Results 3,561-3,580 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 19, 21, 26, 30, 78, 87, 89 and 387 together. I recently had the pleasure of launching two important documents from the National Council of Ageing and Older People —An Age Friendly Society: A Position Document and Planning for an Ageing Population: Strategic Considerations. The concept of a society for all ages, where all generations mingle and are valued...

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

Séamus Brennan: The recent ESRI report on pensioners' incomes and replacement rates in 2000 estimated that the income of older couples was 51% of their pre-retirement income, with single pensioners achieving a rate of 43%. Since first taking office, the needs of older people have been a priority for this Government. We have sought, through significant increases in pensions and changes to other schemes, to...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22, 23, 34 and 52 together. The relative income poverty indicator measures the proportion of people below the threshold of 60% of median income. People with income below that threshold are considered by the EU to be "at risk of poverty". The consistent poverty indicator identifies those below the 60% median income threshold who are also experiencing...

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

Séamus Brennan: My objective is to ensure that a wide choice of payment options is available to customers and that service is continually improved by providing access to an increasing range of payment outlets and facilities. Currently, 520,000 of my Department's customers receive their payment direct to their accounts at banks, building societies and other financial institutions. In order for my Department...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 38 together. My Department provides child income support in a number of ways. The principal support is child benefit, which is neutral vis-À-vis the employment status of the child's parents and does not contribute to poverty traps. Over the period since 1997, the monthly rates of child benefit have increased by €103.51 at the lower rate and €127.78...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Question Nos. 29, 32, 42, 48, 56, 69, 77, 84, 388 and 403 together. The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment which provides income support to people who are providing certain elderly or incapacitated persons with full-time care and attention and whose incomes fall below a certain limit. The primary objective of the social welfare system is to provide income...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 75 together. The supplementary welfare scheme is administered by the Health Service Executive on my behalf. The scheme is being reviewed as part of my Department's ongoing programme of expenditure reviews. The review is being carried out by a working group chaired by my Department and includes the Department of Finance and the Health Service Executive....

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 80 together. My Department aims, through the provision of a range of supports, to encourage and assist people with disabilities and long-term illnesses who are in receipt of social welfare payments to identify and take up available employment, training and other self development opportunities, where appropriate. This is achieved through a number of...

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department's policy is to ensure that a wide range of payment options are available to customers. Payment options that are currently available include post office payments by means of a personalised pension order, PPO, book, postdrafts or electronic interface transfer, EIT, using a swipe card, cheque payments to customers at their home address and direct payment to customers' bank accounts...

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

Séamus Brennan: In the programme for Government and in Sustaining Progress, the Government is committed to increasing the payment for qualified adults, age 66 years or over, to the same level as the personal rate of the old age non-contributory pension. The current estimated full year cost of this commitment is €44 million. Considerable progress has already been made in this regard with the qualified adult...

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

Séamus Brennan: The national action plan on inclusion provides for an integrated approach across all relevant policy areas for combating poverty and social exclusion, in line with the process established under the EU open method of co-ordination. This requires action not only at national level but also at regional and local level. The office for social inclusion in my Department is responsible for...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions No. 44, 67 and 375 together. Family income supplement, FIS, was introduced in 1984 to provide income support for employees on low earnings with families and thereby preserve the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where they might otherwise only be marginally better off than if they were fully reliant on social welfare payments. Weekly payments of...

Written Answers — National Minimum Wage: National Minimum Wage (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 45 and 374 together. The National Minimum Wage Act 2000 provides that the minimum wage rate for an experienced adult employee from 1 May 2005 is €7.65 per hour. The national minimum wage continues to have a significant impact on the earnings of many thousands of low paid workers. This was the fourth increase in the national minimum wage and was agreed...

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department tries to assist and encourage long-term unemployed, people with disabilities and other long-term welfare recipients to return to work, training or further education through a range of measures administered by my Department's social and family support service. The back to work allowance scheme incentivises and encourages long-term unemployed people, lone parents and certain...

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department issues approximately 1.1 million weekly payments, of which 58% are paid through An Post. Some 643,000 customers are paid electronically by my Department. Payments can be made by electronic fund transfer direct to a customer's account with a financial institution, including An Post, or by electronic information transfer to a post office where the customer can access the payment...

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

Séamus Brennan: 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 — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 51, 54, 61, 66, 81 and 373 together. My Department has a number of services available to assist individuals and families, primarily those on low income, to manage their finances and to open up alternative credit options in their local credit union. My Department has overall responsibility for the money advice and budgeting service, MABS, which provides...

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

Séamus Brennan: The social welfare benchmarking and indexation group, established under the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, reported in September 2001. While it did not prove possible to reach consensus on the desirability of establishing a formal benchmark for social welfare rates, the group did produce the following majority recommendation: Recognising that the exact rate was a matter...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 88 together. The back to education allowance is a second chance education opportunities programme 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. The scheme is intended to benefit people who had difficulty...

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

Séamus Brennan: The National Economic and Social Council was established to consider strategic issues relating to the efficient development of the economy, the achievement of social justice and the development of a strategic framework for the conduct of relations and negotiation of agreements between the Government and the social partners. The council is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of...