Results 361-380 of 5,599 for speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank the Minister. I will examine that report. I will make a couple of points regarding what she pushed back on in respect of transferability. I agree in the instance of two-parent families that it is right that the time be shared, which is the model in many countries. It is very often the case that people will take a chunk of leave and will then change places and take another chunk...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I will not press the amendment if the Minister will say that at the next meeting she has with the Department of children this matter will be raised and she will say it was raised at the committee.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: In general terms it is a very important payment and it does encourage work, with one exception being one-parent families where their youngest child is over the age of seven. I have never been able to get my head around this issue, to be honest. Why are we forcing people onto a jobseeker's transitional payment when their youngest child is aged seven? I have dealt with constituents who have...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Would it be early or late next year?
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Would this be a straw man type of thing?
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Okay. That is good.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I have never understood precisely what those policy objectives are. Are we saying that when the child reaches the age of seven, the parent should be in a position to move to full-time work? Is that basically the policy objective rather than for part time work? The Minister refers to the generality of families but I am focusing specifically on one-parent families.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: If they are on the working family payment, then they are at work. They are already at work. If our objective is to encourage them to work and they are at work already, the back-to-work dividend does not match the loss and is only there for two years anyway. I do not believe it even comes close to matching the loss.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: They are working. Are we expecting when the youngest child is seven years of age that the parent should be working absolutely full time? Given the cost of childcare and so on, this is not always possible for a lot of single parents.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: You cannot get the working family payment on the jobseeker's transition payment.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: There is a serious cliff edge there. That is the reality. Maybe it is not a huge number of one-parent families, but as far as I have met these people and have spoken to them, there is a cliff edge there and it affects them very badly. These are not wealthy people.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Please, yes.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank the Minister.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I move amendment No. 4: In page 11, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “Report on establishing a social welfare adequacy commission 21. The Minister shall carry out a review on establishing a social welfare adequacy commission in order to ensure social welfare rates meet the Minimum Essential Standard of Living. (MESL) to study the effect that adequacy of social...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Much of that is good to hear. I am glad that it is relied upon. What does the Minister say to the proposal of a standing commission in line with the Low Pay Commission?
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I take the Minister's point with regard to the budget. Obviously, the final decision would have to be for the Government. While the Low Pay Commission's recommendations carry a great deal of weight, of course they are not binding on the Government either. It could similarly be the case with the social welfare adequacy commission. Fundamentally, the decision has to be with the Government,...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I move amendment No. 5: In page 11, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “Report on means-testing for Blind Pension and Disability Allowance 21. The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on the means-testing eligibility requirement for Blind Pension and Disability Allowance and the impact that income threshold limitations have...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Will that review be completed at the start of next year?
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: To clarify, will it be available in the first quarter?
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (29 Nov 2023)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I am happy to keep going.