Results 1,941-1,960 of 4,893 for speaker:Séamus Brennan

Written Answers — Family Support Services: Family Support Services (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 there is a commitment to fund 100 Family Resource Centres under the Family & Community Services Resource Centre Programme by the end of the 2006. I can confirm that the Family Support Agency will meet this target. When the Family Support Agency was established in May 2003, there were 53 Family Resource Centres in receipt of core-funding under the...

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

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes mortgage interest supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The purpose of mortgage interest supplement is to provide short-term income support to people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments from their own resources in respect of a house which is...

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

Séamus Brennan: The first Early Childcare Supplement (ECS) payment issued on August 14th 2006, covering the period April, May and June 2006. Payments amounting to €94,819,000 for 379,000 children have now issued. The next quarterly payment, covering the months July, August and September will issue on the 9th October, and will amount to €95,992,000, for 384,000 children. Total payments of ECS,...

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

Séamus Brennan: A claim for unemployment assistance by the person concerned was disallowed by a Deciding Officer on the grounds that he had not shown that he had made himself available for full-time employment or that he had made genuine efforts to secure employment. The person appealed against this decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office and in accordance with the statutory requirements the relevant...

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

Séamus Brennan: In order to target available resources more effectively, the Social Welfare Act, 1992 introduced a provision whereby a person who received a redundancy payment over €15,240 (£12,000) would be disqualified from receipt of jobseekers benefit (previously unemployment benefit) for a maximum of nine weeks, depending on the level of the award. Claimants over 55 years of age are exempt from this...

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

Séamus Brennan: The figures that the Deputy refers to are derived from the recent Central Statistics Office publication 'Measuring Ireland's Progress', which provides an analysis of the economic, social and environmental situation in Ireland. The source for the statistics on poverty used in this report is the EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), which was launched last December. It should be...

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

Séamus Brennan: The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders on long –term social welfare or health service executive payments with meeting the cost of their heating needs during the winter fuel season. Fuel allowance as paid for 29 weeks from mid-September to mid April. The allowance represents a contribution towards a person's normal heating need. Budget resources have been...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 423 and 424 together. Employment under a contract of service is insurable for Occupational Injuries Benefit under the Social Welfare Acts. A person must be insurable at PRSI class A, B, D, J or M on the day of their accident or the date of development of a prescribed disease. There are no conditions requiring a minimum number of contributions to have been...

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

Séamus Brennan: The dental benefit scheme administered by my Department provides assistance towards the cost of dental services to people who satisfy certain statutory PRSI conditions, and to their dependent spouses. The PRSI contribution classes which qualify for dental benefit are A, E, H and P. The scheme is a contributory social insurance scheme and the qualifying conditions are set at a level which...

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

Séamus Brennan: The optical benefit scheme administered by my Department provides assistance towards the cost of optical services to people who satisfy certain statutory PRSI conditions, and to their dependent spouses. The PRSI contribution classes which qualify for optical benefit are A, E, H and P. The scheme is a contributory social insurance scheme and the qualifying conditions are set at a level...

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

Séamus Brennan: I approached the last Budget with a number of key priorities in mind. In particular, I wanted to ensure that the Budget reflected the evolving new social agenda that has at its core a social welfare support system that is active instead of passive, that assists people to live with dignity and enables them to make a valuable contribution towards society. A key objective of this reform agenda...

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

Séamus Brennan: I propose to take Question Nos. 430 and 431 together. My Department operates two main types of pension scheme; contributory and non-contributory payments. Contributory payments are paid on the basis of social insurance contributions made over a person's working life. Missionaries who have made sufficient social insurance contributions can qualify for an old age contributory pension. These...

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

Séamus Brennan: The information requested by the Deputy is as follows. Family Income Supplement Position at Year Claims Received Claims in Payment 31 December 2001 16,582 11,840 31 December 2002 17,878 12,043 31 December 2003 18,611 12,317 31 December 2004 20,458 14,727 31 December 2005 22,928 17,448 at 30 September 2006 15,276 19,374 Improvements to the Family Income Supplement scheme, including...

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

Séamus Brennan: The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity and gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66...

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

Séamus Brennan: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE). The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have...

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

Séamus Brennan: Phase 1 of the basic Public Services Broker (PSB) infrastructure has been deployed and is fully operational. The services which have been deployed and are delivering benefits, include the following. An Inter Agency messaging Service including the Death Event Publication Service which exchanges data relating to life events between the General Register Office, my Department and up to 20 other...

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

Séamus Brennan: The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders on long-term social welfare or health service executive payments with meeting the cost of their additional heating needs during the winter season. Fuel allowances are paid for 29 weeks from end-September to mid-April and are not intended to meet the full cost of heating. Eligibility to the fuel allowance scheme is subject to...

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

Séamus Brennan: My Department is committed to ensuring that relevant information and services are available to all the Department's customers, including immigrants, via the Departments website (www.welfare.ie). It contains information in relation to all the schemes and services provided by the Department as well as links to other relevant agencies and organisations. All leaflets, booklets, scheme...

Social Welfare Code. (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: As I said, it is my intention that we will have separate legislation on lone parent reforms. That does not rule out the Minister for Finance making preparatory type changes in a budget, as he has done in recent budgets, by adjusting guidelines and limits, increasing amounts and putting in place a framework in anticipation of the legislation. While it will be a specific Bill, the budgets and...

Social Welfare Code. (10 Oct 2006)

Séamus Brennan: Deputy Crow is correct in stating that we must get this right and I have no monopoly on wisdom in this area. Senior officials in my Department, researchers and various bodies involved have been undertaking this study for more than three years. I have picked up the ball and run with it in an effort to get it across the line. I seek to distil the wisdom around me. There is no financial...