Results 3,661-3,680 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

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

Séamus Brennan: Pre-1953 contributions are very different to those made under the unified system of social insurance that applied from 1953 in that they do not contain any element towards the cost of contributory pensions. The special old age contributory pension based on pre-1953 insurance was introduced to enable such contributions to reckon for pension purposes subject to certain conditions in order to...

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

Séamus Brennan: The social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties are protected by the homemaker's scheme. The scheme was introduced from 1994 and allows up to 20 years spent on caring duties to be disregarded when a person's insurance record is being averaged to assess entitlement for contributory pension purposes. However, the scheme will not of itself qualify...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 444, 451 and 452 together. The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment that 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 widow's and widower's contributory pension is a social insurance payment and is not means-tested....

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

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

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

Séamus Brennan: The back to work allowance scheme is 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. There are two strands to the scheme, namely, the back to work enterprise allowance for self-employment and the back to work allowance for employees. The scheme was reviewed...

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

Séamus Brennan: Given the wide range of charging regimes and cost levels that exist in respect of waste management throughout the State, the introduction of a measure such as an across the board increase in the old age non-contributory pension to address the issue would not be feasible. Any system put in place to assist people who rely on private domestic waste collection would have to be sensitive to the...

Written Answers — Legal Services: Legal Services (28 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Legal advice and related support services for my Department are supplied by the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor as appropriate. From 1998 until August 2003, my Department employed a legal adviser, the gross salary for this post for the years 1998 to 2003, inclusive, was: Financial Year Gross Salary (EUR) 1997-98 43,175.36 1998-99 45,314.22...

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

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned applied for one-parent family payment in December 2004. To date, the Department is not satisfied that the person has disclosed her means in full. In particular, she has failed to provide confirmation of how renovations to her house will be paid for and the position in respect of a site she owns with a value of €100,000. This information was most recently sought in a...

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (28 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Since I took up office, I have appointed on a contract basis for my term of office a special adviser, Mr. Frank Lahiffe, a press adviser, Mr. Tom Rowley, a personal secretary, Ms Mary Browne, and a personal assistant, Mr. Bobby Holland. The above named staff were appointed on 30 September 2004. The salaries for these staff are as follows. Special adviser €87,247, which is the principal...

Written Answers — Departmental Revenue: Departmental Revenue (28 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The value of increases-decreases in the amounts of appropriations-in-aid receipts for my Department in respect of the financial years ended 31 December, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, are set out below. There were no charges levied by my Department.

Social Welfare (Consolidation) Bill 2005: First Stage. (28 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to consolidate the Social Welfare Acts. Certificate of the Attorney General In pursuance of Standing Order 137 of the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to public business, I, Rory Brady, Attorney General, hereby certify that the Social Welfare Consolidation Bill 2005 is a Bill to consolidate enactments relating to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The regulations governing the payment of rent supplement stipulate that, in general, rent supplement is not paid to people who vacate local authority accommodation. Furthermore, rent supplement is not ordinarily paid unless the local authority is satisfied that the applicant has a housing need which the local authority is not in a position to address. However, the regulations provide the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The policy in relation to one parent family payment is to encourage and facilitate lone parents in moving into the paid labour force. The main element of this policy is an earnings disregard of €146.50 per week. This disregard is designed to help towards expenses incurred from taking up employment such as travel, child-minding etc. There is no disregard given to a person whose income is an...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years, or over, to all carers in receipt of carer's allowance and to carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance. It is also available to people under age 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such as disability allowance, invalidity pension and...

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (23 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In its policy statement, Ending Child Poverty, which I launched recently, the Combat Poverty Agency makes recommendations in a number of areas, including the tapered withdrawal of means tested payments and the consideration of delivery mechanisms through the tax system to improve benefit take up. As I said at its launch, this statement, based on an analysis of income support packages for...

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (23 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: A sub-group of the senior officials group on social inclusion is examining obstacles to employment for lone parent families, with particular emphasis on income supports, employment, education, child care and support programmes and information. This group is scheduled to report to the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion by the end of July. We must also look closely at income supports and at...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (23 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: No expenditure was incurred by my Department in respect of the two Nice treaty referenda.

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (23 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: There is one directive which falls within the responsibility of my Department which has not yet been fully implemented. This is EC Council Directive 2003/41/EC on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision, IORP, more generally known as the IORPs directive, which sets out a framework for the operation and supervision of occupational pension schemes in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The Dublin-mid-Leinster area of the Health Service Executive has advised that it is reviewing the rent supplement entitlements of the person concerned. She has been requested recently to complete a form in order to update the executive regarding her circumstances. When the completed form is returned, the executive will determine the appropriate amount of rent supplement payable to her.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned has been awarded an electricity allowance with effect from 28 January 2005. She has been awarded a telephone allowance with effect from 25 February 2005, from the date her telephone was installed. A free lifetime television licence has also been awarded to her with effect from the expiry date of her current TV licence. The relevant service providers have been notified to...