Results 3,581-3,600 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department has held discussions with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government regarding aspects of the arrangements governing the collection and disposal of domestic waste. The matter is also being discussed through the social partnership process. The discussions between the Departments have focused on establishing the facts about the level of charges for domestic...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 82 together. The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1 May 2004. The basis for the restriction contained in the new rules is the applicant's habitual residence. The effect is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere...

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

Séamus Brennan: People are only identifiable in the social welfare scheme as parents when they have child dependants. Traditionally, the father was the main and often the sole breadwinner, with the mother, as the main care giver, being regarded as dependent on the father. Implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in recent decades has in fact involved making the social welfare...

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

Séamus Brennan: Crèche supplements were introduced in some of the former health boards some years ago to provide individual assistance through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to parents wishing to use crèches. This arose, for example, where a parent would not be able to avail of necessary supports such as counselling services or addiction treatment programmes without assistance towards the cost...

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

Séamus Brennan: The construction federation operatives pension scheme is constituted as a registered employment agreement under the Industrial Relations Act 1946. The agreement was put in place in 1969 and it requires employers in the industry to provide specific pension benefits for their direct employees. Responsibility for various aspects of the scheme is divided between a number of agencies, including...

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

Séamus Brennan: I understand that the Deputy is concerned in particular about the current arrangements applying in the case of old age pension where a landholder leases land or is otherwise in possession of land which is lying fallow or idle. Where land is let on short-term lettings such as the 11-month system, the income from such lettings is calculated as cash income for the purpose of the means assessment...

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

Séamus Brennan: The C45 system is the term used commonly in referring to the collection of income tax by the Revenue Commissioners through the relevant contracts tax or RCT system. It applies when payments are made by a principal contractor to a sub-contractor in respect of "relevant operations" in the construction industry, the meat processing industry and certain areas in the forestry industry. Tax is...

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department, in common with the other Departments involved, has produced an outline sectoral plan. This plan was published in September 2004 at the launch of the national disability strategy which included the publication of the Disability Bill 2004 and the Comhairle (Amendment) Bill 2004. The objective of my Department's plan is to ensure that, as far as is practicable, the schemes and...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 86 and 371 together. It is clear from the ESRI report, Disability and Social Inclusion in Ireland, that the barriers faced by people with disabilities and, indeed, other groups who are vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion, are multi-faceted and require a multi-agency response. The National Action Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion 2003-2005 sets...

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

Séamus Brennan: The introduction of a personal advocacy service for people with disabilities is provided for in the Comhairle (Amendment) Bill 2004 which was published last September in conjunction with the Disability Bill 2004. The Bill aims to confer additional and enhanced functions on Comhairle, the national information agency, which will enable it to introduce a personal advocacy service for people with...

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

Séamus Brennan: Diet supplements are provided through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Any person receiving a social welfare or health service executive payment, who has been prescribed a special diet as a result of a specified medical condition and who is unable to provide for his or her food...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (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. Details of...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department publishes a range of reports in line with its responsibilities for the development and delivery of social welfare services. These include annual reports about the Department's activities, reports under the ongoing programme of expenditure reviews, research undertaken with regard to policy development and reports of working groups and inter-departmental policy groups established...

Written Answers — Postal Services: Postal Services (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The range and type of services which An Post provides to its customers is, in the first instance, a commercial matter for the company. I have met with the Irish Postmasters Union and An Post regarding the further delivery of welfare entitlements. I have no role or function in this regard. I am aware that An Post is mindful of the need to move to a more modern payment system. As a result, I...

Written Answers — Departmental Publications: Departmental Publications (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The ongoing review of forms and information leaflets is an integral part of the day-to-day business of my Department. My Department uses a variety of consultative methods to assist with these reviews and to help identify areas for improvement. For example, feedback is obtained from our day-to-day contacts with customers, my Department's information officers, customer panels, customer surveys...

Written Answers — Budgeting Advice: Budgeting Advice (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department has overall responsibility for the money advice and budgeting service, MABS, which provides assistance to people experiencing indebtedness. There are 52 independent companies nationwide operating the service. MABS does not generate statistics on indebtedness and, consequently, the information sought by the Deputy is not available. MABS, through MABS National Development Limited,...

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department operates a policy, under sanction of the Department of Finance, whereby overpayments, in respect of which there has been no recovery activity for three years and there is no immediate prospect of such recovery, are written off. The purpose of this provision, when introduced, was to avoid carrying forward large irrecoverable overpayments in the accounts of this Department. The...

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

Séamus Brennan: The average processing time for appeals closed in 2004 was 20 weeks and 90% of cases were finalised within 15 weeks. This covers all phases of appeals, including, where appropriate, examination by medical assessors of the Department and oral hearings, which are now afforded in approximately 70% of the cases determined by appeals officers. Some appeals will always take a particularly long time...

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

Séamus Brennan: Social welfare inspectors appointed under section 212 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1998 are responsible, inter alia, for ensuring that employers and the self employed comply with the legal requirements regarding pay related social insurance, PRSI, contributions. In 1990, joint inspection units — JIU — comprising personnel from both the Department of Social and Family...

Written Answers — Postal Services: Postal Services (30 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The post office referred to by the Deputy was closed temporarily on 7 April 2005 due to flooding. The Department has been notified by An Post that the premises is no longer available to it but it is actively seeking new premises in the area. In the meantime, social welfare customers have been redirected to one of four alternative post offices within a two mile radius of the closed office. It...