Results 4,121-4,140 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Eligibility (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned has been in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance since August 2011. Payment of Jobseekers Allowance is dependent on the claimant satisfying a means test and also being available for and genuinely seeking work. All claimants are also subject to periodic reviews of entitlement. On the 19thof December 2017, a letter issued from my Department to the person concerned advising her...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Eligibility (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: Voluntary Contributions are designed to facilitate employees or self-employed people who are no longer subject to compulsory PRSI, to pay contributions directly to the Department on a voluntary basis, in order to protect their future state pension (contributory), widow’s, widower’s or surviving civil partner’s contributory (pension) and guardian’s contributory...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: My department received an application for CA from the person concerned on the 13 February 2018. Carer's allowance 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 person who has such a disability that they require that level of care. However, as the person concerned has left her...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card Provision (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Department has a variety of arrangements in place to ensure that citizens can SAFE register and obtain a Public Services Card (PSC), irrespective of their location or place of residence. The majority of SAFE registrations are through attendance in person at the local INTREO Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office. Customers may be invited to attend, or can make contact themselves to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: When a person wishes to claim treatment benefit as a dependant spouse, based on their spouse’s/partner’s PRSI record, they are required to complete an eligibility check form, available from the service provider they intend to use or directly from the Department. In order to determine eligibility the Department has to confirm that the insured spouse/partner satisfies the PRSI...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: Currently the State pension (contributory) entitlement is calculated by the ‘yearly average’ system, where the total number of contributions paid or credited is divided by the number of years of the person’s insurance record. The maximum rate of pension is payable where a person has a yearly average of at least 48, and there are banded entitlements below that. In...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Payments (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week for 27 weeks from October to April, to over 338,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €227 million in 2018. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: Following clarification with the Deputy’s Office, the requested statistics as at the 28thof Feb 2018 are as follows: - 9,188 recipients currently on the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance; - 11,160 recipients currently on the Back to Education Allowance and - 39,432 recipients currently on the One-Parent Family Allowance.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment Data (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Working Family Payment is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children and offers a financial incentive to take-up employment. Currently there are almost 57,700 families with more than 129,000 children in receipt of the WFP. The estimated spend on WFP this year is approximately €431 million.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Live Register Data (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: There are two reasons why it is not possible to provide data at the level of individual employers: one is technical, and the other concerns statistical confidentiality. At a technical level, reliably identifying a single employer, regardless of the details of corporate structures, requires the existence of an agreed ‘unique business identifier’ (UBI). However, a UBI does not...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Applications (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned applied for Job Seekers Allowance on 14thDecember 2017. Jobseekers Allowance is means tested payment, and regretfully the person concerned did not submit the required information to allow their means to be assessed and for a deciding officer to determine their entitlement to a payment. The person’s claim was disallowed on 5thFebruary 2018 as they had not shown that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: I refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Question No. 214 of 22ndFebruary 2018. As the person concerned has not submitted the documentation requested by the Department their claim was subsequently closed. It is open to the person concerned to make contact with their local Intreo Centre if they wish to pursue their claim. I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: To qualify for a widow’s, widower’s or surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension, the surviving spouse must be deemed, under Irish State Law, to be the legal widow of the deceased. The late husband of the person concerned was previously divorced in the United Kingdom. The legislative provisions pertaining to the recognition of divorces outside the State are set...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: To qualify for a widow(er)’s or surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension, the surviving spouse must be deemed, under Irish State Law, to be the legal widower of the deceased. The person concerned was divorced in Northern Ireland. The legislative provisions pertaining to the recognition of divorces outside the State are set out in Section 5 of the Domicile and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 598 and 599 together. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies and the Office of Public Works (OPW) has responsibility for capital flood relief activities. However, my Department has an important role to play in assisting households in the immediate aftermath of emergency events such as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Severe Weather Events Response (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: The provision of payments is a critical function of the Department for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. My Department has robust contingency plans in place to ensure the minimisation of any disruption which would impact on our ability to make payments to our customers.My Department is also represented on the National Emergency Coordination Group with a view to ensuring a whole of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Eligibility (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week for 27 weeks (a total of €607.50 each year) from October to April, to over 338,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €227 million in 2018. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Non-Contributory) (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department has a duty to ensure that it pays the right person the right amount of money at the right time. It is important that all schemes operated by my Department, including State Pension (non-contributory), are subject to ongoing control reviews and continuing eligibility checks. This includes conducting fraud and error surveys which serve to reaffirm the entitlement of randomly...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes Data (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 603 to 607, inclusive, and 617 together. The costings sought by the Deputy are detailed in the following series of tables. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices used in the tables below are sourced from the Department of Finance’s 2018 Budget Day book. This provides forecasts for inflation for the four years 2018 to 2021 inclusive, and these are the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (8 Mar 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023 confirms Government’s position that the State pension will be reformed and will remain as the fundamental basis of the pension system in Ireland. To do this, the Government will introduce from 2020 ‘Total Contributions Approach’ (TCA) for the State Pension (Contributory). The TCA is advanced as a more logical and transparent...