Results 801-820 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (21 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: 339. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the reason for the delay with the commencement of the Leader Programme in County Galway; the number of companies that will deliver the Leader Programme there; the areas they will cover; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13470/24]

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (21 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: 340. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the arrangements that have been made to deliver SICAP on the offshore Islands off the coast of Galway; when delivery of the Programme will commence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13469/24]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Health Services (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: 1473. To ask the Minister for Health the new criteria used to assess applications for discretionary payments for items such as specialised spectacles for children in the CHO network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12816/24]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Cards (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: 1503. To ask the Minister for Health what efforts are being made to ensure that adequate dentists participate in the scheme to provide dental services to medical card patients as the current dentists are at capacity and cannot meet the demand for the service thus leaving people on low incomes without a vital health service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13035/24]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Statutory Instruments: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Can the witnesses give us an indication of how many people have availed of this since 2022? I would imagine the figures are small as most people are on a contributory State pension. My understanding is that the second issue applies to the widow's pension. Is that correct or not? So if you are on a widow's pension and you are over 66-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Statutory Instruments: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: There are 650 claims.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Statutory Instruments: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: That is very small.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Statutory Instruments: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: In practice it is probably not costing anything as nobody is going to take and pay the money over to social welfare anyway. Even if you take the gross cost what is it costing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Statutory Instruments: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: It is 14,000 times €250, something like that. Which in the greater realms of the Department spending €27,000 million, it is a very small percentage.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I thank the officials for the paper. I understand it is fairly general because they are still working on the report. It is very timely that we are having this meeting and I am glad to make an input to it, looking at the matter from a broad point of view. I will first address the means testing of capital. Normally thrift is encouraged in any state. I have found that because they worry...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Yes, there is no need for the officials to reply to each of my questions today.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: That is not the issue I raised.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am talking about the means test and the IQA. It is only on the wealth or income of the dependent. Some people knew, for example, to put all the savings in the pensioner's name if they were the earner. In most cases it was the male earner. I would say that was 80% of the cases I came across. It is unbelievable that people get penalised for putting things in joint accounts and that the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: There are two scenarios. One is a couple where one dominated and another one is where couples know the rules and can avoid this pitfall. Then there are people who shared and never bothered to check. They never even dreamt that they would be penalised for putting everything together. I have had pensioners who have inherited properties and needed to put the couple’s name on it. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: They cannot. The pensioner has a contributory pension. How can you penalise them?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Once again, remember, there were marriage bars. Many coupled reared families because it was the habit. The numbers are going down. The obvious thing to do is not start the third world war. We have enough with Putin trying to start a war without the Department of Social Protection. I am suggesting to go the other route. There is a decreasing number of these. They are there because it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Initially, when the scheme came in, if you had €100 a week in farm income, that is, assessed farm income after the means test with farm assist, when you went for the scheme, that was left to you and you got the full amount of money for the work you did, the same as the person working beside you. That is as simple as it was. Then they made a change and if you had €100 assessed...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: How does Mr. Egan explain to pensioners, specifically non-contributory pensioners, how €200 PAYE is different from €200 self-employed? That is a simple question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Implications of Means Testing: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Éamon Ó Cuív: No. They come off. It is net income. We know that.