Results 1-20 of 20,546 for speaker:Heather Humphreys in 'Written Answers'

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

Heather Humphreys: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet essential expenditure which an eligible person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to Exceptional Needs Payments (ENPs) and Urgent Needs Payments (UNPs), and certain supplements to assist with...

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. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence,...

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 22...

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

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance is payable in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and where the level of that disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 consecutive...

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 21...

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

Heather Humphreys: Maternity Benefit is paid for 26 weeks at a rate of €274 per week. In 2024, it is estimated that my Department will spend approximately €280.7 million on Maternity Benefit. The estimated annual cost of extending Maternity Benefit by an additional 26 weeks to bring the total number of weeks paid leave to 52 weeks is €289 million. This estimate is based on a full year...

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

Heather Humphreys: Commencement of the provisions of the Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 is set out as follows: It is my intention that Part 2 of the Act will come into operation very shortly by way of a Commencement Order. I am also preparing Regulations that will give effect to certain provisions of Part 2 that will also come into operation at the same time. The purpose...

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

Heather Humphreys: My department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending on these payments is expected to amount to over €1.7 billion this year. The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to...

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

Heather Humphreys: While I have responsibility for Parent's Benefit which is associated with Parent's Leave, my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has responsibility for both Parent's Leave and the separate Parental Leave scheme, which is unpaid. Parent’s Benefit is a payment for employed people, who are on Parent’s Leave from work, and...

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

Heather Humphreys: Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. On Monday 22nd January, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in relation to the entitlement of an unmarried co-habitant to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Government has recently implemented changes in terms of providing suitable but sustainable support to Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTPs). Following the introduction of new legislation in March, newly arrived BOTPs in designated accommodation receive €38.80 per week if they are over 18 years of age and €29.80 per week if they are under 18 years of age. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (28 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 Schemes (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: 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 1...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (28 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 318 and 319 together. My Department provides a suite of income supports to those who cannot work due to illness or disability, including COVID-19 and long COVID. Eligibility for these payments is generally not dependent on the type of illness or disability but on the extent to which a particular illness or disability impairs or restricts a person’s...

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...