Results 4,361-4,380 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Mortgage Interest Supplement: Mortgage Interest Supplement (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 129 and 163 together. The supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides for a weekly or monthly supplement to be paid in respect of mortgage interest. The purpose of the mortgage interest supplement is to provide short term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The recent changes to the duration of the payment of jobseeker's benefit are necessary to control expenditure on the scheme by aligning the contribution conditions for these benefits more closely to the level and duration of the benefits being provided. The changes are designed to ensure a uniform, rationalised, approach across the short-term social insurance schemes. The back to education...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 131, 138 and 335 together. Budget 2007 provided for new arrangements whereby people can receive a maximum payment equivalent to a half rate carers allowance while receiving another social welfare payment, other than jobseeker's benefit or allowance. These measures came into effect in September 2008 and there are currently just over 16,100 people in receipt of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 132, 136 and 150 together. The combined employee and employer social insurance contribution for general employees, paying class A PRSI, is 14.05%, excluding levies. Self-employed people, on the other hand, are only liable for PRSI at the Class S rate of 3%. These much lower contributions give coverage towards long-term benefits such as State and Widow's...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Ireland's National Employment Service (NES) consists of 2 strands, Employment Services operated by FÁS, the National Training and Employment Authority, and the Local Employment Service (LES) which operates mainly through Local Area Partnership Companies on contract from FÁS. The Department of Social and Family Affairs works closely with FÁS in providing opportunities for people on social...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The back to work allowance scheme is one of the department's employment support schemes designed to assist and encourage the long term unemployed, lone parents, people with disabilities and other social welfare recipients to return to the active labour force. There are two strands to the scheme; the back to work allowance (BTWA) for persons who take up employment and the back to work...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 141, 331 and 332 together. 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. It was introduced in the context of the Government's decision to open the Irish labour market to workers from the 10 new EU Member States, without the...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) and Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) schemes are administered by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE) on behalf of the Department Social and Family Affairs. The operational arrangements for the processing of applications and the payment to qualifying individuals, is a matter for the respective...

Written Answers — Services for People with Disabilities: Services for People with Disabilities (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The statutory basis for the introduction of a personal advocacy service under the Citizens Information Board (CIB) was provided for in the Citizens Information Act, 2007. However, having regard to the current budgetary circumstances, it will not be possible to proceed with this in 2009. The provision of an advocacy service remains a priority for this Government. In this regard, significant...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: In order to qualify for a social insurance payment, a person must fulfil all of the relevant conditions including the social insurance contribution conditions relating to the particular benefit being claimed. These contribution rules aim to preserve a balance between the level of contributions paid and the amount of benefits received, by ensuring that the claimants record of contributions is...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: There is a range of education and employment supports available to persons in receipt of welfare payments. These initiatives are designed to assist and facilitate people on social welfare payments to return to the active labour force, included in these measures is the back to work allowance and back to education allowance. The back to education allowance (BTEA) is a second chance education...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, provides for the payment of a rent supplement to assist eligible tenants who are unable to provide for their immediate accommodation needs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Farm Assist scheme was introduced in the Social Welfare Act, 1999. The scheme was designed specially for farmers on low incomes. It is not possible to estimate the number of farmers who may qualify for farm assist due to changes in the disadvantaged area scheme. However, it is open to any farmer to apply for farm assist and a decision will be given on his/her application. If a farmer...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: A person who wishes to claim Jobseeker's Allowance has to attend at their local Social Welfare Office. There are several conditions which must be met including that: the person be of habitual residence in the State s/he is available for full-time work s/he is genuinely seeking work s/he satisfies a means test. If the person satisfies these conditions the amount of payment granted will also be...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 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 purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation, whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is currently administered on behalf of the department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. There are no plans to transfer the administration of the rent supplement scheme to local authorities. However, the government has decided that certain functions of the Health Service Executive will...

Written Answers — Social Insurance Fund: Social Insurance Fund (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The legislation covering the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) established a tripartite funding arrangement with the Exchequer acting as a residual financier to contributions from employees and employers. In fact, Exchequer contributions to cover funding shortfalls from employer and employee contributions have been the norm since the establishment of the SIF. Since 1996, there has been an annual...

Written Answers — Departmental Correspondence: Departmental Correspondence (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: This issue was the subject of a High Court judgement concerning the rights of a person, who has undergone gender reassignment surgery, to recognition of her acquired gender. On foot of a High Court judgement, delivered on 19 October 2007, the judge made a declaration, pursuant to Section 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003, that Sections 25, 63 and 64 of the Civil...

Written Answers — Departmental Strategy Statements: Departmental Strategy Statements (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: In January 2008 a working group, chaired by the Department of An Taoiseach, was established to develop the National Carers Strategy. My Department provides the secretariat to the working group which also includes representatives of the Departments of Finance, Health and Children and Enterprise, Trade and Employment as well as FÁS and the Health Service Executive. Considerable work was...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Feb 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The person concerned applied for a jobseeker's allowance payment on 27 November 2008. He was requested by a Social Welfare Inspector to provide details of his parents' income. He failed to provide the necessary information and consequently his claim was closed. He was informed of this on 29 January, 2009. It is open to him to make a fresh application, in which case he should provide all...