Results 4,681-4,700 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: People on the national employment action plan also have a shorter timeframe. I am working with my colleagues, the Ministers for Education and Science and Enterprise, Trade and Employment, with regard to FÃS and the spare capacity in the institutes of technology, universities and further education courses to see how we can support these people. It can be done through FÃS and through...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance is an important scheme. This year alone, 103,000 households and 200,000 children have benefited from it. As I have extended the thresholds, a further 18,000 families will qualify next year in addition to those who would have qualified under the current thresholds. I chose to extend the thresholds to make it more widely available rather...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Many parents do not want schools or teachers to know their circumstances.
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The form only states whether someone is in school.
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: A promotional campaign undertaken last June while children were still in school suggested that people should purchase early. There is always a danger whereby people who get money and, instead of spending it on a uniform, use it for a holiday during the summer months may find themselves being stuck in August or September. The scheme is available from June to the end of September, but we...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: There are some social welfare payments in respect of which it would be possible to pay the allowance automatically. However, there are other circumstances where people might be in employment or on contributory payments where we would be obliged to consider the household income, etc. We must be in a position to know a family's situation on the occasion of its making an application. It is...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: No one could argue with the points being made in regard to child poverty. However, the progression of a second tier of income support is a complex issue. The National Economic and Social Council, NESC, and Dr. John Sweeney was unable to come up with a solution when it discussed the issue. What will support our thinking in this regard is the research being conducted in regard to family...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Yes. I think they were boggled by the amount of toys in the store. We all know that Santa is a generous man, but he too is finding it difficult to come up with all the presents children want this year. We are trying to address the issue of child poverty in so many ways, including through child benefit, family income supplement and other payments such as the back to school allowance, which...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The early child care supplement was introduced to support people paying for child care but at the same time the Government had to recognise those people who were looking after their children in their own home, which is the reason the payment was made available to everybody and not, as stated in the Fine Gael proposal, for child care expenses. That would only be for people most likely working...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The Deputy is correct in so far as fraud control and abuse is concerned. Where we find that people are defrauding the State by claiming for child benefit and there is a knock-on effect, obviously both payments are stopped and efforts are made to try to recoup the money. We will continue to do that.
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: It is not just pensioners who benefit from the scheme; approximately 300,000 people benefit from the allowance, at a cost of â¬170 million. One should also consider those who benefit from the household benefits, which allow them to obtain electricity or gas units. The total value of the fuel allowance and the household packages amounts to between â¬1,200 and â¬1,300 per annum, depending...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: We must consider the matter in respect of pensions. In this regard, it is some time since the research was done, which I accept. Central heating systems have been installed in many local authority houses in particular. Many of the systems use gas, which, unlike oil, is paid for on a monthly basis.
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: I realise that. Despite all the difficulties associated with budgeting this year, I was glad to be able to extend the fuel allowance period by two weeks to 32 weeks. People certainly welcomed this move. The increase of â¬2 brings the total to â¬23.90 in a smokeless fuel area and this is a significant contribution. I did not have time to consider the proposal in respect of this Bill but I...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: I will certainly consult the groups that have represented the elderly over the years. The issue will arise as to whether certain individuals should be given a lump sum of â¬300 or â¬400 in September, and another after Christmas. It would be up to the groups to advise on whether this is best for some particularly vulnerable individuals. We must weigh up the pros and cons. One matter that...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: I share people's concerns about the number of people who must fall back on mortgage interest supplements and those people who are in danger of losing their homes. We discussed some of the issues surrounding this last night and earlier today. The problem is evident in the number of people making new applications. We had 7,000 at the end of October and I suspect that number will be...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: It is not appropriate to insert a provision seeking a report into a social welfare Bill.
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: It is appropriate to discuss the issue in this House, it is appropriate for the Government to take action, it is appropriate that the financial institutions should take their responsibility and that both Opposition and Government Members serving on various joint committees should continue to highlight the issue. The bottom line is that people are benefiting from the mortgage interest...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Last year 4,111 people benefited from the scheme. This year 7,000 have benefited already, and probably many more will have benefited by the end of this month. I indicated that of course I will continue to review it â I refer particularly to the mortgage interest one because it is only in these months that we are seeing an increase in its use â to see whether the scheme is effective, is...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: I do not propose to accept the amendment. We are trying to give legislative provision for regulations and strengthen the legal basis for those regulations. The section provides for amendments to the legislative provisions and we feel they are necessary for both the rent supplement and mortgage interest supplement. Regulations already set out the maximum rent levels that apply to rent...
- Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (4 Dec 2008)
Mary Hanafin: However, they will now have more choice in respect of the accommodation they wish to rent. I accept that in small rural areas people's choices might be limited. There is a great choice of accommodation in large urban areas because properties that did not sell are now being made available for rent. We did not increase the limits this year because we did not want to feed the market. Tenants...