Results 21-40 of 25,654 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (28 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 Office has advised me that there is no record of any appeal by the person concerned having been...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Minister for Social Protection is legally required to have an Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund undertaken at five yearly intervals. The purpose of the review is to determine the extent to which the Fund may be expected, in the long term, to meet the demands in respect of payment of benefits and other payments. The review takes account of the adequacy or otherwise of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Report of the Child Maintenance Review Group was published in November 2022 and the Government accepted the Group's recommendations regarding the social welfare system. These changes include decoupling child maintenance and social welfare and represent significant reforms, which will be of great benefit to lone parents. Amendments to both primary and secondary legislation as well...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Insurance Fund (SIF) fully funds payments on a wide range of schemes relating to pensions, working age income supports, illness, disability and carers schemes, child related schemes and some supplementary payment schemes such as telephone support allowance. A small number of schemes such as fuel allowance and household benefits are funded through both the SIF and Vote 37. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 30 March 2017. According to the records of my department, the person concerned has a total of 1,632 reckonable contributions from 1966 to 2017 giving a yearly average of 32. They were awarded a reduced rate state pension (contributory) which is currently payable at the weekly rate of €249.30. Following the introduction of a new...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (28 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 Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Planning Issues (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 506 to 509, inclusive, together. My Department has legislative responsibility for local authority burial grounds, however the actual operation of burial grounds (cemeteries) is the responsibility of the local authorities. Under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Acts, 1878 to 2001, local authorities are deemed to be burial boards for their...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 510 and 511 together. My Department operates a range of programmes and schemes that support economic and community development in urban and rural areas throughout the country, including the towns of Nenagh and Clonmel. The targeted investments and supports which my Department provides to regional, rural and local communities promote social inclusion, rural...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The 2024 CLÁR programme was launched on the 12th April last with a total budget of €8.7 million. The measures being funded under CLÁR 2024 are: measure 1 Developing Community Facilities & Amenities; measure 2 Mobility, Cancer Care, First Responder and Meals on Wheels Transport; and, measure 3: Our Islands Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, CLÁR has...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I launched Ireland’s National Outdoor Recreation Strategy, Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, in November 2022. It provides a strategic, collaborative framework to facilitate the consolidation and sustainable growth of the outdoor recreation sector. The strategy addresses the challenges facing the sector as well as putting structures in place to allow us enjoy the many economic,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (28 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 providing support to cities, towns and villages nationwide who have welcomed people from Ukraine and other countries. To...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a range of supports which are available to Men's and Women’s Sheds. Since 2018, under the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP), over 1,300 Men’s Shed projects have received funding of over €2.2 million, and almost 120 Women’s Shed projects received almost €145,000 in funding. I was delighted to launch the Local Enhancement...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Regeneration Projects (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Town Centre First Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland which is integral to our national economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing and development. A key aim of both of these policies is addressing vacancy...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The 2024 CLÁR programme was launched on the 12th April last with a total budget of €8.7 million. This was an increase of €900,000 on the 2023 allocation. The measures being funded under CLÁR 2024 are: Measure 1: Developing Community Facilities & Amenities (funding up to €50,000) Measure 2: Mobility, Cancer Care, First Responder and Meals on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (23 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned is in receipt of state pension (contributory) (SPC) at the maximum weekly rate of €277.70. They are also in receipt of an increase for a qualified adult (IQA) in respect of their spouse at the weekly rate of €70.00. The person concerned has weekly deductions of €41.60 from their SPC for the recovery of an overpayment totalling €95,152.52...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (23 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: State pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a State pension contributory, or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. Recipients of state pension non-contributory are obliged to notify the Department of any changes in their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (23 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: To qualify for state pension (contributory) a person must have at least 520 full-rate social insurance (PRSI) contributions paid since entering insurable employment. If this condition is met, the rate of payment is then calculated using the ‘Yearly Average’ method and the ‘Total Contributions Approach’. According to the records of my department, the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (23 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's Allowance (CA) 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. If a person is in receipt of another Social Welfare payment in their own right (other than unemployment payments or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (23 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: In order to receive a jobseeker's payment a person must satisfy the conditions for the scheme including being capable of, available for and genuinely seeking full time work. A persons last employer may be contacted in circumstances where additional information is required in order for their jobseekers to be processed and a decision made on their claim. All jobseeker applicants are required...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Advertising (23 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: For this response, I have interpreted online/digital media to include programmatic and social media advertising. My Department administers more than 90 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. The department is committed to ensuring that members of the public are fully aware of the welfare supports and services that are available, as well as...