Results 821-840 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The legal requirement is that if the fund is in deficit, it must be reimbursed by the Exchequer. This side of the House has committed to reducing the PRSI contribution from 4% to 2%. If this policy decision affects the fund, it is open to the Government to reimburse the fund directly for the amount involved.

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: That can be considered. It is not intended the fund will go into deficit as a result of this policy.

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: When we get the study, which will show us the outlook for the fund in the years ahead, we will have a better view as to the likelihood of it going into deficit. I certainly do not envisage that in the short, or medium, term but it is a possibility in the long term given the demographic pressures on the fund. I wish to reassure the House that any proposals which would affect the fund or put...

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Some €5 billion for the 40 or so years.

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The fund was in deficit from 1953 to 1996 at which point the cumulative deficit came to €5.4 billion. Over those years that €5.4 billion was made up by the Exchequer.

Social Insurance Fund. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: There is a cost. If one proposes to reduce PRSI from 4% to 2%, which is a tax on people who pay their taxes and for which they have been paying through the nose for a long time, it will cost money. That will come from the general pool of taxation. That is from where any deficit in the fund must be made up. The taxpayer will pay for a proposal to reduce PRSI from 4% to 2%. I invite the...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Government discussion paper, Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents, put forward proposals for the expanded availability and range of education and training opportunities for lone parents; the extension of the national employment action plan to focus on lone parents; focused provision of child care; improved information services for lone parents; and the introduction of a new social...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Some good progress was made when the limit was raised to €400 in the budget and this is in line with the document. The tests will be carried out in both an urban and a rural setting and they will be conducted by the Department of Social and Family Affairs with the co-operation of FÁS, the Office of the Minister for Children and the Department of Education and Science. The test will aim...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Government has instructed a senior officials group on social inclusion, which has been established, to draw up an implementation plan. It will consider issues such as child care, education, training and activation measures and will discuss co-operation with various agencies. One of the key points made by the lone parents' groups was that while they were broadly supportive of these...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: One thing I have learned in this Department is that it must have a strong policy content at its core. One of my first statements to the House was to the effect that I did not want the Department of Social and Family Affairs to merely be an administrative Department responsible for paying out funds and acting as a form of social ATM. I am trying to move it on a daily basis towards a point...

Departmental Surveys. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: My Department is committed to providing a quality customer service to all its customers and to ensuring continuous improvements in the standard of service we provide. As part of this commitment, my Department carries out a variety of customer surveys to establish the level of customer satisfaction and to identify where improvements can be made. Every five years my Department commissions an...

Departmental Surveys. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Department is undergoing a modernisation programme and is examining many of the forms it uses. The FIS form has been brought to my attention on a number of occasions, as have forms relating to disability benefits and allowances. Such forms are continually modernised and shortened, where possible. At the same time, however, we must also ensure that they can still be used to elicit...

Pension Provisions. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: It is a fundamental principle of our social insurance system that those qualifying for benefits must satisfy a range of contribution and other conditions. In the case of contributory pensions, this involves commencing payment of contributions ten years before pension age, payment of a minimum number of contributions at an appropriate rate and reaching a minimum average annual contribution...

Pension Provisions. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: As I stated, I asked the ILO's committee of experts for its views on the way in which the IHRC has interpreted the relevant articles. I do not know when we will receive its views but as soon as we do, the Department will be well disposed to publishing the information. There are obviously anomalies throughout the system and we have made good progress in recent years in ironing them out. A...

Pension Provisions. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The number who could benefit from the recommendations of the IHRC is limited. The people in question were over 61 in 1988 and could not satisfy the conditions for a standard pension at that time and, because of their age, they were not in a position to make the 260 contributions required for the special pension, which was introduced in 1999. It appears from our records that more than 700...

Social Insurance. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The second review of the social insurance fund, SIF, which is required under section 10 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, has recently been completed. The review was undertaken in accordance with the requirement that such reviews be carried out at five-yearly intervals, and the previous review was completed in June 2002. The legislation also requires that the report be laid...

Social Insurance. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Allow me to clear up the timeline. This is the second review of the social insurance fund, required under section 10 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. It has been completed and is before Government. Under the legislation, the review must be laid before the Houses within six months of its completion and clearance by the Government. From a legal point of view, the Government...

Social Insurance. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The number of people at work is increasing all the time. The number of people contributing is growing steadily and is currently at 2.8 million. Assuming the economy keeps growing, in line with the Central Bank and other independent projections, the income to the fund will increase. Any proposals made in the context of the election campaign and manifestos are the subject of hot and heavy...

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: It takes 15 weeks on average at present to finalise claims for carer's allowance. During 2006, the average was just over ten weeks and in 2005, the average was almost 13 weeks. The reason for the current increase in average claim processing times is the increase in the number of claims being submitted. The number of claims submitted in 2006 was more than 20% higher than the total for 2005....

Social Welfare Benefits. (25 Apr 2007)

Séamus Brennan: It is partly my fault because I have made so many changes in the area in the past two and a half years, putting enormous pressure on the system, by relaxing the means test and improving the different allowances and their levels. On top of that, there is this year's decision to pay a half rate carer's allowance to anyone in receipt of another welfare payment. There has been enormous pressure...