Results 12,801-12,820 of 19,409 for speaker:Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Written Answers — Training and Education Programmes: Training and Education Programmes (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Question 341: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of the additional 15,000 places in work experience opportunities promised in the programme for Government that are currently on stream with a participant in place. [15286/11]

Written Answers — Water Charges: Water Charges (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Question 409: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the outcome of the cost-benefit analysis of the funding options for the metering programme carried out by him. [15290/11]

Written Answers — Water Quality: Water Quality (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Question 412: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to harmonise water pressure and quality for all domestic users across the country. [15411/11]

Written Answers — Water Charges: Water Charges (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Question 420: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the percentage and total value of non-domestic water charges that were outstanding for each of the years 2007 to 2010, inclusive, and had not been collected by the local authorities at the end of those years. [15499/11]

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Question 476: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the date on which legislation will be published to give effect to the programme for Government commitment to require all public bodies to take due note of equality and human rights in the carrying out of their functions. [15291/11]

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I move amendment No. 10: In page 21, line 33, after "payment" to insert "obtained as a result of conscious fraud". This is an important change to the way the Department goes about recovering overpayments. The section deals with fraud, although it is not even fraud, as it states: "Repayment of amounts due arising from false or misleading statements or wilful concealment of facts." To date,...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I have not denied that social welfare fraud exists, nor have I ever condoned it. On various occasions I have taken the opportunity in this House to encourage the Department to use its existing powers and to train its staff to pursue those who defraud the system. No one in this Chamber opposes the other measures in the Bill which are, I hope, designed to tackle some of the elements of fraud....

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I move amendment No. 9: In page 19, before section 16, to insert the following new section: "16.—Participants in the National Internship Scheme shall enjoy rights and protections including but not limited to the following: (a) A written statement of terms and conditions from the employer and requiring the approval of the Department; (b) Annual leave; and (c) Minimum notice before dismissal...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: It has been an interesting debate. I learned a little more than I knew previously. It was interesting to hear interns being called internees. As far as I am aware there is only one internee and he was sitting behind me in the Chamber.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Did he not do well? He served a very interesting internship. Like interns, internees have very few rights as well. The purpose of the amendment was to try to ensure, even though it is specified in the legislation interns are not employees, that interns should still get as much protection as we can afford to give them so that the rights and conditions we have managed to secure over the...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I have one or two queries, although I have no problem with this section but rather with the next section. Section 17 states that "an officer of the Minister authorised by him or her for this purpose, or ... the Executive ... may, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that shall be prescribed, defer, suspend, reduce or cancel repayment of any such amount". When is it intended to...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: My question relates to the repayment of amounts due. Section 17 states that when a person is required to repay a certain amount, the repayment may, subject to conditions, be deferred or suspended in circumstances that shall be prescribed. It states there will be conditions or circumstances under which the repayment can be reduced or suspended. Is it intended to prescribe these shortly...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: This section obviously just clarifies the operation of the revised qualifying criteria for the payment. The change made last year introduced a restriction on entitlement for families where the youngest child reaches 14 years. It was a major change, which at the time I said was regressive without activation measures or the change in the economic climate. It meant that young single families...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: There seems to be a bit of confusion among some of the NGOs about the purposes of this section. FLAC and the INOU both raised concerns about this in submissions. In the briefing we received from the officials on the Bill, they explained the purpose of this. Sometimes it is hard to glean the exact intention behind a legislative provision. Rather than raising their concerns, I will briefly...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: It is a pity those amendments were ruled out of order. I understand some of the logic behind the action but as I indicated earlier in the debate, it is difficult for Members of the Opposition in that we cannot make changes, even if progressive amendments are involved, because there would be a charge to the Exchequer. Any change to a Bill dealing with social welfare or finance in general...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I have not heard anything to dissuade my opposition to the changes proposed in the section. People who normally at 65 would receive the State transition pension will now be forced to receive jobseeker's allowance, jobseeker's benefit or a supplementary welfare allowance depending on their circumstances. The difference between what they would receive weekly if in receipt of a State transition...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I move amendment No. 3: In page 6, before section 4, to insert the following new section: "4.—The provisions of section 3 shall apply to new jobs only.". The amendment relates to the previous section so I will not say too much about it. The purpose is to ensure that the intention of section 3 would apply to new jobs only. We debated the issue and I took note of what the Minister said,...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I move amendment No. 5: In page 6, before section 4, to insert the following new section: "4.—Twelve months following the passage of the Act the Minister shall report to the Dáil on the impact of its operations including— (a) the number of new jobs created; (b) wage trends over the period with particular attention to the scale of wage reductions to the €356 level; and (c) the number of...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I welcome the Minister's commitment to answering the key points I have included in the amendment through parliamentary questions or committee discussions, if the committee so wishes. Maybe in future we should insert such a commitment in writing in legislation such as this to provide a guarantee that changes will be reviewed, even if only on a once-off basis rather than continuously - not...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh: Section 6, dealing with the State pension transition, is the first of the sections dealing with the raising of the State pension age. The Minister claims the logic to such a move is because people are living longer. However, in the case of the State pension transition I question this logic. The timeframe for the changes to the age also leave much to be desired. Over the next several years...