Results 4,041-4,060 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Inclusion Measures: Social Inclusion Measures (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The European Council meeting at Laeken in December 2001 endorsed a set of 18 common statistical indicators for measuring social inclusion. Across EU member states the EU survey on income and living conditions, EU-SILC, is the principal source for compiling data on many of these indicators. Ireland was among the first set of five countries to introduce EU-SILC in 2003 and was the first country...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 312 and 316 together. 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. One of the conditions for receipt of rent supplement relates to limits on the level of rent an applicant can incur. The purpose of these rent limits is to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 313 and 321 together. The back to school clothing and footwear allowance, BSCFA, scheme assists low income families with extra costs when children start school each autumn. The scheme operates from the beginning of June to the end of September each year and is administered on my behalf by the Health Service Executive. Under the scheme an allowance of €80 is...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 314, 315, 317, 319 and 320 together. The average increases in social welfare benefits and average industrial earnings from 1994 to 2005 is best shown by the following tabular statement. Since it has been the practice for many years to distinguish between payments to pensioners and other categories of recipients, the table shows the increases given to old age...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 322 and 323 together. In my reply to an earlier parliamentary question I set out the position on established and unestablished positions. An established civil servant is required to serve a two-year probationary period during which he or she must prove satisfactory from a health, performance and attendance perspective. In the case of a former civil servant the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The number of appeals on which work was in progress at 31 March 2005 was 5,207. A breakdown of these cases, by appeal category, is set out in the following appendix. Appeals in progress at 31 March 2005 Number Old Age and Retirement 268 Sickness and Disability 2,052 Occupational Injuries Benefits 294 Unemployment 1,182 Widows and One-Parent Family Payment 783 Child...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The Department has a cadre of 21 medical assessors, including the chief and deputy chief medical advisers. The role of the medical assessor is to provide independent advice to the Department for assessment or review purposes in regard to claims for illness, disability or carers schemes' payments. This is to ensure individuals who make claims, including those claiming disability payments,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: A special Christmas bonus payment was first introduced in December 1980 for social welfare pensioners and people who depend solely on their social welfare payments for income support. There has been a number of developments in this scheme since its inception, including changes in the level of the bonus payment, the introduction of a minimum payment and the extension of the categories of...

Written Answers — Child Care Services: Child Care Services (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Officials from my Department have had discussions with the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Health and Children, Education and Science and the health service to identify and put in place suitable funding arrangements consistent with the limited, but socially important, responsibility which my Department has in this area. Under 2005 guidelines from my Department, community...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 329, 333 and 334 together. The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. It is also available to carers and to people with disabilities who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments. At the end of 2004, 624,000 free travel passes had issued with expenditure on the scheme estimated at €53.4 million. The...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: In recent years the Government has introduced a number of specific measures to benefit widows and widowers. With regard to those who are over 66 years, the Government had committed to bringing their rate of payment into line with that of the old age contributory pension. This was achieved through a series of special increases in recent budgets and the process was completed in budget 2004. The...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Self-employed contributions are assessable for old age (contributory) pensions on the same basis as standard rate contributions. The pensions payable are in accordance with the normal rates applying to different contribution levels. A special pension is available to self-employed people who were over 56 years in 1988 when compulsory social insurance was introduced for this group. This group...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Given current demographic projections for Ireland and the need to ensure the sustainability of our pensions system, there are no plans to reduce the qualifying age for entitlement to pension.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: A total of 73,677 persons are in receipt of disability allowance. Between January 2001 and December 2004, 1,796 persons were disallowed disability allowance, of which 33 were on medical grounds and 1,763 were in respect of means. This includes cases where appeals or reapplications may be in progress. Continuing entitlement to disability allowance payment is subject to the person satisfying...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: My Department administers a number of child income support measures, including child benefit which delivers a standard rate of payment in respect of all children in a family regardless of income levels or employment status. Child benefit supports all children but delivers proportionately more assistance to those on low incomes and with larger families. It is not intended primarily to meet...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Entitlement to social welfare payments can be assessed using contributions paid in EU countries and countries with which Ireland has bilateral agreements. My Department has bilateral social security agreements in place with seven countries: Austria, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the USA and Switzerland. A bilateral understanding also exists with Quebec since 1994. By far...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The living alone allowance is an additional payment of €7.70 per week made to people aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of certain social welfare type payments and who are living alone. It is also available to people under 66 years of age who are living alone and are receiving payments under one of a number of invalidity schemes. For many years the policy on support for pensioners has...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The measures introduced in the context of the 2004 Estimates included changes to the back to education allowance, one parent family payment, certain child dependant allowances, changes in the conditions of entitlement to short-term social insurance payments and changes in the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. It is not possible to quantify precisely the numbers affected by the measures...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Apr 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the following tabular statement: Recipient of Family Income Supplement, 2002 to 2004. Recipients of Family Income Supplement % Change 2002 12,043 2003 12,317 2.3% 2004 14,727 19.6%

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (19 Apr 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 restriction is not based on citizenship, nationality, immigration status or any other factor. The question of what...