Results 1,901-1,920 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: So the TCA system is really trying to cut back on credits.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: No. Fairness is not an objective.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: With regard to fairness, particularly at this time of the year we are being bombarded on every side and everybody says this is unfair. Everybody has a different view of what is fair and unfair so that is a subjective issue.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I, therefore, still do not understand the logic of cutting the entitlement to carers. This is becoming a big problem. It is getting very hard to get the invalidity pension; it is easier to get disability allowance. We have all sorts of funny anomalies coming. I do not think people can get credits for disability allowance. When we are considering the care fund in the Bill, we should...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The committee should examine this issue in detail.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Do they not get a contribution if they are earning more than €38 a week?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: They would not need caring credits.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: No, the 24 years example is simple mathematically.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I suggest that introducing this complicated mix of a total contributions approach, TCA, and averaging on 1 January 2025 is a bad idea. The election is due in February 2025 and I always say-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: It will be called in February. I believe 20 February is the latest date on which it can be called. I always think it is foolish to introduce change at that time in the cycle because it is a bad situation in which to try to explain that change when it suddenly hits people. Perhaps we should make a recommendation on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The only one who knows anything about that is the Taoiseach.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Some people get the carer's allowance. A fair number of people, particularly if they have spouses or partners in very good jobs, do not get carer's allowance because it is means-tested but they get a one-off payment every year. My question is will they be getting a year's caring credits, allowing that they have not been paying contributions based on that payment being payable in June of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: How does the Department assess it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: How does the Department establish that such people are entitled to the long-term caring credits?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: As Mr. Duggan will know, the payment is based on whether one is caring in June or not but would we not want to give the full year? Can I clarify this point, please?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Is that from now on?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: What about retrospectively because that gets the person out of jail in about 20 years time?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Yes, but how does the Department establish that a person was caring and, if one was receiving the carer's support grant, does that give one the full 52 weeks cover? This is because, as Mr. Duggan will know, with the carer's support grant I have seen literalism in the Civil Service in recent years. There has been, as I say, a literal approach, where for eligibility for the carer's support...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: So have I.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2023: Discussion (27 Sep 2023)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Where my worry is, as we have debated here ad nauseam, is that that is true but we must ensure that the law is on the side of the citizen because we have all seen things we would have expected would be granted being refused in recent times because there is a big change of attitude in the Department with respect to those types of allowances which are very hard to prove. It is amazing, as Mr....