Results 121-140 of 16,260 for are speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (1 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...in Parliamentary Questions of 18th April set out details of amounts identified for recoupment on foot of inspections under the the Local Improvement Scheme across a number of years. My officials are currently collating data in relation to amounts subsequently recouped which will reflect the time lag between completion of works and inspections, the completion of any appeals in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (1 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme supports improving rural roads and laneways that are not usually maintained by local authorities. As part of Our Rural Future, the government is committed to ensuring that the LIS is funded in the future. I recently announced revised funding of over €40 million, which has been secured for the 2024 and 2025 Scheme. This allocation brings the total...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Correspondence (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...of pension increases received by members of occupational pension schemes, irrespective of whether those schemes operate in the public or private sector. Pension increases for occupational pensions are a matter for the scheme trustees to whom enquiries should be addressed. As the Deputy will be aware, scheme trustees have duties and responsibilities under trust law, under the Pensions...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (30 Apr 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 this person on 21...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Leave (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The main income supports to carers provided by the Department of Social Protection are 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 Leave Act 2001 allows employees to leave work temporarily to provide full-time care...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department offers supports for people seeking employment though the Intreo service including EmployAbility, Early Engagement and grants such as JobsPlus. We are in the middle of reviewing and reforming a number of schemes aimed specifically at supporting disabled people into employment. The Reasonable Accommodation Fund provides financial support for people with disabilities and for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Cash welfare payments are governed by the Department’s Cash Payment Services Contract with An Post which was signed in December 2019 following an open public procurement process. This contract came into effect on 1 January 2020. This contract is exclusively with An Post. There is no contractual relationship between my Department and post masters. The working arrangements of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...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 recent...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...to weekly payments. The measures introduced included the provision of once-off Cost-of-Living lump sums, to recipients of Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and the Carer's Support Grant. Recipients who are in receipt of one (or more) of these payments qualified for the Cost-of-Living lump sums. Both Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are means tested social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable to a parent/guardian 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 the child's disability is such that the child is likely to require this...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are over one million customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2024 is €104 million. It is important to note that, in general, access to a free travel pass for those aged under 66 is linked to a person being in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...pension. The Supreme Court judgment overruled a previous High Court decision and found in favour of the claimant and his children. In simple terms, the Court found that section 124 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended) is inconsistent with the Constitution insofar as it excluded the claimant from the category of persons entitled to benefit from it. The Court...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (30 Apr 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. During 2023, the Department received over 28,700 new applications for DA. Over the course...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (30 Apr 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 below the number of CA applications submitted in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Invalidity Pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay-related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. Where an applicant's Invalidity Allowance claim is initially disallowed based on medical suitability, they have the option to request a review of this decision. This...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...satisfy all conditions including the requirement to genuinely seek employment. To satisfy this condition, it is necessary for the person to demonstrate that they have taken some positive action and are making genuine efforts to secure employment. While in receipt of a Jobseeker’s payment, engagement with Intreo Employment Service is mandatory. Intreo Employment Service provide...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...Climate and Communications that there is no national waiver scheme for household waste collection. The waste management market in Ireland is now serviced by private companies, where prices charged are matters between those companies and their customers, subject to compliance with all applicable environmental and other relevant legislation, including contract and consumer legislation. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Blind Pension is a means-tested payment for people aged 18 years to 66 years who are habitually residing in the State. Income, including pensions, capital and property (excluding your own home) is assessable as means. A person is obliged to declare all their income and notify the Department in writing of any change in their circumstances. The person concerned was previously in receipt of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Hot School Meals Programme aims to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, by reason of lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided for them. It is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement by children, particularly those from the most disadvantaged background. While the Hot...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16,17 and 18, if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. The person concerned and her family returned to Ireland on 23 December 2023 and an application for Child Benefit was...