Results 5,041-5,060 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Department operates a range of means-tested social assistance payments. Social welfare legislation provides that the means test takes account of the income and assets of the person (and spouse/partner, if applicable) applying for the relevant scheme. Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme Payments (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The Government has provided €49.5 million for the scheme in 2018. The payment rates are €125 for eligible children aged 4 to 11 years and €250 for children aged...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: I am happy to inform the Deputy that I recently announced that jobseekers who are engaged with the JobPath service can, from 1st June, apply for CE and Tús placements while continuing to engage with JobPath. This will ensure that jobseekers can benefit from the job-seeking support of the JobPath service while also availing of a part-time work placement provided by CE or Tús. This...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Under the current social welfare legislation in order to qualify for payment of One-Parent Family Payment (OFP), an applicant must be a qualified parent of at least one relevant child who is ordinarily resident in the State, is not detained in a children detention school, and has not attained the relevant age (currently 7 years of age). A qualified parent is defined as: (a) a widow, (b) a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Brexit Issues (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Co-ordination of the whole-of-Government response to Brexit is being taken forward through the cross-Departmental coordination structures chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Contingency planning for a no-deal or worst-case outcome, bringing together the detailed work being undertaken by individual Ministers and their Departments on issues within their policy remit, is now...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Programme (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Second Stage of the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2017 concluded on 4th October 2017. Government approval to draft provisions for a number of additional items to be included in the Bill at Committee Stage was obtained subsequently. These provisions are currently being finalised by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. They include amongst others, provisions...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: As the Deputy will be aware JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. Upon referral the JobPath provider receives data that allows them to commence engagement with the customer. This data includes the customer’s name, address, date of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 74 together. Almost all Irish defined benefit schemes have a rule that allows the employer to cease contributions, usually after a notice period. Currently there is no legislative obligation on the employer to make contributions and no further liability on the employer where contributions cease. Neither is there an obligation on the employer to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Benefit Reform (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. It is designed as a universal payment, in recognition of the costs involved in raising children, and plays an important role in tackling child poverty. As a universal payment it does not rely on a means test or social insurance contributions. The payment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Allowance Payments (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Under social welfare legislation where a person is medically certified as being unable to manage their own financial affairs, I as Minister may appoint an agent who is responsible for collecting the person’s social welfare payment and acting on their behalf. An application form must be completed on behalf of the person concerned and documentary evidence provided of incapacity. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Redundancy Rebates (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate employees for the loss of their jobs, where the employer is unable to pay statutory redundancy due to financial difficulties or insolvency. The scheme is funded from the social insurance fund.Up to 2011, the scheme provided a rebate of 60 per cent to employers who provided statutory redundancy payments to their employees. In...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Partial Capacity Benefit Scheme (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Partial capacity benefit (PCB) was introduced in February 2012 and is designed for people who are in receipt of long term social insurance invalidity / illness / disability income support payments who have some capacity for work. Applicants must be in receipt of either invalidity pension (IP) or illness benefit (IB) Illness benefit recipients must be in payment for at least six months at the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 63, 72 and 77 together. While it is not appropriate for me to comment on an individual pension scheme, I am aware of recent announcements regarding the Irish Life pension scheme and plans to close the scheme to future accrual. I understand that the scheme is very much financially secure and its assets adequately cover all liabilities that will arise in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Research repeatedly shows that the best way to tackle poverty among lone parents is through employment and the Indecon report on lone parents, published in 2017, echoed this view. The report found that the changes made to the one-parent family payment scheme in 2012 increased employment and reduced welfare dependency. It also found that the changes increased the probability of employment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Tackling poverty remains a fundamental aspiration of Irish society and the Programme for a Partnership Government includes a firm commitment to develop a new Integrated Framework for Social Inclusion, to tackle inequality and poverty. This will be a successor to the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016 (NAPinclusion) and its 2015-2017 update which concluded last year. My...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Rights (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: To qualify for a jobseekers payment a person must be unemployed, be available for and genuinely seeking work, and as a result be unemployed for at least 4 days out of 7. Seasonal work can be full-time, part-time or casual. A seasonal worker who is employed on a full-time basis is not entitled to a jobseeker’s payment while in that employment. Contributions paid during this time can...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Benefit (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Jobseekers aged 62 or over are not selected for activation and are not subject to mandatory activation measures. Penalty rates do not apply in these circumstances. They may, of course, avail of employment supports on a voluntarily basis. Jobseekers, who are already engaged in activation and turn 62, are required to complete the process. Penalty rates may apply should they fail to continue...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Youth Employment Initiative (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Government policy to reduce unemployment is twofold. First, through policies set out in the Action Plan for Jobs, to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs; and second, through Pathways to Work, to ensure that as many as possible of these new jobs and other vacancies that arise in our economy are filled by people taken from the Live Register, including young...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizens Information Board (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body responsible for providing information, advice (including money and budgeting advice service) and advocacy services on a wide range of public and social services. CIB delivers on this remit through a network of service delivery partners including the Citizens Information Services (CIS) and the Money Advice and Budgeting Services...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The use of facial matching technology has been successfully employed by my Department for a number of years. What is proposed, in the context of this competitive tender process, is a continuation and upgrade of this existing technology. In accordance with Government policy, the Department is running an open procurement for the provision of the services as described in the request for tender...