Results 61-80 of 16,260 for are speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: This Government acknowledges the vital role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the current State Pension (Contributory) system provides measures including PRSI credits, Homemaking Disregards and HomeCaring Periods to recognise caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment in the calculation of a payment rate. In...

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

Heather Humphreys: Illness benefit is the primary short term income support provided by my Department to those who are unable to work due to illness of any type and who are covered by social insurance. Eligibility for illness benefit depends on the person’s PRSI record and class. People must have made the required number of contributions under PRSI Class A, E, H or P to qualify. Previously,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 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. Please find attached a table containing the number of times persons living in County Galway in receipt of CA had their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (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 below table shows a breakdown of the number of disability allowance appeals from persons living in County Galway at the time...

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

Heather Humphreys: Paternity Benefit is payable for 2 weeks to employed and self-employed fathers who are on Paternity Leave from their employment and who satisfy certain PRSI conditions on their own insurance record. The leave can be taken within 26 weeks after the birth of the child. The main provisions relating to Paternity Benefit are the Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016, Section 241(2)(e) and Section...

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

Heather Humphreys: Carer's Benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention. To qualify, the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions, employment conditions, show that they are providing full-time care and attention and show that the care recipient requires full-time care and attention. ...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...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 443,000 children are now eligible for funding. I am committed to continuing to expand the School Meals Programme and building further on the significant extension of the Programme that has taken place in...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...effect from this month. The qualifying conditions for receipt of payment of Child Benefit for home schooled children has not changed. Payment of Child Benefit will continue for 18-year-olds who are being home schooled when evidence of schooling is provided. With many children now starting primary school at age 5, together with the increase in pupils doing transition year, there...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...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 443,000 children are now eligible for funding. Funding under the School Meals Programme can be provided for breakfast, snack, cold lunch, dinner, hot school meals and after-school clubs and is based on a...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...being advised to attend their Local Intreo Office to obtain Employer Declaration (casual) dockets so that an up to date pattern of employment can be determined. Once up to date employment patterns are received, the person’s payment and arrears can be calculated and issued to their nominated Bank Account. The person’s appeal, lodged with the Social Welfare Appeal Office,...

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: ...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 443,000 children are now eligible for funding. The Hot School Meal option of the programme was introduced in 2019 and is currently only available in primary schools. My immediate priority has been to bring...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...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 443,000 children are now eligible for funding. Funding under the School Meals Programme can be provided for breakfast, snack, cold lunch, dinner, hot school meals and after-school clubs and is based on a...

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: ...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 programme on 12 April this year. Measure 2 of this years scheme...

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: Rural Schemes (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...projects at local level. The process to select Local Actions Groups (LAGs) to deliver the 2023-2027 LEADER programme is nearing completion, with the selection complete in 27 of the 28 sub-regional areas to date. Once a Local Action Group is selected it can commence the delivery of the programme in their area. In October 2022 I announced funding for the 2023 - 2027 LEADER programme of...