Results 4,241-4,260 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report Stage. (1 Mar 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The current cost of that would be €60 million annually.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report Stage. (1 Mar 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I believe that all sides of the House have agreed that, though that may be too strong a word. I do not get the sense that Members are pushing the argument that child dependant allowances should be the focus of our increases. They have deliberately not been increased since 1994 by successive Governments. I came to the issue with an open mind, examined it and listened to the arguments. I came...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report Stage. (1 Mar 2005)

Séamus Brennan: If I could be convinced that child dependant allowances were better than child benefit, I would listen to that argument but——

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report Stage. (1 Mar 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I have met a large number of the 30 or 40 groups involved in this area and the vast majority of them opted for child benefit, which has increased dramatically in recent years. They opted for that as the main focus because it goes to all homes irrespective of employment whereas child dependant allowance is linked primarily to unemployment and, therefore, one has to be unemployed to get it....

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report Stage. (1 Mar 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The NESC is considering the possibility of a new payment which will represent an amalgamation of FIS and CDA and which can be targeted at child poverty. We expect to receive a report from the NESC on the matter in the coming months. Like me, the NESC is of the opinion that something else is required. In that context, it has been suggested that a new allowance should replace both FIS and CDA...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report Stage. (1 Mar 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I do not propose to accept the amendment. I explained on Committee Stage that I appreciate the amendment is a semi-pro forma one which calls for a report. I confirm that I would have no difficulty in reporting to the House on this subject any time I am called upon to do so. Most Deputies will acknowledge that the pro forma nature of the amendment is to enable us to discuss the matter of...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report Stage. (1 Mar 2005)

Séamus Brennan: All these amendments call for reports of one kind or another. I indicated to the House and to the committee that I have no difficulty in discussing these matters by way of parliamentary question, Adjournment matter and special debates or through legislative debate. I have no difficulty in making reports on these matters. We can discuss the best format for it later. I would be reluctant to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Feb 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 type schemes. The allowance was last increased in 1996. For many...

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

Séamus Brennan: Data from the Central Statistics Office show there were 180,800 women aged 70 and over in the State in 2003. Almost 157,000, or 87%, of those women received social welfare payments in their own right, with further numbers of women being paid as qualified adults on their spouse's pension. This means that the majority of women over 70 years of age and resident in Ireland are receiving social...

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

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned applied for an electricity allowance and a free television licence on 1 December 2004. As her spouse was already in receipt of both these allowances since April 2000 her application was refused. The household had a telephone which was in the name of the applicant's son until 12 January 2005. When my Department was informed that the name had been changed on the bill to...

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

Séamus Brennan: The unemployment benefit scheme is designed to provide income support for people who have lost employment and who are unable for find alternative employment. Social welfare legislation provides that, in order to be entitled to an unemployment payment, a person must prove, inter alia, that he or she is available for full-time employment and genuinely seeking work. There is an onus on each...

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

Séamus Brennan: The policy on one-parent family payment is to encourage and facilitate lone parents in moving into the paid labour force so that they may avoid long-term welfare dependency. The main element of this policy is an earnings disregard of €146.50 per week. This disregard is designed to help towards expenses incurred from taking up employment such as travel, child minding etc. In addition, only...

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

Séamus Brennan: In my reply to previous parliamentary questions from the Deputy on 26 January 2005 on this case, I informed him that the Health Service Executive had advised that the rent supplement in payment to the person concerned was due for review to take account of the fact that she had begun a second year of her community employment scheme. This was necessary because her entitlement to rent supplement...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 71, 73, 85, 108 and 109 together. The one parent family payment is designed to provide income support to parents with insufficient means who have to parent alone. This can arise as a result of being widowed, or following separation or divorce, or being unmarried. The scheme in its present form largely reflects the reality that applied up to relatively...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72, 95, 120 and 179 together. My Department has held discussions with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government regarding aspects of the arrangements governing the collection and disposal of domestic waste. Those discussions have focused on establishing the facts and exchanging information about the level of charges for domestic waste...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Families and family life have been undergoing profound changes in Ireland and in many other developed countries in recent decades. These changes include the increasing participation of women in the workforce, decreasing fertility, a significantly higher incidence of separation and divorce, cohabitation outside marriage, lone parenthood and reconstituted families. These changes have major...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Crèche supplements were introduced in some of the former health boards to provide individual assistance where necessary to parents in need of short-term support. This arose, for example, where a parent would not be able to avail of necessary supports such as counselling services or addiction treatment programmes without assistance towards the cost of child-minding. The fact that these...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 93 together. Migrant workers qualify for social insurance benefits in respect of the unexpired part of their work permits if they satisfy the normal qualifying contribution conditions. Migrant workers may also satisfy the habitual residence condition for receipt of social assistance payments and child benefit. The requirement to be habitually resident...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 113 together. The back to education allowance is a second chance education opportunities programme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active workforce. The conditions for entitlement to the third level option of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: Overpayments of social welfare payments are categorised as fraud or non-fraud. Non-fraud cases are those which arise primarily due to customer or third party error, and some are due to departmental error. Fraud cases arise mainly on foot of false declarations by customers concerning their employment, income or family status. The question as to whether an overpayment which has arisen involves...