Results 12,041-12,060 of 19,424 for speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I have completed my contribution.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I was interested in the exchange and the figures. Much of these were dealt with when discussing the last amendment. The amendment before us logically follows the acceptance of the previous section but it also reinforces the point we were making. The intention of the Minister is to reduce a child's age of eligibility for the one-parent family payment from 14 to seven. Given her comments, we...
- Written Answers — Child Care Services: Child Care Services (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Question 23: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the level of additional funding or number of additional affordable places she considers that equates with a credible and bankable commitment on the delivery of relevant childcare precipitating her willingness to implement the reduction of the one parent family payment cut off age to seven. [20594/12]
- Written Answers — Departmental Functions: Departmental Functions (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Question 34: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the date on which she expects the rent supplement scheme to have been transferred from her Department to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government; the size of any additional moneys that will be allocated; and the implications for her plans to develop one stop shops. [20595/12]
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I do not deny that.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I never suggested that.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: There are savings in it.
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: The Minister's logic is strange. I agree with Deputy Fleming that the reason for this provision is starting to emerge. How will a change in the benefit somebody is getting make that person "financially independent", given that the person in question will end up on another benefit? I could understand it if that financial independence were to be delivered by allowing such people to avail of...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Earlier, the Minister remarked this was not a cost-cutting measure. If it is not, will she tell that to the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, who is sitting next to her? His contribution was, "If we had the money we would not be doing this". If one looks at what is being proposed, the vast majority of people have not come out against what the Minister is doing. There is a big if, however,...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I, too, believe that this section should be deleted. If the Minister does not accede to its deletion, I will oppose the Bill despite that some of the measures contained in it are good and some of the amendments are progressive in terms of addressing some of the anomalies within our code. I took the time to try to be helpful to the Minister, who told us last week in this House - none of us...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I will not delay the House on this issue. This is an interesting change. There may be people who do not have the required number of contributions and the Minister is, through this change, allowing them to purchase extra contributions to bring them up to the required number. She is in effect allowing them to make a voluntary contribution. I do not believe there would be a huge level of...
- Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: That is an example of how to phase in changes to pensions and so on. It ensures people are well aware of the changes before they come into effect. It is a pity this type of lead in period was not in place in respect of changes last year to the State pension transition or the accelerated change in terms of the pension age from 66 to 68 years. As the Minister has clarified the matter for me,...
- Social Welfare Fraud (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I have listened to the debate on control savings, but will the Minister answer two short questions? Does she agree that the figure for fraud is â¬25 million, approximately 0.1% of the entire budget? Is it correct to state that the figure of â¬645 million, the latest figure devised by the Minister and her Department, was arrived at through the bizarre logic of assuming a situation in which...
- Social Welfare Fraud (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I said fraud cost â¬25 million and I called for more inspectors.
- Social Welfare Code (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I welcome the Minister's announcement that the carer's allowance will be excluded. It was excluded when the Department originally considered this matter but it reappeared subsequently. I ask for clarification on the half-rate payment and whether all carer's allowances will be excluded. There are two different types of half-rate payments, one for care of a second person and the other for...
- Social Welfare Code (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: This is a significant announcement which I think will be welcomed by carers' associations. The report of the joint committee recommended that carers should be able to opt in to the single payment. The logic behind the recommendation was that a carer could thereby access activation measures where the relative was so ill that he or she was about to be hospitalised or institutionalise.
- Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: My question is on a related issue. Because appeals take so long, people then approach the community welfare officer thereby adding to the bureaucracy. The sooner those backlogs in appeals are dealt with the less the bureaucracy in the Department as a whole. More reviews of different payments happen resulting in a logjam in them also. There are logjams in internal reviews in benefits such...
- Social Welfare Benefits (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: The Minister mentioned that 38% of refusals were overturned on appeal. That is a large figure which the Department should be concerned about and should attempt to address. When will the Minister confirm she is not going ahead with the changes to the disability allowance for 18 to 24 year olds? She pressed pause at Christmas but did not say it definitely would not go ahead.
- Community Employment Schemes (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Question 2: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the conclusions of her review of community employment schemes; if she will restore funding to the 2011 level; her plans for the future of CE; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20723/12]
- Community Employment Schemes (25 Apr 2012)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh: In December, the Government dropped a bombshell in regard to CE scheme participants and sponsor groups. The Minister then ran for cover using the review that was announced. There was to be a report in March but we now hear it could be a number of weeks or months before it is produced. Perhaps it will never be produced. Does the Minister accept that, for many CE schemes to survive at all,...