Results 6,281-6,300 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Rights (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 208 together. The Department’s Scope section makes in excess of 1,000 employment status determinations each year covering a range of issues including directors of companies, family employments, partnerships and public sector employments. Cases are not categorised by industry. The number of cases involving a direct conflict of employment or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Rights (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department’s Scope Section makes in excess of 1,000 employment status determinations each year covering a range of issues including directors of companies, family employments, partnerships and public sector employments. The number of cases involving a direct conflict of employment or self-employment status is relatively small. In 2017, Scope Section made 138 decisions resulting in a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Money Advice and Budgeting Service Funding (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), under the aegis of the Citizens Information Board, since 2009, assists people who are over-indebted and need help and advice in coping with debt problems, in particular those on low incomes and people living on social welfare payments. The role of MABS has expanded in recent years. In 2015 the Dedicated Mortgage Arrears (DMA MABS) service was...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizens Information Services Funding (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Citizens Information Services (CIS), under the aegis of the Citizens Information Board (CIB), provides information to the public on a range of social and public services. CIS’s also provide an advocacy service to those who need assistance to access their entitlements. CIB also funds the Citizens Information Phone Service, which provides a comprehensive and confidential national...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Energy Efficiency (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department and its agencies under my aegis are part of the Public Sector Energy Reporting Programme run by SEAI and is also active in the OPW's Optimising Power at work energy saving scheme. As at the end of 2017 an energy saving of 32.6% was recorded against the 2009 baseline figures and is on course to achieve the 33% NEAP energy efficiency targets by 2020.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance Appeals (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: For the Back to Education Allowance Scheme, in order for eligibility and provisional award of payment to be determined by a Determining Officer, it is necessary for applications for this scheme to be made in advance and no later than 30 days prior to the commencement of the intended course of study. This requirement is to enable scheduling of assessment processes and interviews with...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: SOLAS Training and Education Programmes Provision (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned previously engaged with the Local Employment Service Mediator through a Walk-in appointment in 2017 and was referred to a course which she completed on 20thJuly 2018. The Department spoke to the Local Employment Service Mediator on 13thNovember 2018. The Mediator had engaged with the person concerned in recent days. They have been advised to contact the Mediator for a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Overpayments (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned was registered as a full time student between 04/09/2017 and 31/10/2017 and as a consequence was deemed not to satisfy the qualifying conditions for receipt of Jobseekers Allowance for this period resulting in an overpayment of €1613 being assessed against him. A weekly recovery of €25 per week was put in place from 24/04/2018. This case is now under review...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit Payments (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Illness Benefit claim for the person concerned has been processed and she is in receipt of her full entitlement under the Illness Benefit scheme. Any person who has an urgent financial need can apply to the Department's Community Welfare Service and may be entitled to an additional or supplementary payment. This can be done by contacting the local Intreo Centre. I trust this clarifies...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned applied for Jobseekers Allowance on 09thJuly 2018 but as some documents were not submitted the application was closed. A new application for Jobseekers Allowance was registered on 02ndOctober 2018 and awarded from the 27thSeptember 2018. On review of information supplied by the person concerned, the Deciding Officer has revised the decision and arrears will issue from...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned was in receipt of rent supplement for which a review issued on 1/6/2018 and which subsequently closed due to failure to respond to this review by the customer. Final payment on this claim was for May 2018. The person concerned submitted a new application for rent supplement which was received by South Kildare West Wicklow Rents Unit on 31/7/2018. The application...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Youth Employment Initiative (15 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS) was introduced on Monday 1st October 2018 and has been open to applications since that date. YESS is a new work experience placement programme which is specifically targeted at jobseekers aged 18-24 years who are long-term unemployed or who face barriers to employment. YESS will aim to provide jobseekers with the opportunity to learn basic work...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Rights (20 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: There is no legally mandated retirement age in the State, and the age at which employees retire is a matter for the contract of employment between them and their employers.  While such a contract may have been entered into with a retirement date of 65, in the context of the previous State pension arrangements, there is no legal impediment to the employer and employee agreeing to increase...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Review (20 Nov 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 child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. If a person is in receipt of another social welfare payment in their own right (other than unemployment payments or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit Applications (20 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: Illness Benefit (IB) is a payment for people who cannot work due to illness and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.   The person concerned was advised by letter dated 9th October 2018 that he was not entitled to payment of IB as he does not satisfy all of the contribution conditions.   Although the person concerned satisfied the first...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (20 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The social insurance system is based on the "contribution week".  This week begins on the first day of January each year. Each contribution week where a person is engaged in insurable employment a contribution is paid based on the nature of their employment, for most workers earning over €38 per week this contribution will be made at Class A.  Only one contribution per...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit Reform (20 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department transferred administration of the Illness Benefit (IB) scheme to its core Business Objects IT platform in August 2018.  Although the system change has worked effectively for over 80% of IB customers, significant difficulties arose following implementation for a number of customers. My Department is taking three main steps to resolve the issues impacting on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Redundancy Payments (20 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: Under the Redundancy Payments Act an eligible employee is entitled to compensation on being made redundant. In the first instance it is the employer’s responsibility to pay statutory redundancy. The purpose of the Redundancy Payments Scheme is to compensate employees for the loss of their job by reason of redundancy in cases where the employer can prove to the satisfaction of my...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit Applications (20 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Department administers the Illness Benefit (IB) scheme to those customers who cannot work because they are sick or ill provided they are covered by the appropriate class of social insurance (PRSI) and satisfy the PRSI conditions. Unfortunately, we appear to have no record of receiving an application for IB from the person concerned. One of my officials is contacting him as a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Eligibility (20 Nov 2018)

Regina Doherty: The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €630 each year) from October to April, to over 372,000 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...