Results 4,121-4,140 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned has been awarded jobseeker's allowance with effect from 18 December 2008 at the weekly rate of â¬443.90. This payment includes an increase in respect of a qualified adult and qualified children. His first payment including arrears will issue to him shortly. Under Social Welfare legislation decisions in relation to claims must be made by Deciding Officers and Appeals...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned is in receipt of jobseeker's benefit and his entitlement of 390 days is due to exhaust in April 2009. A claim form and all relevant papers necessary to enable him to apply for jobseeker's allowance issued on 2 February 2009 but have not yet been returned to the local office. When an application for jobseeker's allowance is received it will be examined in full and a...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned was refused jobseeker's allowance on 3rd February 2009. The deciding officer, having examined all the circumstances, considered that the person concerned did not satisfy the habitual residence condition as her centre of interest within Ireland and future intentions to remain in Ireland have not been clearly established, in view of her employment record here or any...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 168 and 170 together. This Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as expeditiously as possible. The staff and other resources available to the Department are regularly reviewed having regard to the workload arising and other...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: In Budget 2009, I increased the rate of carer's allowance for those aged 66 or over by â¬7 to â¬239 per week and for those aged under 66 by â¬6.50 to â¬220.50 per week. These increases took effect from January 2009. Recipients of carer's allowance are also eligible for household benefits and free travel and the respite care grant. Since 1997 weekly payment rates to carers have greatly...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The Estimates for the Department of Social and Family Affairs which were published with the 2009 Budget were based, in the main, on an analysis of trends as regards likely numbers of recipients and average value of payments in 2009. The estimates for jobseeker's Benefit and jobseeker's Allowance were based on the Department of Finance's prediction at that time of an average Live Register of...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The habitual residence condition was introduced in order to ensure that a person, who has had no attachment to the work force since arrival in Ireland and whose habitual residence is elsewhere, would not be entitled to payment under certain exchequer-funded schemes on arrival in Ireland. Irish nationals returning to live here on a permanent basis should experience no difficulty in...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The Family Income Supplement (FIS) provides income support for employees on low earnings with families. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were claiming other social welfare payments. Qualification for payment under this scheme requires that a person must be engaged in insurable...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The household benefits package is generally available to people living in the State, aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. It is also available to people aged under 66 who are in receipt of certain disability social welfare payments or carer's allowance. The package which includes the electricity and gas allowance, telephone...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: There has been no change in the treatment of firefighters for jobseeker's payments. Social Welfare legislation provides that a person must satisfy the conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking work in order to be entitled to jobseeker's benefit or allowance. Any person who fails to satisfy these conditions on an on-going basis is not entitled to a jobseeker's payment....
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: There has been no change to the provisions relating to the entitlement of self-employed persons to a jobseeker's allowance. Self-employed people may apply for the means-tested jobseeker's allowance if their business ceases or if they are on low income as a result of a downturn in demand for their services. Legislation provides for the assessment of all income in cash and any non-cash...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the department by the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. The maximum rent supplement for a couple with three children in Co. Kildare is â¬1,200 per month. The Executive has advised that the person concerned is in receipt of rent supplement of â¬721.59 per month since 5...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The couple concerned are in receipt of a combined income (from employment, family income supplement and supplementary welfare allowance) of â¬365.90 per week, at this time. This is the maximum rate payable in respect of a couple with one qualified child. One of the couple had applied for jobseeker's allowance on 4 February 2009 and an interview with a social welfare inspector took place on...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned was paid Family Income Supplement (FIS) from 22 April 2004 to 28 January 2009. Payment should have stopped when she ceased employment on 29 August 2008, however, she failed to notify the family income supplement section of the change in her circumstances. She applied for, and was awarded, One Parent Family Payment (OPFP) with effect from 12 June 2008. During a review...
- Departmental Staff. (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The Deputy will be aware of the significant increase in the number of people applying for jobseeker's payment during the past year. Between February 2008 and February 2009, the live register increased by approximately 165,000 people or more than 87%. Staff in social welfare local offices are working extremely hard and productivity increased by 74% between the last quarter of 2007 and the...
- Departmental Staff. (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: CWOs come under the HSE, even though they use money from my Department's budget. I appreciate that they are under a great deal of pressure but the HSE has put together a business case for additional officers that must be considered in the context of overall numbers in the public service. To date, we have not had a difficulty with the Department of Finance in seeking additional staff...
- Departmental Staff. (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I do not have the full details but the number of facilitators has increased since last July.
- Departmental Staff. (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: I did not say they would be in place by February. More facilitators will be provided under the national development plan, NDP. I am open to correction but the number has increased by 20 since July. Under the NDP, 50 additional facilitators were to be deployed. They are facilitating the back to education and back to work schemes. The difference in the assessments conducted by the community...
- Pension Provisions. (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: The security of occupational pension schemes is of paramount importance to the Government. Trust law, under which most pension schemes are established, ensures that the assets of the scheme are legally separate from the assets of the employer and are not available to other creditors should an employer become insolvent. Trustees of occupational pension schemes have responsibility for...
- Pension Provisions. (5 Mar 2009)
Mary Hanafin: As I have indicated, we anticipate that approximately 90% of the funds are in deficit, but whether the level is 25% of 50% will not be known until actuarial certificates are submitted.