Results 3,501-3,520 of 5,587 for speaker:Kevin Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payment Data (6 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The Government has provided €27.9 million for the ENP scheme in 2015. There is no automatic entitlement to a payment. The...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (6 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: The Government's primary strategy to tackle youth unemployment is through policies to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of productive employment for young people. However, the Government recognises that as the recovery takes hold, there is a need for additional...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Work Allowance (6 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: Schemes such as the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) and the Short Term Enterprise Allowance (STEA) assist those on certain social welfare payments who wish to become self-employed. The BTWEA is designed to provide a monetary incentive for people who are dependent on certain social welfare payments to develop a business, while allowing them to retain a reducing proportion of their...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobsPlus Scheme (6 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: JobsPlus provides a direct monthly financial incentive to employers who recruit employees from the Live Register and those transitioning into employment. It provides employers with two levels of payment - €7,500 or €10,000 over two years – paid in monthly instalments provided the employment is maintained. The rate of payment depends on the length of time the person is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Job Initiatives (7 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: The limits on sick leave for JobBridge interns were designed having regard to the limited duration of the internship and is considered necessary to safeguard the integrity of the scheme. The condition applies to all interns regardless of background or circumstances. I have no immediate plans to change the terms and conditions of the scheme in that regard pending the evaluation of the scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobsPlus Scheme (7 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: JobsPlus provides a direct monthly financial incentive to employers who recruit employees from the Live Register and those transitioning into employment. It provides employers with two levels of payment - €7,500 or €10,000 - over two years provided the employment is maintained. The Department made payments of just over €1.793m in April 2015 to 3,437 employers in...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: I am taking this today on behalf of my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, who sends her apologies and very much regrets she cannot attend to take the Commencement Matter. Despite severe financial pressures we have provided significant additional funding of €125 million since 2012 to enable the HSE to implement the long overdue modernisation of our mental health...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: I do not accept the Senator's last comments. I do not know whether he supports the policy of A Vision for Change but this Government does and is implementing it. It has put in over €125 million since 2012 and additional investments-----

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: The Senator either supports A Vision for Change or he does not.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services Provision (7 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: He does not accept the additional €125 million that has been invested in the mental health sector since 2012. I support A Vision for Change. There has been a large investment in mental health services in the west, as indicated in the Minister of State's statement today, and I look forward to the implementation of A Vision for Change.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Transport Provision (7 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills for her inability to take this Commencement matter in person. School transport is a very significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills. This school year, for example, some 113,000 children, including almost 10,000 children with special educational needs, are being...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme Payments (12 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme is a non-statutory scheme which provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of school clothing and footwear when children start school each autumn. The Government has provided €44.3 million for the scheme in 2015. BSCFA was paid in respect of approximately 304,400 children with a total...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (12 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: The Department recently published its review of the rent limits “Maximum Rent Limit Analysis and Findings Report”,and it is available on www.welfare.ie. One of the key messages of the review is that rent supplement continues to play a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting 69,000 people this year at a cost of over €298 million. Between...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Work Placement Programmes (12 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: Tús, the community work placement initiative, was established to provide short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. The selection is focused on those on the live register for a year or more and in receipt of a jobseekers' payment who have more limited job or work placement opportunities. One key feature of Tús is that selection is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Aftercare Services (12 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: The reduced rates of jobseekers payments and supplementary welfare allowance for persons aged under 26 do not apply where such persons were in the care of the Health Service Executive during the year prior to their 18th birthday. The Department is also actively engaging with Tusla and non-Government organisations in providing the necessary support to vulnerable young people leaving care who...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: School Meals Programme (12 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations benefitting over 205,000 children. €39 million has been provided for the scheme in 2015, an increase of €2 million over that provided last year. The aim of the scheme is to provide regular nutritious food to children who are unable, by reason of lack of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disability Services Provision (12 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: I am responding to this matter today on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, who sends her apologies. The motorised transport grant and mobility allowance were established some decades ago on an administrative basis, in good faith and with the intention of contributing towards mobility and transport needs for a group of people with severe physical...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disability Services Provision (12 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: As the Senator is aware, I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, to whom I will bring her points. The Senator is quite correct that the Bill is in the legislative programme for 2015, and there is a commitment to the 4,700 people who are there, but I certainly will bring the Senator's concern-----

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Disability Services Provision (12 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: I will bring the Senator's comments and concerns to the Minister with responsibility for the area.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Health Promotion (12 May 2015)

Kevin Humphreys: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, who sends her apologies. The Department of Education and Skills is working very closely with the Department of Health in respect of the overall Healthy Ireland agenda. This encompasses co-operation in a range of areas including physical activity, healthy eating and student...