Results 141-160 of 16,260 for are speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: My Department is responsible for the legislation underpinning the social welfare code, occupational and private pensions, civil registration and gender recognition and the Citizens Information Board / Comhairle. The Acts and Statutory Instruments sponsored by my Department which gave effect to EU Directives since 2020 are listed below: S.I. No. 374 of 2020 - The European Union (Posting of...

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: Social Welfare Payments (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...proposals for a new Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit scheme and approval for the draft Heads of Bill on 9th January this year. The Heads of Bill containing the General Scheme for the new scheme are published on my Department's website. The Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the islands completed the pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Bill in March and...

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

Heather Humphreys: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements. Additional Needs Payments are demand led and made at the...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...and advice) through delivering reports, studies, assessments, recommendations, proposals, etc. that contribute to decision making or policy development. Details as requested by the Deputy are set out as follows. 2023 Consultant Spend Social Finance Limited €18,750 Economic and Social Research Institute ...

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

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements. Additional Needs Payments are demand led and made at the...

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

Heather Humphreys: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...information of 19 February 2024 was received by the Department on 29 February 2024. Based on the information provided, the person concerned was determined to not qualify for the allowance as they are not living alone. Their household includes another individual who is not in a qualifying fuel allowance category. A letter notifying the person concerned of this decision issued on 21 March...

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: Personal Public Service Numbers (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is responsible for the allocation of Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) to people, including those who are returning emigrants, who require one to access public services or take up employment or education. The national average processing time to deal with PPSN applications is currently two weeks. While the PPSN application process is relatively straightforward,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (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 the person concerned...

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

Heather Humphreys: ...by the Supreme Court on 22 January, with regard to entitlement to an unmarried cohabitant to WSCPCP. The Supreme Court recognises that legislative amendment is required. Officials in my Department are considering the legislative changes required to address the ruling. Until such time as the legislation has been enacted, my Department will not be in a position to assess the entitlement of...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Benefit Payment for 65-Year-Olds was introduced in line with the Programme for Government commitment to address the position of people who are required to or choose to retire at age 65 before the State pension age of 66. The payment is designed to bridge the gap for people who retire from employment or self-employment at age 65 until they qualify for the State Pension at age 66. This...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...supports through programmes that include the Community Services Programme; the LEADER programme; CLÁR; and, the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme. Further details of these programmes are outlined below. The Community Services Programme (CSP) through a social enterprise model, provides an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent (FTE) position...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: 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. Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has supported a wide range of measures with over €70 million being approved for almost 2,400 projects...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Broadband Infrastructure (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that there are not any ISDN, PTSN or copper-based leased lines in use by my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Animal Breeding (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has policy responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 and the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2014. My officials are reviewing the existing legislative provisions under the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 and the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2014, taking account of recommendations from, inter alia, the Report of the Working Group on Control of Dogs, the Joint...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme supports the improvement of non-public rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. The 2024 was launched last week with a record investment of €40 million across 2024 and 2025. Under the terms of the Scheme for 2024, eligible road projects are those that involve the construction or improvement of non-public roads...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...across Government, and sets the strategic framework for the delivery of capital investment under my Department's Rural Development Investment Programme. Details in relation to projects awarded funding are regularly published by my Department. The information requested can be found in the links set out below to the published information across counties, years and schemes. The Rural...