Results 1,921-1,940 of 12,585 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: I am heartened to hear this from the Minister because her predecessor, who is now Taoiseach, seemed wedded to the idea of linking social welfare increases to inflation. One cannot do this because many studies have shown that for people who are wholly or mainly reliant on social welfare, a different rate of inflation applies. They spend their money on the necessities of life, such as heating...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: I am somewhat confused. Surely the amendment just seeks to commission a report. Deputy Brady is not entitled to propose a disregard of maintenance payments. He is simply proposing that there would be a report. I do not see why there would be any great difficulty with that. He has a fairly ambitious timeframe but, nevertheless, it is a problem that has been ongoing for some time. There...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: I am sorry, it is €95. I have a few questions on that. The point I was trying to convey, perhaps badly, on Second Stage is that the rates of poverty among lone parents are dramatic, with deprivation levels of more than 50%. If one had a situation whereby maintenance was disregarded in the calculations for lone parent allowance, that would mean a family would be €95 a week...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: I am sorry. I refer to the balance. They would be better off by the balance, by what the Minister is counting. Does she follow that?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: Their net income would be more because the maintenance would be entirely disregarded. Is that not the sort of targeting we are talking about to lift that sector? If one wants to focus on poverty, then one should look at people with disabilities and lone parents. They are the two groups that especially stand out in terms of the statistics. By disregarding maintenance payments entirely one...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: I am inclined to take the same view as Deputy Penrose. If the Minister is prepared to bring in an amendment on Report Stage with "six months" instead of "three months", I would support it.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: I move amendment No. 25:In page 15, after line 31, to insert the following: “Impact of Brexit 20. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection shall, when complete, share the analysis being conducted by her Department on the impact of Brexit on the reciprocal arrangements for social insurance schemes, social assistance schemes and child benefit between Great Britain,...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: Can I comment briefly on that?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: I will be exceptionally brief. The Minister will be aware that in some parts of the country, there are more Tús workers on schemes now than community employment, CE, workers. Some concessions and flexibility have been extended to CE workers for an extension of their time. It seems illogical now that those same concessions would not be extended to Tús workers. I know that,...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: It simply means that an increasing number of schemes which are reliant mainly on Tús now will not be able to continue. That is the reality of it.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: It is a small number, but they are very hard cases.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Traveller Education (20 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: 219. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress that has been made in restoring the number of resource teachers for Travellers since 2010 when 600 of these posts were abolished; his views on the fact that the level of participation in education by Travellers in County Limerick is far lower than in the rest of the country; the measures being taken to address the matter; if his...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Review (20 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: 595. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a decision will be made regarding a carer's allowance review for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47674/18]

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Electoral Register (20 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: 638. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason nursing home residents have to cast their vote in the presidential election a week before other persons; if he will consider moving this vote closer to the polling day in order that the residents can cast their vote with the benefit of the full election campaign; and if he will make a statement on the matter....

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: In this particular case the child is being discriminated against. Incidentally, I am disappointed there are no changes in the regulations and conditions of the working family dividend. This was the replacement for the family income supplement and we were told it was a magical panacea that would encourage work and would combat poverty and reduce inequality. It is the old family income...

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: It was very minor.

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: I will rephrase what I said. There was practically no change. These are some of the issues we will raise on Committee Stage. As I said, we will not oppose the legislation on Second Stage. I have no intention of opposing increases for people on disability allowance and jobseeker's payments. The one point I will make is these changes only kick in from the end of March whereas the tax...

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: We will not oppose this Bill. As the Minister has outlined in some detail all of the favourable measures contained in the Bill, I do not see any need to rehearse them. I note that this year's increase in provision for the social protection budget is approximately 1.5%. That has to be measured against economic growth of more than 5%, which is what I understand the figure to be. As I will...

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: -----albeit in a very small way. It has been magnified enormously since then.

Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Second Stage (14 Nov 2018)

Willie O'Dea: Yes, we opened the door. The door was open a long time in Northern Ireland and the UK as well. When I asked the Minister for the rationale for the two rates of payment, she more or less told me that all the people in this country between the ages of 18 and 26 are the sort of people who would prefer to sit at home watching "Judge Judy" than to go out and get a job or take on training. That...