Results 1,021-1,040 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Entitlement to Carer's Allowance is based on the care recipient requiring full-time care and attention. The care recipient's doctor provides a medical report in the first instance at the time of application for the allowance. Based on this information the Department's Chief Medical Advisor forms an opinion as to whether the care recipient requires full time care and attention. The Chief...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The telephone allowance administered by my Department under the household benefits package is being extended to include mobile telephones effective from April 2007. The telephone allowance currently applies to fixed line telephones only with a credit made by my Department direct to the supplier (i.e. the telephone company) on the customer's behalf. Under the new arrangements, customers will...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Entitlement to a widow's or widower's pension depends, in the first instance, on the status in law of the relationship between the parties prior to the death of one of them. If the parties, at the date of death, were married within the meaning of the laws of the State, then the survivor of that marriage is a widow or widower for the purposes of the social welfare legislation relating to...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all of its customers. Applications are processed and decisions on entitlement are issued as quickly as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions that apply. Most claims for State Pension Transition (SPT) and State Pension Contributory (SCP) are paid within four weeks of the person reaching pension age. However, there...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: To date, 122 officers have transferred to offices of the Department outside of Dublin under the Government's decentralisation programme. This includes 14 officers who have transferred to temporary accommodation while the permanent accommodation is being finalised. Fourteen of the 122 officers transferred from a non-Dublin office to a Dublin office initially for training purposes. The...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: On the basis of the number of people receiving social welfare support and the Population and Migration Estimates published by the CSO, it is estimated that 47,000 people of pension age are not receiving a social welfare pension payment in their own right or as a qualified adult on the pension of their spouse or partner. Further details of this estimate are not readily available. It is...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: In addition to the development of a new social assistance payment for lone parents, last year's Government discussion paper, Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents, put forward proposals for a range of supports for lone parents, including expanding the availability and range of education and training opportunities for lone parents; extending the National Employment Action Plan to focus on lone...

Written Answers — Live Register: Live Register (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: At the week ending 23 February 2007 the total live register was 159,399, of whom 47,539, some 30% of the total, were under three months on the live register. The National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) was introduced on a phased basis in September 1998. Under the NEAP people aged 18 and under 64 years who are approaching certain durations on the live register are referred FÁS for interview...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The scheme I recently announced will extend the existing arrangements by allowing pensioners over the age of 66 and resident here to travel free of charge on all bus and rail services throughout Northern Ireland. Likewise, pensioners in Northern Ireland will travel free of charge on transport services in this State. The extended scheme applies only to pensioners entitled to free travel....

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Family Services Project and the Special Projects fund are administered by my Department's Social and Family Support Services. The objectives of the projects are to assist individuals and families to enhance their employability through education, training and personal development opportunities and to improve their quality of life. The funding is provided to LVC groups to identify needs in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The back to education programmes operated by my Department take cognisance of the fact that the more structured full-time second or third level courses of study that are approved under the back to education allowance scheme may not suit people who have been out of the education system for some time. In recognition of this, in Budget 2007, I extended the €32 weekly out of pocket expenses...

Written Answers — Services for People with Disabilities: Services for People with Disabilities (20 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: My Department is committed to providing ease of access to its services for all customers including those with a hearing disability. A facility for persons with a hearing disability, who wish to telephone my Department, is in operation on a trial basis in the Disability Allowance section since October 2006. This facility can be used to communicate directly with customers with compatible...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on behalf of my Department by the Health Service Executive. It provides for the payment of a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of rent to eligible persons in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation needs. The Health Service Executive has advised that it has terminated...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (8 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: In February 2006 as part of its reform of the Health Sector, the Government decided to transfer certain functions together with staff and other associated resources from the Health Service Executive to my Department. The functions to be transferred include the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme as well as certain other functions. The SWA scheme is currently administered by some 700...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (8 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The statutory agencies operating under the aegis of my Department, in the first six months of 2002, under the then Minister Mary Coughlan T.D., were the Pensions Board, the Combat Poverty Agency, Comhairle, the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland and the Dormant Accounts Fund Disbursements Board. During that time appointments were made...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (8 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The five statutory agencies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board, the Combat Poverty Agency, the Citizens Information Board (formerly Comhairle), the Family Support Agency and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of my Department. Appointments were made to the Combat Poverty Agency in the past two months, as set out...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (8 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Office for Social Inclusion (OSI), located in my Department, has overall responsibility for the development, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of Ireland's National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016. The Office, which comprises ten members of staff, co-ordinates the process across Departments, Agencies, Regional and Local Government, and implements key support...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I have recently announced the implementation of the all-Ireland free travel scheme commencing from 2 April which will enable pensioners resident here and in Northern Ireland to travel free of charge on all eligible transport services on the island. This new scheme will extend the existing cross-border free travel arrangements by allowing pensioners resident here travel free of charge on all...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: A qualified adult allowance is payable in addition to the personal rate of social insurance benefit or social assistance where a spouse or cohabiting partner is living with and is dependent on the beneficiary. There are limited circumstances where a person may receive a qualified adult allowance for a spouse where they are not living together — for example where the couple have separated...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: All Social Welfare cheques are collected from a central area in my Department at agreed times daily by An Post. These cheques are given priority treatment in the Dublin Mail Centre, where they are sorted for delivery to customers. No complaints of delays of receipt of payments have been received in my Department in respect of the areas mentioned. My Department has been advised by An Post...