Results 201-220 of 20,517 for in 'Written Answers' speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned applied for Jobseekers Benefit from 13th March 2024 and the claim was initially disallowed on 2nd April 2024. Following receipt of further information pertaining to the application a review of the decision to disallow the application was carried out. A new decision has issued to the person concerned advising that their application has been processed and their claim for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions. I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. The Social Welfare Appeals system is underpinned by Chapter 2 of Part 10 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Government acknowledges the valuable role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy. The main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Educational Disadvantage (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. Following the expansion of the programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. Following the expansion of the programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As previously advised, officials in my Department are currently reviewing this person's backdated entitlement to Disability Allowance, beyond the current award date. An information request was sent to the person concerned on 30 April 2024, requesting that they provide their partner's last payslip for the year ending 2022 and 2023. They were also requested to provide bank statements for all...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has provided funding for vehicles for community first responder groups through the CLÁR programme since 2022. The CLÁR Programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation over a defined period. I launched the CLÁR 2024...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Staff (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: There are no employees currently suspended from my Department on full pay pending disciplinary investigations. There are four organisations under the aegis of my Department. These are Pobal, Water Safety Ireland, the Western Development Commission and the Charities Regulator. No employee of any of these organisations are currently suspended on full pay pending disciplinary investigations.

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: European Union (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department does not pay into any EU programmes or funds. I would note that EU funding is made available to my Department through schemes included in the multi-annual financial framework, namely, the LEADER Programme, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), and the PEACEPLUS Programme.

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The LEADER Programme is a key intervention of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy. It is delivered through Local Action Groups (LAGs) across rural Ireland. The programme is based on a community-led approach to rural development and plays an important role in...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Since the launch of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in 2016, over €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects. The 2023 Scheme placed particular emphasis on projects that bring economic and social vibrancy to town centres in line with Government policies, and which will encourage more people into town and village centres to work, shop and socialise. The Town and...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Community Recognition Fund was first introduced in 2023 to recognise the huge efforts made by communities in welcoming and supporting people coming to Ireland. Through the 2023 allocation, funding of €50 million was approved for some 900 projects in providing support to cities, towns and villages nationwide that have welcomed people from Ukraine and other countries. To...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) is funded under Our Rural Future. The scheme provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways and blue ways throughout rural Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme in 2016, funding of over €113 million has supported more than 1,700 projects across the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's Allowance is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. On 13 June 2023, the person concerned was notified that they had no entitlement to Carer's Allowance. As the person had...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The fuel allowance is subject to a household composition requirement where everyone who resides in the house is aged 70 or over or, if under the age of 70, in receipt of a qualifying payment from this Department, or an equivalent social security payment from a country covered by EU Regulations or a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement, or Revenue Job Assist....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Policies (2 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: In November 2023, I published and laid a report before the Oireachtas entitled ‘Report on measures to include long COVID in the Occupational Injuries Benefit Regulations’. This report concluded that COVID-19 does not satisfy the criteria for recognition as an occupational illness or an accident at work under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. Specifically,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: In general, medical or health related benefits fall within the remit of the Department of Health and the HSE. However, my Department administers the treatment benefit scheme which provides certain dental, optical, and medical appliances benefits to insured workers, the self-employed and retired people who have the required number of PRSI contributions. These treatments are also available to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (2 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Public service pension policy is a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. However, as regards social insurance contributions, these are made in accordance with the legislation and the employment terms and conditions in force at the time they are made, and eligibility for social insurance benefits flows from those particular contributions. Civil and public...