Results 4,281-4,300 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Feb 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 towards meeting their additional heating needs during the winter season. The season was extended from 26 weeks to 29 weeks in 2001 and now covers the period October to April each year. Under the scheme a fuel allowance of €9.00 per week is paid to eligible...

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

Séamus Brennan: The term "fuel poverty" has been described as the inability to afford adequate warmth in a home, or the inability to achieve adequate warmth because of energy inefficiency in the home. My Department provides a range of income assistance to householders who are in receipt of long-term social welfare or health board payments and who are unable to provide fully for their own heating needs. A...

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

Séamus Brennan: Social welfare legislation provides that, in order to be entitled to unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance, a person must prove, inter alia, that he or she is available for and genuinely seeking work. Unemployment benefit and assistance claimants are expected to demonstrate that they have taken reasonable steps to secure suitable full-time employment and to provide examples of such...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: The special old age contributory pension for people who commenced insurable employment before 1953 was introduced with effect from 5 May 2000. To qualify for the pension a person must have commenced insurable employment under the National Health Insurance Acts and have a total of at least 260 full-rate social insurance contributions paid since then. The 260 contributions can be made up solely...

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

Séamus Brennan: The repayment of social welfare overpayments is regulated by a code of practice, SI No. 227 of 1996. The regulations specify that in applying the code due regard is to be taken of the interests of taxpayers and social welfare contributors who finance the various social welfare payments as well as the ability of the debtor concerned to repay. These regulations specify that every effort must be...

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

Séamus Brennan: Applicants for one-parent family payment are required to make ongoing efforts to seek adequate maintenance from the other parent of their child. Normally, such maintenance is obtained by way of negotiation or by court order. Increasingly, separated couples are using my Department's family mediation service, which is being progressively extended country-wide, to reach agreement. Where social...

Written Answers — Health Service Allowances: Health Service Allowances (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 178 and 192 together. The information requested is not held by my Department. Deductions made from a person's disability allowance while in State funded facilities are a matter for the Health Service Executive, the relevant health board or service providers involved. Social welfare payments are primarily paid to the claimant. However, in accordance with social...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 180 to 182, inclusive, and 186 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. The changes, which were introduced in the rent supplement scheme in January 2004, were designed to refocus the scheme on its original...

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

Séamus Brennan: The number of persons in receipt of the one parent family payment at the end of 2003 was 79,181, up from 58,960 in 1997, when the scheme in its present form was introduced. There are, in addition, 13,125 lone parents with children in receipt of payments under social insurance — 8,687 widowed persons and 4,528 deserted wives. In total, therefore, 92,306, lone parents are receiving weekly...

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

Séamus Brennan: There is a statutory obligation on all claimants of one parent family payment to satisfy, and to continue to satisfy, the conditions for entitlement to the payment. In 2004, a total of 16,810 new claims for one parent family payment were received. Of this number, 3,999 were refused as they failed to meet the qualifying conditions of the scheme. Of the 12,811 cases awarded, 2,269 were awarded...

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

Séamus Brennan: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity-gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who fulfil a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66 who...

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

Séamus Brennan: The figures required by the Deputy are as follows: Pension Claims 2004 2003 Received 11,263 10,661 Approved 7,171 7,136 Refused 3,002 2,864 Pending at end-year 1,517 1,160 These figures refer to the total of claims for old age non-contributory pension, widow/er's non-contributory pension and blind pension.

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department awarded 4,739 and refused 2,728 carer's allowance applications in 2004 compared to 3,984 and 2,335, respectively, in 2003. There were 7,817 applications for carer's allowance in 2004, compared to 7,233 in 2003. Despite the 8% increase in the number of claims submitted, the number of claims pending decision fell from 1,440 at the end of 2003 to 1,053 at the end of 2004. The...

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

Séamus Brennan: The person concerned applied for unemployment benefit on 12 January 2005. One of the conditions for receipt of unemployment benefit is that a person must have sustained a substantial loss of employment and a reduction in earnings. Information provided by the employer, in this case, indicated that although there had been a reduction in the average number of days per week worked by the person...

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

Séamus Brennan: Increases in pensions are announced in the budget in December each year. This leaves my Department just four weeks to adjust its payments system before the increases are due to be paid in January. Pensioners who receive their payments by electronic funds transfer, EFT, into their bank accounts or by electronic information transfer, ETT, at their local post office receive their increases on...

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

Séamus Brennan: There are currently three different weekly rates of child dependant increases payable to social welfare recipients, €16.80, €19.30 and €21.60, depending on the type of payment. Half rate child dependant increase may also be paid in respect of a child in certain circumstances, for example where both of the child's parents are receiving a social welfare payment, or where one parent has...

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

Séamus Brennan: Parenting is normally shared by both parents, but the respective shares carried by both parents can vary depending on circumstances. In the past the mother was normally the primary care giver with the father being the main breadwinner. This resulted in mothers carrying a disproportionate share of the parenting, with fathers often missing out on direct involvement in much of their children's...

Written Answers — Social Inclusion Measures: Social Inclusion Measures (23 Feb 2005)

Séamus Brennan: It is important that in developing supports for our growing immigrant population, we learn from both the positive and negative aspects of the experience of our own emigrants. It was this in part which prompted the Irish EU Presidency, with the support of the EU Commission, to host an international conference entitled Reconciling Mobility and Social Inclusion — the Role of Employment and...

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

Séamus Brennan: The one parent family payment is the income support scheme for separated, unmarried and widowed persons and also for prisoners' spouses. It was introduced in 1997 when it replaced a number of schemes for different categories of lone parent. Under the one parent family payment scheme lone parents are encouraged to maximise their income from different sources and the means test for the scheme...

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

Séamus Brennan: The island allowance applies to certain social welfare claimants whose permanent place of residence is on an offshore island which is not connected to the mainland by bridge. A list of qualifying islands follows this reply. The budget in 2001 provided for the introduction of an islanders' allowance of €12.70 for social welfare recipients aged 66 and over. The budget in 2003 extended the...