Results 1,881-1,900 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — National Women's Strategy: National Women's Strategy (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The National Women's Strategy is being prepared to honour a commitment made both in Sustaining Progress, the social partnership agreement, and in the international forum of CEDAW, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women. The strategy, which is nearing completion, will be a wide ranging document setting out to foster socio-economic...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 115 and 193 together. 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 Value for Money examination undertaken by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) looked at the rent supplement scheme over the period 2000 to 2005. One of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 428 together. One of the key objectives of the 2006 social welfare package was to protect and enhance the value of all weekly rates of payment in relative terms by giving increases which were far in excess of emerging inflation for this year. State non-contributory pensions were increased by €16 per week or 9.6% while the contributory pension was...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: The recently published CORI review Developing a Fairer Ireland is currently being examined in detail within my Department. The Deputy will appreciate that due to the broad ranging nature of the review, it would be impossible for me to cover or indeed comment on all of its detailed policy proposals in the context of this reply. Addressing the problem of poverty and social exclusion in our...

Written Answers — Budgeting Advice: Budgeting Advice (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 118 and 197 together. Many voluntary and statutory bodies such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Community Welfare Service, credit unions, Citizens' Information Centres, Centres for the Unemployed and local authorities work closely with the programme. I am keen to get more quality information on the nature and trends of the debt encountered as well as...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 119 and 180 together. My Department administers a wide range of social welfare benefit and assistance type payments to provide income support payments for periods of illness, unemployment, retirement and other lifetime events. Illness benefit and occupational injury benefit is mainly claimed by persons who are in employment and the claim is for short...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 120, 139 and 191 together. My Department tries to assist and encourage long term unemployed, people with disabilities and other long term welfare recipients to return to work, training or further education through a range of measures administered by my Department's social and family support service. The back to work allowance scheme incentivises and encourages...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: At my request my Department was in discussion with CIE over recent months with a view to agreeing the necessary arrangements for the implementation of the Government decision in relation to the free travel peak travel restrictions. These discussions resulted in the removal of all restrictions with effect from 25th September 2006. More than 600,000 customers are in receipt of the Free Travel...

Written Answers — Departmental Contracts: Departmental Contracts (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 123 and 145 together. Following the Government decision in 1999 to extend the An Post contract for the delivery of social welfare payments for a further 3 years, two complaints were lodged with the European Commission. The first under the competition articles of the EU Treaty was examined by the Commission and closed in March 2001 with no action taken against...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Over the years my Department has introduced various measures to make payments directly to qualified adults. For example, separate payments are made in case of domestic difficulty where a spouse might otherwise have no other form of income. Also, for certain categories of Old Age non-Contributory Pension, where the couple are both aged 66 or over, payment is made individually to each partner....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: A review of the Department's approach to means testing was set up by my Department in November 2005. The objective of the review is to identify policy and administrative changes that would rationalise and simplify means testing in the Department. It is expected that this review will be completed by the end of 2006. The possibility of creating the central means database to which the Deputy...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 143 together. The Early Childcare Supplement (ECS) scheme was introduced in Budget 2006. The scheme is under the remit of the office of the Minister for Children, who is responsible for policy and legislation in relation to the scheme. The administration of the scheme is being undertaken by my Department. As part of the introduction of the scheme,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 127 and 176 together. Family income supplement is designed to provide support for people on low earnings with child dependants. This preserves the incentive for them to remain in employment in circumstances where they might only be marginally better off than if they were claiming other social welfare payments. FIS is a central element of a programme of reforms...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Income continuance plans provide cover to individuals in the event of long-term illness or disability which prohibits the person from following their own normal occupation. They generally work by paying a percentage of salary from the time they become ill. Payments cease when a person recovers or reaches normal retirement age. Income Continuance Products are established and administered by...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130, 133, 157 and 173 together. The decision to transfer certain functions from the Health Service Executive (HSE) to my Department follows on from recommendations made by the Commission on Financial Management and Control Systems in the Health Service. In its report, the Commission noted that over the years, the health system had been assigned responsibility...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Under the PRSI system social insurance contributions are compulsorily payable by employers and employed and self-employed workers. In relation to employee's contributions, the amount payable is determined by reference to the reckonable earnings in a weekly period, subject to a range of thresholds and an annual ceiling. The PRSI contribution which is due, which may include payment of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 132 and 174 together. 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. The scheme is also available to people under age 66 who are...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 198 together. Tackling rural poverty is a key objective of this government with initiatives being undertaken across many departments. My colleague the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has primary responsibility in this area and his department, together with the Department of Agriculture and Food, is currently preparing a major rural...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 135, 149 and 188 together. The measure of poverty used for the national social inclusion processes in Ireland is consistent poverty, which combines relative income poverty with deprivation measures. In order to be 'consistently poor', a person needs to fall below an income line and be unable to afford one of 8 basic deprivation items. While the risk of poverty...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: A working group established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF), with cross-departmental membership, which includes my Department and the Department of Health and Children, has examined the feasibility of the introduction of a cost of disability payment. The National Disability Authority, on behalf of the working group and in line with its own remit, commissioned research...