Results 3,801-3,820 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: 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 at the higher rate, increases of 272% and 258%...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: 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 is not paid certain social welfare payments on arrival...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders who are in receipt of long-term social welfare or Health Service Executive payments towards meeting their additional heating needs during the winter season. The season was extended from 26 weeks to 29 weeks in 2001 and now covers the period from end September to mid-April each year. Under the scheme, a fuel allowance of €9 per...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 102 and 124 together. The report to which the Deputy refers, "Irish Social Expenditure in a Comparative International Context: Epilogue", compares social expenditure in Ireland with that of other European and developed countries. While the level of expenditure on social protection in Ireland appears low by EU standards, the discrepancy can partly be explained...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I am aware that this has been an issue of concern for the farming sector and have discussed the issue with the farming organisation when I met its representatives before budget 2005. Access to the main weekly social welfare payment can be solved through either building up a social insurance record or through a means test. I understand that the Irish Farmers Association is referring to access...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106, 262 and 263 together. Rent supplements are provided through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The changes to the rent supplement scheme in January 2004 were made in the context of budget policy at that time and in response to a marked growth in rent...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 125 together. The number of lone parent families in the "consistent poverty" category as a percentage of all lone parent families fell from 42.8% to 24.4% between 1994 and 2001. During this period households in the "consistent poverty" category overall declined from 14.5% to 4.9%. However, it remains a fact that lone parents can be particularly...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 110 and 114 together. The principal eligibility conditions for receipt of the carer's allowance are that full-time care and attention is required and is being provided and that the means test that applies is satisfied. The number of applicants refused payment as a proportion of claims received has declined in recent years arising from various improvements...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The one-parent family payment of my Department acts as a safety net for people who receive inadequate maintenance, where maintenance payments are irregular or where efforts to secure maintenance in the first place fail. Applicants for one-parent family payment are required to make ongoing efforts to seek adequate maintenance from their former spouses or, in the case of unmarried applicants,...

Written Answers — Social Mobility: Social Mobility (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Analysis of the levels of social mobility in Ireland has been undertaken in recent years most notably by the Economic and Social Research Institute. In a 2004 paper, entitled "Economic Change, Social Mobility and Meritocracy: Reflections on the Irish Experience", the ESRI outlines the scale of change in the Irish class structure for men aged between 20 and 65 years. Over the period from 1973...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 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 — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In the period 1994 to 2003, industrial earnings grew by 56% with prices increasing by 32%. At the same time, improvements in the old age contributory pension saw the payment grow by 74%, well ahead of both earnings and prices. However, average household income grew by 122%, driven by income tax reductions and increased workforce participation, and this has resulted in a relatively worse...

Written Answers — Poverty Reduction: Poverty Reduction (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The two main methods of measuring poverty in Ireland are the national consistent poverty measure based on a relative income threshold of 60% of median income and enforced deprivation of certain items and the EU at risk of poverty measure which is simply based on 60% of median income. The 2003 EU survey of income and living conditions, EU-SILC, indicates that 3.5% of people at work fell into...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Child benefit is payable in respect of all children up to the age of 16 years and continues to be paid in respect of children up to age 19 who are in full-time education or who have a physical or mental disability. According to figures collected under the quarterly national household survey by the Central Statistics Office for the final quarter of 2004, there were an estimated 84,400 students...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders who are in receipt of long-term social welfare or health board payments towards their extra heating needs during the winter season. A fuel allowance of €9 per week —€12.90 in designated urban smokeless fuel zones — is payable to eligible households for a 29 week period each year. The 2004-05 winter heating season for fuel...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The decentralisation implementation group, DIG, report to the Minister for Finance on 19 November 2004 recommended the locations and organisations to be included in the first phase of moves under the decentralisation programme and those to be regarded as potential early movers. While Carrickmacross was not included in the first phase of moves or as a potential early mover, the DIG is due to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: On budget day, I was pleased to announce that the amount of capital disregarded for means test purposes for a wide range of schemes, including widow-widower's non-contributory pension, will be increased to €20,000 from June next, an increase of over €7,300. The enhanced disregard applies to all capital regardless of where it is held, whether in an special savings investment account, a...

Written Answers — Social Insurance Fund: Social Insurance Fund (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Section 17 of the Social Welfare Act 1998 provided that an actuarial review into the condition of the social insurance fund be undertaken and published by the end of 2002 and repeated every five years thereafter. The first actuarial review of the social insurance fund was completed and published in 2002. It covered the period from 2001 to 2056. The purpose of the review is to allow an...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Payments under the social welfare system are made on the basis of social insurance contributions or where the person satisfies a means test. Within that structure every effort is made to ensure that the greatest possible number of people can receive a payment. A number of measures have been introduced in recent years which make it easier for people to qualify for pensions. These include...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: To qualify for an old age contributory pension, a person must have entered social insurance at least ten years before reaching pension age, have a minimum number of paid contributions on his-her record and have a yearly average of at least ten contributions paid or credited from 1953 when the unified system of social insurance came into effect or the date of entry into social insurance, if...