Results 5,181-5,200 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 148 and 170 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 — Budget Submissions: Budget Submissions (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I hosted the Pre Budget Forum on 19 September 2008. Representatives from 28 organisations including the unemployed, disabled, carers, women's issues, pensioners, widows, lone parents and family/marriage counselling services attended. In total submissions were received from 29 organisations across the community and voluntary sector. The submissions inform the development of policy within...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Guardians' payment schemes allow for the provision of a weekly allowance to a guardian of a child who has either been orphaned or whose parents have abandoned and failed to provide for the child. Section 2(1) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 defines an orphan as a qualified child— a. both of whose parents are dead, or b. one of whose parents is dead or unknown or has...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Government is anxious to ensure that as many people as possible can be accommodated within the social welfare pensions system, with due regard being paid to the contributory principle underlying entitlement to contributory payments and, in the case of non-contributory payments, the need to ensure that resources are directed to those who are most in need. Over the last 10 years, means...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The legislative provisions relating to late claims for social welfare payments, including carer's benefit, are set out in Section 241 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 and in Regulations made under that section. These provisions set out the times within which a person must claim, the disqualifications which apply where a late claim is made and the circumstances in which the time...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Up until recently people signing for a jobseekers payment were offered a choice of payment method. They could collect it at a post office of their choice or have it paid directly to their bank or building society account. Late last year there were indications that a number of foreign jobseekers had returned to their own country but were continuing to have their payment made by Electronic...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland's social welfare system is based on two quite different types of entitlement — a social insurance system for people who have paid sufficient PRSI contributions and a social assistance system for people without adequate contributions who have little or no household means of their own. Social insurance is intended both to enable people to insure themselves...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 159, 174 and 180 together. Supplementary pension coverage for workers in general was 54% in the first quarter of 2008. Coverage for the key target group, those aged 30 years and over stood at 61%. The National Pensions Awareness Campaign has been run by the Pensions Board on behalf of the Department annually since 2003. In the current year a total of...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Combating poverty and building an inclusive society are key priorities for the Government. The overall goal of the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion (NAPinclusion) introduced in February 2007 is to reduce the number of those experiencing consistent poverty to between 2 % and 4 % by 2012, with the aim of eliminating consistent poverty by 2016. These commitments and the social inclusion...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The social welfare related measures in Budget 2009 were subjected to a Poverty Impact Assessment in accordance with guidelines issued by the Office for Social Inclusion in March of this year. Poverty Impact Assessment is the process by which government departments, local authorities and State Agencies assess policies and programmes at design, implementation and review stages in relation to...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Pay-Related Social Insurance (PRSI) system is based on both the "contributory" and "solidarity" principles. The former principle provides that there is a direct link between the amount of contributions that a person pays into the system and their subsequent entitlement to a varying range of benefits that are payable if and when particular contingencies arise. The 'governing contribution...

Written Answers — Employment Action Plan: Employment Action Plan (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: Since the beginning of this year, there has been a significant increase in the number of people on the Live Register. In response to this, the Department has taken a number of measures to minimise delays in the processing of claims for jobseeker payments. These measures include the allocation of additional posts to local offices, extending the contracts of some temporary staff and providing...

Written Answers — Data Protection: Data Protection (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) undertook an audit of the Department in late January 2008. The audit focused on the measures in place to protect the security of personal data of customers and the extent of data-sharing in the broader public service using the Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) as an identifier. The Report, which was received in the Department in June...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 168 and 181 together. Among the main objectives of the Department's policies on child income support is the alleviation of poverty in families with children and the facilitation and encouragement of employment by parents, as it is recognised that employment by a parent is the best route out of poverty. The main policy instruments for child income support are...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The average contributions test has been a key qualifying condition for contributory pensions since the scheme was introduced in 1961. With a few exceptions, a person's contribution record is generally averaged from the first day they enter social insurance until they reach retirement age. A contributory pension is a very valuable benefit and the objective of the average contributions test is...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Oct 2008)

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 includes the electricity and gas allowance, telephone allowance...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 178, 415, 417 and 418 together. Supporting and recognising carers in our society is, and has been, a priority of the Government since 1997. Over that period, weekly payment rates to carers have greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. All carers in receipt of carer's allowance and carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance, regardless of their age, receive a free travel pass. It is also available to people under age 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such...

Written Answers — Household Surveys: Household Surveys (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) is carried out annually by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). It is a survey of private households provided for under EU legislation (Council Regulation No 1177/2003) which commenced in Ireland in June 2003. The primary focus of the survey is the collection of information on the income and living conditions of different types of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Oct 2008)

Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Mortgage interest supplement provides 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 place of...