Results 1,141-1,160 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I have met various organisations about this issue. The Department, the Government and I wish to take a humane and caring approach to it. As the Deputy correctly points out, children are innocent parties in these decisions to move from country to country. We will keep a close eye on it. Ireland was one of only three states to open its borders in 2004; most other member states did not do...

Social Welfare Benefits. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Only 10% of the claims were disallowed. The number of child benefit claims that required examination of the habitual residence condition was 16,000 between May 2004 and January 2007. The 10% that were disallowed were disallowed for good reasons. There was little or no connection with the State. There is a safety net through social welfare officers, community welfare officers and the social...

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 60 and 166 together. Last year's 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...

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Cabinet cleared the discussion document which we published. We have had a number of discussions recently on my proposals. The legislation is being prepared in the Department. The implementation group is doing its work as we speak and I hope the tests can start this year. The tests are to assess in an urban and rural setting how the new payment might work. This involves removing the...

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: FÁS will do it. Does the Deputy mean when we move to the new payment?

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: We will use the activation process that FÁS has already. That is the present intention.

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: This is rehearsed in the lone parents document. It is suggested in that document that there would be more facilitators, who would work alongside FÁS in giving advice to lone parents who wish to get back into the workplace. FÁS would have a central role. Whether we can develop other facilitators alongside it is one of the issues being examined by the implementation group.

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: The Deputies know this is a complicated area. The Government's policy is clear in that it is committed to removing the cohabitation rule, replacing the lone parent's allowance with an allowance that is targeted at children who live in low income families rather than focussing on the make-up of a family. That principle is generally supported across the House. We are working on the logistics...

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: There will be some degree of priority for lone parents. The statistics show that poverty is more prevalent among lone parents.

Social Welfare Code. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: We must ensure they are fully informed of this option. As poverty is more prevalent among lone parents, they would have substantial priority in the child care area. Other measures already exist, such as the extra €1,000 payment, and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has increased the number of child care places available. I am concerned that the quality of jobs available...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7, 23 and 46 together. The new national action plan for social inclusion was launched last week with an overall goal to make a decisive impact on consistent poverty. This is underlined by the fact that a new target is being set, using an updated set of indicators, which is more realistic and in keeping with living standards today. The new target is to reduce...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: We should be conscious from the taxpayer's perspective that welfare payments have doubled in five or six years, from €7 billion to €15 billion. That is a considerable investment by the taxpayer in tackling poverty. It is not only a question of income, since other Departments are also involved. Recent budgets were to a large degree targeted at tackling child poverty, which we dealt...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: There is still poverty in Ireland. I made the point that the target of 2% that we set has been reached, and I stand by that. We have changed the measure, and one does not need too many studies to see that there is poverty among lone parents, some older people, the unemployed and so on. There is still unacceptable poverty, particularly child poverty, which has no place in Ireland in the...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Is the Deputy asking who is responsible for poverty?

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I assure the Deputy that I do not claim that title.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: Successive Governments have had a special responsibility to seek to eliminate poverty. However, we must be honest about this. Some measures of poverty are allied to lifestyle. We cannot give everyone the same lifestyle, but we can seek to remove poverty. I seek to ensure that we no longer have in our midst what the Deputy and I would have known in our childhoods — good, old-fashioned...

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: On all sides of the House, we have a responsibility to eliminate poverty.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I am not on a mission to ensure that there are no disparities in wealth in Ireland. If that is our policy objective, I do not know where we will finish.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: We have disparities in wealth, like most other countries.

Anti-Poverty Strategy. (1 Mar 2007)

Séamus Brennan: I agree with the Deputy, in that my objective is to ensure equal opportunity for everyone in the country, with access to education, training, health and an absolute safety net to ensure that no one falls below a certain level of income support in Ireland. That is the first set of objectives I must meet, and we are making solid progress in that regard. I acknowledge that there are still...