Results 4,501-4,520 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff Recruitment (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department, like all Government departments and agencies is required to operate within a staff ceiling figure and a commensurate administrative staffing budget, which for this Department has involved reductions in staff. The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, management priorities and the ongoing need to respond...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff Recruitment (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: Temporary clerical staff are recruited to provide cover for permanent staff who are absent on maternity leave, long term sick leave, shorter working year scheme and other statutory leave. They are also recruited to clear backlogs and to assist in the roll-out of the Public Services Card project. Temporary staff are appointed on a fixed-term or fixed purpose contract basis. Once the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 5thApril 2018, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: 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 person who has such a disability that they require that level of care. CA was awarded to the person concerned on 26 April 2018 and the first payment will issue to his nominated bank account on 3 May 2018. Arrears...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: Entitlement to treatment benefit is based on having paid PRSI contributions, with customers required to have a certain number of PRSI contributions paid or credited in order to qualify. The number of contributions required varies with age, to take account of the capacity of the person concerned to have paid the required contributions. For example, a customer aged 20 needs a total of 39...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment Data (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: Working Family Payment (WFP) formerly known as Family Income Supplement (FIS) is a weekly tax-free payment which provides additional income support to employees on low earnings with children. There are currently some 3,423 families in receipt of WFP who are employed in the public sector. The Department is unable provide a detailed breakdown of the number of families in receipt of WFP who are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 430 and 431 together. The Scope insurability section of my Department makes statutory decisions on the insurability of employment under the Social Welfare Acts. It deals with employers, employees and the self-employed, who may apply, where there is doubt, to have an employment or self-employment status investigated and the correct class of pay-related...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions Payments (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The total amounts spent on State Pension payments in 2017 and the number of recipients of each payment is detailed in the following table: Pension Type Amount (€000) Recipient numbers State Pension (Contributory) 4,915,853 394,378 State Pension (Non-Contributory) 994,740 95,140 State Pension (Transition) 159 55 Widows’/Widowers’/Surviving Civil Partners...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Process (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2017 including the provision set out in section 5 has passed the Second Stage, which was concluded on 4October 2017. It is expected that the Bill will progress to Committee Stage in the coming months. I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Labour Activation Measures (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The primary goal of my Department’s activation services is to move people from unemployment to full-time and sustained employment. All jobseekers are required to engage with the Department’s activation service irrespective of whether the service is provided by the Department’s own case officers or those advisors employed by external contractors such as the JobPath...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Labour Activation Programmes Data (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department provides a range of activation supports catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. These supports include the JobPath service. The JobPath service is designed to support people who are long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. This service is delivered by two...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department's administration expenditure is split between Vote (means tested schemes) and Social Insurance Fund (non-means tested schemes). Details of the total administration expenditure for 2016 and 2017 are outlined in the following table. These costs also include services provided for and charged to my Department by other Departments and Agencies. Administration Category 2016 2017...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: Firstly, the new interim Total Contributions Approach to determining the level of payment, including the introduction of the new HomeCaring credit, for recipients of the State Pension (contributory) affected by the 2012 rate band changes was agreed by the Government in January. Instructions for legislation to give effect to this change are currently being set out. When drafted, the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: A policy to introduce the Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to the State Pension contributory (SPC) calculation was adopted by Government in the National Pensions Framework in 2010, as was the decision to base the entitlements of all new pensioners on this approach from around 2020. The Government announced in January 2018 that those affected by the 2012 rate band changes will also have...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Deputy is referring to a commitment in the Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023 which was published on 28 February 2018 that a consultation paper be published on an appropriate rate-setting/funding approach for the Social Insurance Fund by the end of Quarter 4 2018. The consultation paper will be informed by the Roadmap and in particular by the findings of the Actuarial Review of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Expenditure (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The level of income provided to pensioners in the form of the State pension is currently decided through the annual budget process. The Roadmap for Pensions Reform commits the Government to examine and develop proposals this year. In order to protect the adequacy into the future the Government intends to examine and develop proposals to set a formal benchmark target of 34% of average...

Questions on Promised Legislation (2 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: We should stop them from saying it, and not after they say it.

Questions on Promised Legislation (2 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: I have huge respect for the Leas-Cheann Comhairle too but he can hear, as we can all clearly hear, the damage that has been done by certain Members.

Questions on Promised Legislation (2 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Bill to which the Deputy refers is scheduled to begin Committee Stage on 31 May. As has been flagged since the very first day it was launched, it will include defined benefit pension scheme provisions as outlined by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme Data (2 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The current free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approx....