Results 1,441-1,460 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Payment of disability benefit (now known as illness benefit) to the person concerned was discontinued from 28 August 2006 following an examination by a Medical Assessor of the Department on 15 August 2006 who expressed the opinion that he was capable of work. The person appealed this decision and in that context he was examined by another Medical Assessor on 5 October 2006 who also expressed...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The person to whom the Deputy refers submitted an application for Respite Care Grant which was received in the Department on 27 November 2006. This application was treated as an application for the 2005 Respite Care Grant. A decision not to award the Respite Care Grant in this case was made by a Deciding Officer on 30th November 2006. Amongst the documentary information relied upon by the...

Written Answers — Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Normal inter-departmental procedures were followed in the course of preparation of the Act in question prior to the decision of Government. The consideration of relevant issues raised in that context would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Health and Children. With regard to the income support arrangements for people with disabilities, the improvements made to the Disability...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Family Income Supplement (FIS) is designed to provide income support for employees on low earnings with children and thereby preserve the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if s/he were claiming other Social Welfare payments. My Department received an application for Family Income Supplement from the person concerned...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: My colleague the Minister for Health and Children and I established the Working Group on Long Term Care in January 2005. The group is chaired by the Department of An Taoiseach and comprises senior officials from the Departments of Finance, Health and Children and my own Department. The objective of this Group was to identify the basic policy options for a financially sustainable system of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Death benefit is payable under the Occupational Injuries Scheme. If a person dies as a result of an accident at work or an occupational disease their dependants may receive death benefit payments. Their dependants may also get death benefit if the person at the time of their death, had been getting disablement pension assessed at 50% or more regardless of the cause of death. There are no...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: My Department, through the Family Support Agency, has responsibility for a number of initiatives to support families and help prevent relationship breakdown. The Scheme of Grants for Voluntary Organisations providing Marriage, Child and Bereavement Counselling Services is a non-statutory scheme of once-off grants to voluntary organisations providing a range of family counselling services...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Bereavement Grant is a once off payment designed to assist families in dealing with funeral expenses on the death of an insured person. The recent Budget saw an increase in the payment to EUR 850, with effect from 6 December 2006. It is paid by cheque to the spouse, partner, next of kin or personal representative of the deceased or to the person responsible for the payment of the funeral...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Christmas Bonus is paid to all recipients of long-term social welfare payments. The payment was made at the beginning of this month, at an estimated €157 million this year and benefited some 1.25 million persons comprising 855,000 recipients and 394,000 dependants. The focus of the bonus has always been on persons who rely on the social welfare system for financial support over the long...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The Christmas Bonus has again been paid this year to all recipients of long-term social welfare payments, at a rate equivalent to 100% of the person's normal weekly payment, subject to a minimum payment of €30. This measure costs an estimated €157 million this year and benefited some 1.25 million persons comprising 855,000 recipients and 394,000 dependants. The focus of the bonus has...

Written Answers — Occupational Injury Scheme: Occupational Injury Scheme (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 285 and 287 together. Pneumoconiosis is a prescribed disease for the purpose of the Occupational Injuries scheme administered by my Department. The legislation governing the Occupational Injuries Scheme provides entitlement to benefit for persons suffering from certain prescribed diseases which are listed in the legislation and where that person has...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (14 Dec 2006)

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. Reduced pensions are paid to those with yearly averages as low as 10 contributions and arrangements are also in place for the payment of pro-rata pensions to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Family income supplement is designed to provide support for people on low earnings with child dependants and provide the incentive for them to remain in, or take up, employment. Recent improvements to family income supplement include the change of assessment from a gross income basis to net income, the increase to €20 per week in the minimum payment and, in Budget 2007, the continued...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Credited contributions, or 'credits' as they are termed, are intended to protect the entitlements, particularly the pension rights, of employees and other persons participating in the social insurance system when they are ill or unemployed. A person who is providing full time care and attention to a person as a carer is awarded credits on the same basis as if they were out of the workforce...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: In Budget 2007, I have provided for a number of improvements in the fuel allowance scheme. These comprise an increase in the weekly rate of fuel allowance of €4 from €14 to €18 (€21.90 in designated smokeless areas) — a doubling in two years — and an increase in the income threshold for eligibility to fuel allowance by €49 from €51 to €100 above the state pension...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Ireland currently has bilateral social security agreements with seven countries: Austria, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the USA and Switzerland. Ireland also entered into a bilateral understanding with Quebec 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 — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity/gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66 who...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The back to education allowance 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. The qualifying period for access to the second level option of the scheme is six months. As the Deputy is aware, I...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (14 Dec 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The person to whom the Deputy refers submitted an application for Respite Care Grant which was received in the Department on 4 October 2006. A decision to award the Respite Care Grant for 2006 was made by a Deciding Officer on 27 October 2006. The Respite Care Grant was not awarded in respect of 2005, on the grounds that the person concerned was not so incapacitated as to require full-time...