Results 3,901-3,920 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

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

Séamus Brennan: One of the components of the household benefits package is the electricity allowance. That allowance was introduced in 1967 to ensure a basic standard of heat and light for specific targeted groups of people. The electricity allowance covers normal standing charges and up to 1,800 units of electricity each year. Over time, the options of claiming bottled gas allowance or electricity — group...

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The Irish social welfare system is primarily a flat-rate system, and rates of payment under the various schemes are set by reference to the objective of ensuring an income for recipients sufficient to live life with dignity. The policy followed by successive Governments has been to increase the basic levels of payment up to a benchmark level of €150 per week in 2002 terms by 2007. The...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: As previously advised, applications for exemption certificates from the company were examined to ensure the qualifying conditions were met. A declaration was obtained from the company that the employees continued to be subject to social insurance in their home country. A request has issued to the relevant social insurance authority to confirm that social insurance contributions were paid in...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The information sought by the Deputy involves an amount of detail, and I am arranging for it to be forwarded to her at the earliest possible date.

Written Answers — Tax Collection: Tax Collection (10 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department does not hold information regarding the tax affairs of individual staff members.

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

Séamus Brennan: Risk analysis is a key element of my Department's control strategy. That entails the identification of areas at high risk of fraud and abuse in the various schemes and putting in place appropriate measures to address them systematically. Any risks associated with each claim or payment type are addressed in that context. Social welfare payments made by direct payment, or EFT, are paid directly...

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

Séamus Brennan: A strategic review of my Department's future payment requirements has commenced, with the aim of identifying payment solutions for the future which will be flexible, cost-effective, customer-focused, manageable and accountable. The study will take account of current market offerings in the financial services sector and future advances in card-based technologies with a view to seeing how...

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

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned had been refused one-parent family payment by my Department on the grounds that she was cohabiting. She has appealed that decision to the social welfare appeals office. In the light of that situation, the Dublin and mid-Leinster area of the Health Service Executive has advised that it requested the person concerned to clarify her household circumstances so that her...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (5 May 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 — more generally known as the IORPs directive. This sets out a framework for the operation and supervision of occupational pension schemes in all...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department currently issues approximately 1.1 million weekly payments of which 58% are paid through An Post. My Department's policy is to ensure that a range of payment options is available to customers and that the service is continually improved by providing access to the wide range of payment options and new services and facilities now available. Where possible, my Department provides a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Rent supplements are provided through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. My Department is in regular contact with the community welfare staff of the executive regarding the various elements of the scheme. In the course of these ongoing contacts, the upper limitation on rent levels...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (5 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The DIG or decentralisation implementation group's 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...

Written Answers — Vetting Procedures: Vetting Procedures (5 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The five statutory agencies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Combat Poverty Agency, Comhairle, the Family Support Agency and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition, the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of my Department. The Pensions Board was established in December 1990 under the Pensions Act 1990 and comprises 17 members, including the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Rent supplements are provided through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Rent supplements are subject to a means test and are normally calculated to ensure that an eligible person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (4 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The group concerned applied to the family support agency, FSA, for inclusion in the family and community services resource centre, FRC, programme in June 2004. FSA officials visited this group in March 2005. A report on the meeting was prepared which included an overall assessment of the application. This will be submitted for consideration to a committee established by the board of the...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (4 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Family resource centres are funded under the family and community services resource centre, FRC, programme which is administered by the family support agency. The aim of the FRC programme is essentially to help combat disadvantage by improving the function of the family unit. The emphasis in the centres is on the involvement of local communities in developing approaches to tackle the problems...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (4 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In August 1986, Craig Gardner Consultants were commissioned to examine the major payment systems in my Department with a view to establishing where they were most at risk and to advise on cost effective measures to keep these risks to a minimum. The consultants submitted three reports containing a number of recommendations covering operational and organisational arrangements and about...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (4 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The following anti-fraud initiatives were enacted in the last ten years. Section 22 of the Social Welfare Act 1998 amended the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 to provide that persons who fail to provide information to the Minister about persons or class of persons, as may be prescribed, shall be guilty of an offence. Section 26 of the Social Welfare Act 1999 amended section 212 of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (4 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The aim of my Department's control policy is to prevent fraud and abuse. A key aspect of control policy is deterrence and effective debt management is seen as an integral part of the deterrent approach. Use of section 219 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 1993 as a method of overpayment recovery, in appropriate cases, is one element of my Department's debt management policy. Under this...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (4 May 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The development of a public service card was one of a number of objectives set for the Reach agency at the launch of the Reach initiative in 1999 and 2000. The objectives included the establishment and use of the personal public service, PPS, number as the common customer identifier and the development and acceptance of the public service card as the citizen's key to services. Reach pursued...