Results 1,661-1,680 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 115 and 390 together. The living alone increase is an additional payment of €7.70 per week made to people aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. It is also available to people who are under 66 years of age who are living alone and who receive payments under one of a number of invalidity type...

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

Séamus Brennan: Supporting and recognising carers in our society is and has been a priority of the Government since 1997. Over that period, weekly payment rates to carers have been greatly increased, qualifying conditions for carer's allowance have been significantly eased, coverage of the scheme has been extended and new schemes such as carer's benefit and the respite care grant have been introduced and...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Although not offering parenting courses directly, my Department does provide support, via the Family Services Project and the Family Support Agency, to a range of groups and organisations that are involved in the provision of supports and information to parents. Specifically, the Employment Supports Service in my Department has developed the Family Services Project since its establishment in...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The social welfare system is designed to provide a replacement income in the event of a particular contingency arising. The contingencies include lone parenthood, child support, maternity and adoption. The payments involved, while not targeted specifically at fathers of recently born children, could be claimed by them in certain circumstances. In addition, where a man is in receipt of a...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The provision of quality research into key family issues is one of the main priorities for the Family Support Agency and indeed the Agency is committed to continuing the innovative work contained in the first phase of the Families Research Programme, which ran from 1999 to 2004. In June this year, as a precursor to a call for research into selected family themes, I launched a thematic review...

Written Answers — Payment Delivery Services: Payment Delivery Services (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Following the Government decision in 1999 to extend the An Post contract for the delivery of social welfare payments for a further 3 years a complaint was lodged with the European Commission under the Procurement Services Directive. The Advocate-General to the European Court of Justice gave an opinion on the case on 14th September 2006 and concurred with the European Commission's view that...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 127, 130, 132 and 139 together. Since 1994, successive Governments have followed the policy of holding the rate of qualified child increases constant while concentrating additional resources for child income support on the child benefit scheme. Child benefit is neutral vis-À-vis the employment status of the child's parents and does not contribute to poverty...

Written Answers — Child Support: Child Support (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The National Action Plan against poverty and social exclusion details actions across several Government Departments to co-ordinate action across a range of Government services, including income support. The most recent reforms aimed at tackling child poverty include the following: payment of the new €1,000 a year early childcare supplement for all children under 6 years; increases in social...

Written Answers — Payment Delivery Services: Payment Delivery Services (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: My Department's policy is to ensure cost effective arrangements are in place for making payments through a range of payment options and that the service is continually adapted by providing access to new payment services and facilities as they become available. Customers opt for a particular payment method having regard to their own circumstances. The current range of payment options offered...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 135, 138 and 142 together. The National Action Plan for Inclusion is currently being prepared by the Office for Social Inclusion in my Department. This plan will encompass a lifecycle approach within which the key social challenges will be addressed, by assessing the risks which individuals face and the supports available to them at each stage in the life...

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The 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 childcare; improved information services for lone parents and the introduction of a new social...

Written Answers — Tenancy Agreements: Tenancy Agreements (14 Nov 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, in the form of a weekly or monthly payment, to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their...

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

Séamus Brennan: On 20 October 2005, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive on improving the portability of supplementary pension rights. The purpose of the Directive is to facilitate free movement of workers within and between EU member states by removing perceived obstacles to mobility within and between member states which may be caused by present supplementary pension scheme...

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

Séamus Brennan: Since taking office this Government has made the needs of older people a priority with the inclusion of several commitments in the Programme for Government aimed specifically at the group. One of these is a commitment to increase the state pension rate to €200 per week by 2007. In Budget 2006 non-contributory pensioners received an increase of €16 per week (9.6%) bringing the maximum...

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

Séamus Brennan: The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. All carers in receipt of carer's allowance and carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance, regardless of their age, receive a free travel pass. It is also available to people under age 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such...

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

Séamus Brennan: EU migrant workers have an entitlement to Child Benefit and other "Family benefits" including Early Childcare Supplement (ECS) under EU Regulation 1408/71. Where a national of an EU State with a family is working in Ireland, the worker is entitled to payment of family benefits, even if the children are resident abroad. Applications for family benefits from EU migrant workers who come to...

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

Séamus Brennan: Dependent Parents' Pension is a payment under the Occupational Injuries Scheme. It forms part of the Occupational Injuries death benefit payments. If a person dies because of an accident at work or a prescribed occupational disease or was getting disablement pension assessed at 50% or more at the time of their death and leaves a dependent parent or parents, each parent may get a pension....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (14 Nov 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 389 together. Paternity leave is generally understood to be a period of leave to which a male worker is entitled following the birth of his child. Employers are not obliged to grant male employees special paternity leave, either paid or unpaid, following the birth of their child. The question of a social insurance funded payment for paternity leave...

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

Séamus Brennan: The social welfare system comprises two types of payment, social insurance based schemes, which require those eligible to reach a certain standard in terms of the social insurance contributions paid or credited on their record, and non-contributory payments designed for those without the necessary social insurance record for contributory schemes who can satisfy a means test. Within that basic...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 151 and 168 together. Disability allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a disability who are aged between 16 and 66 years. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to both a medical examination and a means test. The person must be suffering from an injury, disease, congenital deformity or physical...