Results 3,881-3,900 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department makes payments to some 1.6 million customers on a weekly or monthly basis. Of those, 58% currently receive payment through their local post office, 11% are paid by cheque through the postal system and 31% receive direct electronic payment to their bank or building society account. Customers opt for a particular payment method having regard to their own circumstances and...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Responsibility for the disabled person's maintenance allowance, DPMA, scheme was transferred from the Department of Health and Children and the health boards to the Department of Social and Family Affairs in October 1996. On the transfer of the scheme, the existing qualifying conditions were retained and the scheme was renamed "disability allowance". This position was provided for in Part IV...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: PRSI credited contributions are an integral part of the social insurance system. The primary purpose of PRSI credits is to secure social welfare benefits and pensions of insured workers by covering gaps in insurance where workers are not in a position to pay PRSI, such as during periods of unemployment, illness or caring. To qualify for social insurance credits, a person must have previously...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Mortgage interest supplements are available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The HSE, western area, has advised that, following a review of the household income situation of the person concerned, it was decided that he no longer qualifies for payment of a mortgage interest...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department makes payments to approximately 667,000 customers who are in receipt of long-term benefit on schemes such as old age, lone parent and invalidity pension. Some 168,000 of my Department's long-term customers receive their payment entitlements by way of electronic funds transfer, EFT. This facility allows these customers to receive their payment into their bank accounts. ...

Written Answers — Computerisation Programme: Computerisation Programme (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The introduction of electronic registration of life events, including births, marriages and deaths, has enabled the automatic transmission of registration data to my Department at the time of registration. The necessary systems have been put in place to electronically match registration data against social welfare payment systems to identify cases for appropriate action. The information...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The relevant state agencies in the United Kingdom are currently engaged in the migration of all social welfare-type payments to direct payment. At the end of December 2004, 72% of their customers were paid by direct payment to their bank or building society accounts and 14% were paid by direct payment to their post office accounts. The Department is not aware of any increased risk of fraud or...

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: This has been one of the best debates I have heard on this subject, or indeed any other subject, for some time. I have listened very carefully to the contributions. We have touched many fundamental chords and scratched the surface of the question of where the country is going. I detected different trends in the discussion as it ranged across the various philosophies, if not theologies, about...

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: That is something I intend to do soon. The basic principle is that people of a certain age should be seen as a resource or asset and not as a problem. People over a certain age can make major contributions to this country because they are experienced and have often learned things the hard way. To lock such people into a passive pension area, and to insist they stay there and do nothing else,...

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I thank the Cathaoirleach and Members of the Seanad for organising this debate, which is timely. I appreciate the opportunity to again discuss pension provisions, which we have discussed in the House on a number of occasions in recent months. I look forward to further discussions today. I welcome the report from the ESRI, entitled Pensions, Incomes and Replacement Rates, and pay tribute to...

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (11 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I did my bit for it, as did Senator O'Rourke. Ireland, with its new found wealth and relatively young population, still has sufficient time and opportunities to plan and structure a pensions system. As I noted, philosophical issues arise in this context, which is the reason I am interested in hearing the views of Senators and Deputies on pensions policy. There are those, including the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Diet supplements are available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Diet supplements are subject to a means test. The amount of supplement payable in individual cases depends on which of two categories of diet, low-cost or high-cost, has been prescribed by the applicant's...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The primary objective of the orphans payments administered by my Department is to provide income support in respect of children whose parents are deceased or who are unable and have failed to provide for them. The weekly rate of payment is €121 per week. That is a substantially higher rate of payment compared with other payments made by my Department in respect of children. Foster carers,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The respite care grant is an annual payment for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention. The receipt of a payment from my Department by the carer or the person being cared for, including invalidity pension, does not affect eligibility for the grant. However, both the carer and the person in receipt of care must satisfy certain conditions as follows. The...

Written Answers — Public Service Card: Public Service Card (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Following approval from the Government in June 2004 to begin work on a standards-based framework for a public services card, an interdepartmental steering group was established in September 2004. The proposed framework was agreed in principle by the steering group in March 2005, and detailed drafting is under way. That will accompany a memorandum to the Government which will also address...

Written Answers — Public Service Card: Public Service Card (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 262 to 265, inclusive, together. On 21 December 1993 the Government approved, in principle, the development of an integrated social services system, or ISSS, which would provide a more integrated approach to the administration, delivery, management and control of statutory income support services. An interdepartmental committee was set up to consult the...

Written Answers — Criminal Prosecutions: Criminal Prosecutions (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: No directors, managers, secretaries or other officers of bodies corporate have been charged with offences under section 213(7) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act in the past five years. However, in the same period one employer was prosecuted under section 213(2) of the same Act for similar offences.

Written Answers — Crime Prevention: Crime Prevention (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department's policy is to ensure that a range of payment options is available to customers, including electronic funds transfers to customers' accounts. That type of payment arrangement is not compulsory, and there are no plans to make it so. It is Government policy to facilitate the greater use of electronic payment systems in the economy generally as they become available, and my...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Currently the births of all children born in the Republic of Ireland are registered electronically. The Department receives this information from the General Registrar's Office and allocates a PPSN to the child and also commences a child benefit application for them. If the mother already has other children, the new baby is added automatically to the existing claim, and payment issues to the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 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 and who are unable to provide for their extra heating needs during the winter season. To qualify for an allowance under the national fuel scheme, an applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, live alone or only with a dependant spouse or partner,...