Results 5,521-5,540 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The Department is committed to providing a quality customer service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are issued as expeditiously as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions which apply. These conditions vary between the two jobseeker schemes and involve, among other things, the need to establish the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The average time for deciding a claim for carer's allowance is currently 15.6 weeks. Entitlement to carer's allowance is based on an applicant satisfying medical, means and residency conditions. In determining entitlement to the allowance there are, in certain cases, unavoidable time lags involved in making the necessary investigations and enquiries to enable accurate decisions to be made....
- Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (24 Sep 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The Government discussion paper, Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents, put forward proposals to tackle obstacles to employment for lone parents and other low income families. Under the proposals the lone parenthood category of payment would no longer exist. Instead, a new payment would be made to all parents (living alone or with a partner), with young children, on low income. The non-income...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The purpose of 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 place of residence. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only. Under standard SWA rules, Mortgage Interest Supplements are normally calculated to...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, which is administered by the Community Welfare Division of the Health Service Executive (HSE), is designed to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. Under the legislation governing the scheme, the HSE may make a single payment to meet an exceptional need to people...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2008)
Mary Hanafin: People receiving Child Benefit are required, from time to time to complete a residency certification letter to confirm their on-going entitlement to the payment. A certification letter issued to the customer on 08/07/08 and as no reply was received within the specified time limit of 21 days, payment was suspended. A response was received from the customer on 15/09/08 and payment was...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The Department's role is to assist social welfare recipients with heating costs, both through their basic payments and through the household benefits package with fuel, electricity and gas allowances. These schemes have been improved significantly in recent years. Fuel Allowance is ordinarily paid to eligible people from the date of application. The majority of people applying for Fuel...
- Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (24 Sep 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The amount spent by the Department on consultants in 2007 was â¬1,013,604 and â¬463,580 to the end of August 2008. During this period consultancy expertise was used by the Department to support it in undertaking strategic reviews (e.g. review of the Social Insurance Fund and the equality review of the Social Welfare Code) and to provide specialist technical expertise in the application of...
- National Development Plan: Motion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: During the course of the debate last night I indicated that the Department of Social and Family Affairs would be able to generate savings of over â¬3 million this year on information and technology projects. I should have indicated that the figure is â¬1 million, but the overall figure I provided remains the same.
- Written Answers — Farm Assist Scheme: Farm Assist Scheme (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: Farm Assist is a stand-alone statutory scheme which replaced the 'small-holders' unemployment assistance arrangements. The scheme represents a long-term safety net for low income farmers, as recipients retain all the advantages of the jobseeker's allowance scheme (formerly unemployment assistance), e.g. retention of secondary benefits and access to active labour market programmes, while...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: According to the Department's records the person concerned is currently in receipt of family income supplement. He was initially awarded â¬22 per week from 13th March 08 but, on provision of further information, a revised decision was made on 11th June awarding â¬34 per week from 13th March 2008. This rate was put into payment from 19th June and arrears due were lodged to his bank...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: My Department currently operates the occupational injuries scheme which provides entitlement to benefit for persons suffering from certain prescribed diseases which are listed in the legislation and where that person has contracted that disease in the course of their employment. Where a person has contracted one of the diseases listed in the legislation, benefits are payable if they were...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: My Department's activities require the engagement of a range of external expertise including consultancy. In the main external expertise is sought to support the Department with a number of strategic multi-annual programmes aimed at enhancing the delivery of the services to customers e.g. the Service Delivery Modernisation Programme (SDM), and to provide specialist assistance relating to the...
- Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The number of recipients and expenditure on mortgage interest and local authority mortgage interest supplement for 2008 is shown in the attached tabular statement. Recipients and Expenditure on Mortgage Interest Supplement and Local Authority Mortgage Interest Supplement 2008 Mortgage Interest Supplement Local Authority Mortgage Interest Supplement Recipients* Expenditure** Recipients*...
- Written Answers — Live Register: Live Register (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: A breakdown by duration on the live register (by age and gender) is published twice yearly by the CSO. The data is provided by the Department and details, by scheme, as at 18th April 2008 are given in Table 1 below. While details of nationality are captured in the claim-taking process, they are not recorded in a manner that facilitates a breakdown by duration on the live register. Details of...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Rent supplements are subject to a statutory limit on the amount of rent that an applicant for supplement may incur. The Executive has advised that in March 2008 the person concerned was informed that the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The person concerned applied for a jobseeker's allowance payment on 18 June 2008. His claim is currently with a Social Welfare Inspector for assessment of his means. Following completion of the Social Welfare Inspector's report, a decision will be made and he will be notified of the outcome. Under Social Welfare legislation decisions in relation to claims must be made by Deciding Officers...
- Written Answers — National Employment Action Plan: National Employment Action Plan (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: A high level group, comprising officials from the Department, officials from Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and FÃS, was established in March 2007 to advance the implementation of the commitments on activation and participation as set out in Towards 2016. The group held meetings on 3 occasions in 2007 and once in 2008. The next meeting of the group is scheduled for later in...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (10 Jul 2008)
Mary Hanafin: The information requested is given in the attached tables. Tables A and B show actual expenditure incurred and income received in the first four months of the year for Vote 38 and the Social Insurance Fund, respectively. Full expenditure data for the months of May and June is not yet available. The figures given are provisional and represent the most up to date information available. ...