Results 1,121-1,140 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE). The Dublin/Mid-Leinster Area of the HSE has advised that the person concerned is an asylum seeker in receipt of a direct provision allowance of €19.10 granted to her when she resided at accommodation provided through the Reception and Integration...

Written Answers — Live Register: Live Register (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The live register in January 2007 was 158,752. This is the lowest January figure in the past 5 years. The live register in each of the previous four months has also been at its lowest level for the month in question for the last five years. Each year unemployment levels tend to be highest in July/August and lowest in October/November. This is due primarily to seasonal factors such as the...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: In order to qualify for the maximum rate of the state pension (contributory) a person must, amongst other qualifying conditions, achieve a yearly average of at least 48 contributions paid or credited on his/her social insurance record. I am anxious to ensure that as many people as possible can qualify for a contributory pension and, in this regard, the range of reduced payments has been...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Currently Ireland has bilateral social security agreements with seven countries: Austria, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the USA and Switzerland. Ireland entered into a bilateral understanding with Canada on 1 October 1994. The main purpose of these agreements is to protect the social security pension rights of workers who have worked both in Ireland and the other...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The back to education allowance (BTEA) is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active work force. I reduced the qualifying period for access to the third level option of the scheme from 15 to 12 months in the...

Written Answers — Rural Transport Services: Rural Transport Services (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. The vast majority of private contractors providing...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: One of the key objectives of the 2007 social welfare package was to protect and enhance the value of all weekly rates of payment, including the rate of widows or widowers pensions, in relative terms by giving increases which are well in excess of projected inflation (4.1%) for this year. In Budget 2007, contributory State pensions, including the widow/er's contributory pension (aged 66 and...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Carer's Allowance is a social assistance payment paid to people who are providing full time care and attention to a person who needs such care. The primary objective of the social welfare system is to provide income support and as a general rule only one weekly social welfare payment is payable to an individual. Persons qualifying for two social welfare payments receive the higher payment...

Written Answers — Departmental Investigations: Departmental Investigations (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: A person who is in receipt of a social welfare payment may claim an increase in respect of a dependent spouse or partner. This increase, known as qualified adult allowance, QAA, is normally paid as a single amount with the primary payment to the claimant. Provision has existed for many years to split the payment and pay the spouse or partner separately if the recipient so wished, or in...

Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I confirmed the commencement date for the revised arrangements would apply to new applicants from September 2007. It is not proposed at this point to include existing recipients, although I would like to do so. The Department informed me it could take some time to do that. We will commence with new applicants and I hope in time policy will develop so we can extend this facility to existing...

Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Carer's allowance is a social assistance payment paid to people who are providing full-time care and attention to a person in need of such care. In line with other social assistance schemes, a means test is applied to the carer's allowance so as to ensure resources are directed to those in greatest need. This means test has been eased significantly over the years. Following budget 2006,...

Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: If I announced the abolition of the means test for carers, the Labour Party would have to amend its manifesto. Deputy Penrose would be the most disappointed man in the House if I announced that move. The Deputy feels passionately about this and has managed to put the issue at centre stage in his party, on which I compliment him. I have an open mind on the matter. Sometimes it is better to...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: In 2005, the rate of consistent poverty in Ireland was 7% of the population, of whom 12.2% were children. This proportion is still too high, but it must be judged in the context of what has been achieved over the past decade. Some 250,000 people, including children, have been lifted from poverty in Ireland based on the consistent poverty measure. The Government is determined to continue to...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I was just getting good at it.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The study uses figures from 2000. We should keep that in mind.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: With respect to the Deputy, it has changed. It is almost seven years since these figures were produced and Ireland has changed dramatically in that time. While the Deputy is right to say the study places us as 22 out of 24 in regard to material well-being it puts us eighth in terms of educational well-being, seventh in family and peer relationships, fourth in behaviours and risks for...

Employment Support Services. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Consistent with the vision for all people of working age as set out in the Government's recently published national action plan for social inclusion 2007-16 and bearing in mind the 2010 EU level target participation rate for older workers of 50%, which was agreed by the European Council under the Lisbon strategy, unemployed people aged 55 to 64 years have been included within the scope of the...

Employment Support Services. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Labour force participation by people aged 65 years or over is in the region of 7.2%, and it is expected to reduce to 6.2% by 2010. In the 1950s it was 37%. I do not have figures for those who claimed the €100 income disregard which became €200 in the recent budget but the number is small. There has not been an enormous response but the disregard is valuable. We have asked the Citizens...

Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Child benefit can be paid in respect of every child under the age of 16 years, who is ordinarily resident in the State. Payment can be extended to the nineteenth birthday if the child is in education, or incapable of self-support. The benefit is paid to the qualified person with whom the child resides and since 1 May 2004, the qualified person must satisfy the habitual residence condition....