Results 3,741-3,760 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (1 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity or gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66...

Written Answers — Departmental Publications: Departmental Publications (1 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: There are eleven reports awaiting publication by my Department. The information requested by the Deputy regarding these reports is as follows: Name: Profiling the Unemployed: An Analysis of the Galway and Waterford Live Register Surveys. Commissioned: 24 September 2001. Cost: €33,429. Expected date of publication: This report is due for publication within the next six weeks. Name:...

Written Answers — Special Awards Scheme: Special Awards Scheme (1 Jun 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I was pleased to fund the group in question last year under a special awards scheme to mark the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family. This scheme was designed to facilitate voluntary and community groups around the country on a once-off basis to mark the tenth anniversary by holding particular events which would contribute to increasing the awareness of families at local...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Detailed data relating to the amount of social insurance contributions remitted by the child care sector is not held by my Department in a form which is suitable for directly estimating the cost of abolishing employers PRSI in their case. However, based on data from the national child care census report baseline data 1999-2000, it is tentatively estimated that exempting child care providers...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: There are currently three types of payments within the social welfare system: universal, which is payable regardless of contributions or income, for example, child benefit; insurance, which is payable according to contributions paid into the social insurance fund; assistance, which is payable based on need and subject to certain contingencies such as unemployment or old age — these payments...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: As part of the annual Estimates and budgetary cycles, my Department estimates the level of PRSI contribution revenue which can be expected in the coming year and also the impact of any possible changes in the key parameters within the PRSI system, such as contribution rates, earnings thresholds for different payment rates, the employee PRSI free allowance and the ceiling on employees...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned applied for carer's allowance on 14 April 2005. The principal conditions for receipt of the allowance are that full-time care and attention is required and being provided and that the means test that applies is satisfied. Her application was refused on the grounds that full-time care and attention as prescribed in regulations was not required in this case. She was...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Subject to certain conditions, including a means test, recipients of social welfare or Health Service Executive payments, who have been prescribed a special diet as a result of a specific medical condition, may qualify for a diet supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. This scheme and other supplements are administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned was previously awarded carer's allowance at a reduced rate for the period August 2003 to 12 May 2004. However, due to a change in her circumstances she was disallowed carer's allowance with effect from 12 May 2004. She subsequently made contact with my Department again on 29 April 2005 seeking to have her claim reopened. Given the time span that has elapsed since she...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In 2004, the total number of sick days recorded in my Department, of a total workforce of approximately 4,730, was 63,998 working days. This accounted for 6.6% of the potential working days in the year. The average number of sick days per employee was 13.5 working days and 92.4% of the total number of sick days were covered by medical certificates. A considerable proportion of the total...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The treatment benefit scheme operated by my Department provides a range of benefits in the areas of dental, optical and aural treatment for qualified PRSI contributors and their dependent spouses. The availability of these benefits is subject to certain PRSI contribution conditions. The PRSI contribution classes which qualify for treatment benefit are A, E, H and P. The PRSI contribution...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Since 1999, my Department has provided an annual respite care grant to people who are in receipt of a carer's allowance. One condition for receiving the grant is that the person must be receiving a carer's allowance during the specified period. This year the specified period is 2 June to 8 June. The person concerned was in receipt of carer's allowance, in respect of her son, from 10 June 1999...

Written Answers — Asylum Support Services: Asylum Support Services (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Details of social welfare recipients' immigration status are not held on my Department's computer systems. Accordingly, it is not possible to quantify expenditure relating specifically to asylum seekers. However, my Department's records show that expenditure in 2004 under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme in cases where the head of household was a non-national was approximately...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The qualified adult allowance rate payable in the case of old age contributory pension, retirement pension and invalidity pension, where the qualified adult is aged 66 or over, and in the case of invalidity pension, where the qualified adult is aged under 66 currently exceeds 70% of the relevant personal rate. The full year cost of increasing all other qualified adult allowances to a rate...

Written Answers — Food Poverty: Food Poverty (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department through its various social assistance schemes provides income supports to people to meet their basic living needs, including food, clothing, heat and light. Supplements are also payable in certain circumstances for specific needs, for example fuel allowances, rent supplements, living alone allowance for older people or the household benefits package for pensioners, eligible...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: As I stated to the Deputy in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 297 of 26 April 2005, the Dublin and mid-Leinster area of the Health Service Executive was unaware then of the recent death of the husband of the person concerned. The forms sent by the executive to the family around that time were to facilitate a routine review of the family's continued entitlement to rent supplement. The...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (31 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 137 of 24 February 2005, I stated that the rent supplement in payment in this case would be reviewed when the person concerned completed her community employment scheme. The Dublin and mid-Leinster area of the Health Service Executive has advised that it has asked the person concerned to confirm the date on which her community employment ceases. As...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The free travel companion pass scheme was introduced in 1990 for persons who qualify for free travel and who, on account of their disability, are unable to travel alone. Those who are eligible for a companion free travel pass include: recipients of disability allowance or invalidity pension who are medically assessed as being unfit to travel unaccompanied; people who are blind or severely...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The rent supplement scheme is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor my Department has any role in determining entitlement in individual cases. The position remains as advised in my reply to Question No. 128, which I answered for the Deputy on 12 May 2005. The Dublin-mid Leinster area of the executive advised then that it had...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned was in receipt of unemployment assistance from 16 April 1986 to 12 April 2005 when his claim was disallowed on the grounds he is not available for or genuinely seeking full-time employment. He applied for farm assist on 5 May 2005 and his file is with a social welfare inspector for investigation. A decision will be given as soon as possible and he will be notified of the...