Results 3,701-3,720 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I would like to make a brief final point. The benefit being received by people aged 18 and 19 will not be halved. Not one 18 or 19 year old will find next week that he or she is getting half the money. This provision will apply only to new claimants. When those who have never before received a social welfare payment make a claim, they will get €100 a week. This Bill sets out the rates...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. There are currently over 84,760 recipients of rent supplement of which 29,800 recipients are non Irish. The weekly cost of rent supplement for non Irish recipients is €3.8 million.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Any person who satisfies all the conditions for a particular social welfare scheme is entitled to that payment regardless of their nationality. The Department does not maintain statistics on the nationality of the recipient as nationality is not a determinant of eligibility. Statistical data on the Live Register is compiled and published by the Central Statistics Office. A table taken from...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The social welfare and tax systems have evolved over time and in response to a variety of factors, including Constitutional imperatives as interpreted by the Courts, changing social trends and EU Directives. The EEC Equality Directive 79/9 and the subsequent Supreme Court case (Hyland v Minister for Social Welfare, 1989) led to the change in the treatment of non-married cohabiting couples in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The person concerned applied for a one-parent family payment on 5 February, 2009. Her claim is currently with a Social Welfare Inspector for investigation of her circumstances. The inspector has made efforts to contact her on two occasions to date. On completion of enquiries, a decision will be made as soon as possible and she will be notified of the outcome. Under Social Welfare...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: In the recent supplementary Budget on 7 April 2009, the Minister for Finance announced the 'Special Civil Service Incentive Career Break Scheme'. This scheme will allow civil servants who take a career break for 3 years to be paid an incentive payment of 33% of gross pay to a maximum of €12,500 per year. The career break may be allowed for family reasons, other domestic purposes (e.g. care...

Written Answers — National Carers Strategy: National Carers Strategy (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: My strategy is to continue providing the greatly improved level of services and supports for carer's which this Government has introduced over the past decade. During that time weekly payment rates to carers have greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's benefit, half-rate...

Written Answers — Private Rented Accommodation: Private Rented Accommodation (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. In recent years a significant number of people have come to rely on rent supplement for extended periods. There are...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The original Children's Allowance (CA) scheme was introduced in 1944. It was originally payable in respect of third and subsequent children on a non means tested basis but this was extended over time to cover all children. The scheme was introduced by Mr. Sean Lemass, TD, Minister for Industry and Commerce as the Department of Social Welfare was not established until 1947. Childrens Allowance...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Four social welfare Acts have been passed by the Oireachtas during the period 2007 to date, as follows. First, the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (No. 8 of 2007 enacted 30 March 2007). This Act provided for the implementation of certain social welfare improvements announced in Budget 2007. These include increases in Child Benefit, the One-Parent Family Payment income limit and the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Health Service Executive has advised that an appeal by the person concerned against a decision on an application for supplementary welfare and rent allowance is currently before an Appeals Officer of the Executive. The person concerned will be advised of the result of the appeal in due course.

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Support for farmers on low incomes is available through the farm assist scheme which is a means-tested payment broadly similar to the jobseeker's allowance scheme. It features a more generous means test, which takes account of the specific nature of farming and, unlike jobseeker's allowance, farmers claiming this payment do not need to be available for work outside of the farm in order to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Department administers a variety of schemes which have weekly and monthly payment cycles. For operational and administrative reasons, and to facilitate the distribution of payments through the Post Office network, each scheme is assigned a day of the week for payment. This ensures that payments to be distributed through Post Offices are evenly spread across the week. The majority of Job...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The person concerned was in receipt of Carer's Allowance from July 1999 until 4 June 2008, when, following a review, payment of the allowance to him was suspended as he did not provide a Social Welfare Inspector with information regarding his means which was required to assess his continued entitlement. Following a number of subsequent phone calls from the person concerned, the file was sent...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: In Budget 2009 the Government announced its decision to assign responsibility for the MABS to the Citizens Information Board. The necessary legislative provision has been made in Part 4 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2008. The legislation provides for the amendment of the Citizens Information Acts 2000 to 2007 to extend the functions of the Citizens Information Board...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: In Budget 2009 the Government announced that the Combat Poverty Agency and the Office for Social Inclusion are to be integrated within the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The Government's decision was informed by the findings of a review of the Combat Poverty Agency which was undertaken on foot of a Government Decision on the 6th of June 2007. The necessary legislative provision has...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The person concerned has been awarded an increase, in respect of her son, in her one-parent family payment from 11 December 2008. Arrears of €488.00 issued to her on 23 April 2009. Under Social Welfare legislation decisions in relation to claims must be made by Deciding Officers and Appeals Officers. These officers are statutorily appointed and I have no role in regard to making such...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. An individual making an application for rent supplement who has recently become unemployed may have maintenance liabilities...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested is given in the tables. Tables A and B show actual expenditure incurred and income received in the first two months of 2009 for Vote 38 and the Social Insurance Fund, respectively. The figures given are provisional and represent the most up to date information available. Full expenditure and income data to include the month of March will not be available until early...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Apr 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Mortgage interest supplement provides short-term support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of...