Results 1,881-1,900 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (17 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The four statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department are the Pensions Board, the Citizens Information Board, the Family Support Agency and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department. None of the bodies named above have a remit to process entitlement payments.

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (17 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The four statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department are the Pensions Board, the Citizens Information Board, the Family Support Agency and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department. The table attached below sets out the position in relation to the various agencies and statutory bodies. Agency/Statutory Body ...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (17 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The four statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department are the Pensions Board, the Citizens Information Board, the Family Support Agency and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department. The table attached below sets out the position in relation to the various agencies and statutory bodies. Name of Agency/Board ...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (17 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The four statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department are the Pensions Board, the Citizens Information Board, the Family Support Agency and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department. The table below sets out the position with regard to the various agencies. Name of Agency/Board Social Welfare Tribunal N/A...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the department by the Community Welfare Service of the Health Service Executive. The Health Service Executive has advised that it has no record of an application for mortgage interest supplement from the person concerned. It is open to the person concerned to make an...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The person concerned claimed jobseeker's allowance from 17 July 2009. A deciding officer decided on 4 November 2009 on the basis of the evidence presented that the person concerned is not habitually resident in the State. Habitual residence is a condition a person must satisfy to qualify for payment of certain social and child benefit payments. He was notified of this decision on 20 November...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: In order to qualify for a State Pension (Contributory), a minimum of 260 paid reckonable contributions is required, from either employment or self-employment. The person concerned applied for State Pension (Contributory) in 2002. Her claim was disallowed on 23 January 2002 on the grounds that she does not satisfy the contribution condition as she only has a total of 156 paid contributions....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (17 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the statistics requested by the Deputy in respect of 2007, 2008 are available in the annual report of that Office for the relevant years. The information requested by the Deputy in respect of 2009 is not readily available in this format and the assembly and collation of such information would take time and, of necessity, divert resources...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Government has announced its intention to introduce a carbon tax and has agreed that before the tax is applied to fuels for home heating, arrangements will be made to assist low income households. Carbon tax on heating products will come into effect from May 2010, while carbon tax on solid fuels will come into effect by commencement order at a later date. The Government is committed to...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The numbers of those who were found not to satisfy the habitual residence condition, broken down by scheme and for each of the last 3 years, is as follows: 2007 2008 2009 Jobseeker's Allowance 4007 3891 7260 One-parent Family 284 210 381 Child Benefit 577 1102 1860 Disability Allowance 196 278 629 Carers Allowance 65 87 210 It is...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: All of the Department's Medical Assessors must have at least six years satisfactory experience in the practice of medicine since registration and must be registered on the general register of medical practitioners while holding an appointment. They are all fully qualified and experienced practitioners who provide a second opinion to that of the person's own doctor for the guidance of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Offices: Social Welfare Offices (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The length of time it takes to process claims varies depending on the complexity of the claim, the availability of the necessary documentation from the applicant and or his/her employer. The average processing times for Jobseeker's Benefit have been reduced to 2 weeks in November 2009. In the case of Jobseeker's Allowance, the need to carry out additional enquires including the assessment...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The number of criminal cases finalised in court for the first 11 months of 2009 was 334. The breakdown of the cases by type is set down in the tabular statement. Criminal cases finalised in Court to end November 2009 UNEMPLOYMENT ILLNESS OTHERS Employer TOTAL OUTCOME JA JB IB/DA OPFP ** Withdrawn 1 1 0 0 0 1 3 Fined 120 95 6 3 0 3 227* Probation Act 23 20 1 1 0 1...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The number of people prosecuted between 2000 and the end of November 2009 is set down in the tabular statement below. Under social welfare legislation, a prosecution for a summary offence may be brought within 2 years from the date that the offence was committed; or 18 months from when sufficient evidence to justify instituting legal proceedings came into the possession of the Department. ...

Written Answers — Public Service Cards: Public Service Cards (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Department has developed, in conjunction with a number of other government departments, the specifications for a Public Service Card (PSC) under the SAFE (Standard Authentication Framework Environment) programme. The specification provides for identification features, including a photograph. The PSC is to act as a key for access to public services in general, identifying and helping to...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Under the current decentralisation programme, the Department's Head Quarters, Social Welfare Appeals Office, Information and Communications Technology Division (ICT) and Citizens Information Board are designated to relocate to Drogheda. Following a recent review of the decentralisation programme, which took account of the changed economic circumstances and the deterioration in public...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the attached tabular statement.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: Under the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) all persons between the ages of 18 and 65 years who are approaching 3 months on the Live Register are identified by the Department of Social and Family Affairs and referred to FÁS for interview. The purpose is to facilitate access to the range of employment and training services offered by FÁS. FÁS captures detailed data on the profile of...

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 264 to 267, inclusive, together. Since my appointment as Minister for Social and Family Affairs on 7th May 2008, I have appointed, on a contract basis for my term of office, one Special Advisor, Ms. Averil Power, whose current annual salary is €100,191. This salary will be reduced as a result of the reduction in public service pay rates as announced in...

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (16 Dec 2009)

Mary Hanafin: The Department is committed to providing a quality customer service in Irish and meeting obligations under the Official Languages Act. The number of documents translated to Irish and the associated costs in the years 2007, 2008, and to date in 2009 is given in the attached table. Year Documents Translated into Irish Cost€ Number of Documents 2007 DSFA Annual Report 2006 Social Welfare...