Results 1,941-1,960 of 12,619 for speaker:Willie O'Dea
- Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance (27 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: 568. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way in which the policy on age-related jobseeker's allowance can continue to be justified as a preventative measure for welfare dependency when there is no basis in evidence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49087/18]
- Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance (27 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: 571. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the equality and poverty proofing measurements in place to protect jobseekers' under 26 years of age particularly those that are experiencing homelessness, those with international protection that are moving out of direct provision and those that have support needs such as mental health and confidence building and that...
- Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment Data (27 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: 577. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of households in each county in receipt of the working family payment in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49128/18]
- 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. 3:In page 8, line 23, to delete “25 March 2019.” and substitute “7 January 2019.”. I am aware that the amendments were ruled out of order as they involved a potential charge on the Exchequer. I merely tabled them to highlight the fact that there was a basic inequity in that the budget provided for tax reductions and concessions and increases...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: We were party to the negotiations on the budget, but that does not mean that we wrote it. We obtained as many concessions as we could. The reality is that for the average person in receipt of social welfare payments, the increase is not €5 but €3.80 per week.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: I noticed Deputy Brady could not resist the temptation to mention Fianna Fáil. I wonder who he would talk about if we did not exist?
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: I will put this in its full context. As far as I am aware, in many countries throughout the OECD there is a differential between the rates of pay to people under a certain age and those over a certain age. That is a fact. In 2010, when these changes were made in Ireland, we were just coming into line with international practice. That includes practice in the UK, including Northern...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: I am sorry. That is what I thought the Minister said. I ask her to clarify that.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: I will ask the Minister two questions. The amendment states that the report would include consideration of the financial and social effects of this policy. Will the Minister's own report include the financial and social effects that the reduced rate has had on the people affected? Second, can she give the committee a commitment that her report will be published within six months?
- 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. 13:In page 12, in line 16, to delete “child,”.” and substitute the following:“child,(ec) In circumstances where the parents of the child are separated and have been awarded joint custody, the domiciliary care allowance shall be paid to the parent who is in receipt of Child Benefit in respect of that child regardless of the time spent by each...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: I appreciate the Minister's response. The resources available to her are far greater than what are available to me. I am happy to withdraw my amendment on that basis.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: I am supportive of the final point made by Deputy Smith because one in 20 people in Ireland is a carer. The projections are that by 2030, that figure will increase to one in five. A significant volume of unpaid caring work is provided free to the State. Various figures have been bandied around but the volume of unpaid caring carried out is a significant boon to the State. Only 25% of...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: I have no difficulty supporting the amendment but I am worried about the timeframe. Can the Deputy amend it to six months?
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Committee Stage (22 Nov 2018)
Willie O'Dea: I will support it on Report Stage if it is six months rather than three.
- 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.