postpone the last four weeks maternity leave or benefit in the event of the hospitalisation of the child; however,...

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

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned is in receipt of one-parent family payment since June 2002 at a rate of €158.10 per week in respect of herself and one dependent child. She also receives a fuel allowance of €9 per week for the duration of the winter heating season. One-parent family payment is a means tested scheme to provide income support for unmarried or separated people with children. The means...

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

Séamus Brennan: PRSI exemptions are issued in accordance with Article 97 of SI 312/1996. The legislation provides for an exemption from PRSI contributions for up to 52 weeks to be granted to employees not ordinarily resident in the State but who are temporarily employed here. The purpose of the legislation is to avoid a situation whereby workers who are sent by their employer to work here temporarily would...

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

Séamus Brennan: Issues relating to tax are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Finance. The regulatory basis for the PRSI exemption scheme is contained in Article 97 of SI 312/1996. The legislation provides for an exemption from PRSI contributions for up to 52 weeks to be granted to employees not ordinarily resident in the State but who are temporarily employed here. The purpose of the legislation is...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In assessing means for social assistance purposes account is taken of any cash income the person may have, together with the value of capital and property, except the person's home. The source of any capital held by a pensioner can and does vary. It can include savings from income while formerly working, savings derived from the sale of property or other assets, savings from occupational or...

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Family income supplement is designed to provide cash support for employees on low earnings with families. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might otherwise only be marginally better off than if he or she were claiming other social welfare payments. Improvements to the family income supplement scheme, including the assessment of FIS on the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: It is a statutory condition of eligibility for one-parent family payment from my Department that applicants are required to make ongoing efforts to seek adequate maintenance from their former spouses or, in the case of unmarried applicants, the other parent of their child. Such maintenance is usually obtained by way of negotiation or by court order. In this regard, I am pleased to note that...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In its report Securing Retirement Income, published in May 1998, the Pensions Board recommended that the Government should, as part of the overall pensions strategy, run a pension awareness campaign. The campaign was initially launched in 2003 to coincide with the implementation of the Pensions (Amendment) Act 2002 which encompassed many of the recommendations of Securing Retirement Income,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 59, 60, 68, 71 and 72 together. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. It provides for the payment of a weekly or monthly rent or mortgage interest supplement to assist eligible people who are unable to meet their immediate accommodation needs through their...

Written Answers — Services for People with Disabilities: Services for People with Disabilities (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The jobs facilitation programme was originally established with Government approval in July 1993. Currently, 46 facilitators are supported by ten regional co-ordinators and operate in 34 locations around the country. In April 2004, the jobs facilitation and family support programmes of my Department merged to form the social and family support services, SFSS. This was done to enable the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 37 together. The programme for Government contains a commitment to a scheme of all-Ireland free travel for pensioners resident in all parts of the island. The scheme would enable pensioners resident in Ireland to travel free of charge on all bus and rail services in Northern Ireland. Likewise, pensioners in Northern Ireland would travel free of charge...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department has not undertaken any specific research along the lines suggested by the Deputy regarding the information needs of older citizens. However, Comhairle, the national information agency which operates under the aegis of my Department, has recently funded the voluntary organisation, Age Action Ireland, to carry out a research project entitled "Uptake of Social Welfare Benefits by...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 15, 27, 50 and 63 together. The one-parent family payment is designed to provide income support to parents with insufficient means who have to parent alone. This can arise as a result of being widowed, or following separation or divorce, or being unmarried. The scheme in its present form largely reflects the reality that applied up to relatively recently,...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 16, 25 and 41 together. The reduction and eventual elimination of child poverty are at the core of the strategies to combat poverty and social exclusion, a priority shared internationally. The OECD, in a report to Ministers for Social Affairs in April 2005, pointed out that "children who grow up in disadvantaged households are more likely to do poorly at...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: From 1 May 2004, the requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and for child benefit. The basis for the restriction contained in the new rules is the applicant's habitual residence. The restriction is not based on citizenship, nationality, immigration status or any other factor. The effect of the restriction...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Jun 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 have been a number of proposals for extending entitlement for free travel to...