Results 7,741-7,760 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Benefit Applications (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: Carer's benefit (CARB) is a PRSI based payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care. It is payable for a maximum of 104 weeks for each person being cared for. An application for carer's benefit (CARB) was received from the person concerned on 24 December 2018. CARB was awarded for a period...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Telephone Call Charges (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The use of 1890 LoCall numbers by my Department is not a revenue generating operation. My Department is committed to providing a choice of channels to our customers through which they can engage with us and the 1890 service is one of those channels available for customers who wish to contact us by telephone. 1890 numbers are one class of Non-Geographic Numbers (NGN) provided for and regulated...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to hold an oral hearing in this case on 26th March 2019. The person concerned was notified of the arrangements for the 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: State Pensions Payments (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: Since late September 2018, my Department has been examining the social insurance records of approximately 90,000 pensioners, born on or after 1 September 1946, who have a reduced rate State pension contributory entitlement based on post Budget 2012 rate-bands. These payments are being reviewed under a new Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pension calculation which includes provision for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Funding (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: Work Schemes such as Community Employment (CE) are labour market programmes that enable long-term unemployed to progress into employment and/or further education and training. Participation limits on these schemes are necessary to allow for the maximum utilisation of places amongst qualifying persons. It is important to note that participation is intended to be for a temporary fixed term and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The rate of state pension (contributory) awarded to an individual is based solely on their social insurance record. There is no means / income test for that pension, and therefore pensioners have no limit on earnings that will effect their SPC rate of payment. The State Pension (non-contributory) (SPNC) is a means tested payment. Wages from employment of up to €200 per week are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Payments (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The issue has arisen as a result of the manner in which earnings from employment were assessed in this case. In the SWA assessment, earnings are calculated on an yearly average and so the means were as stated. In view of the working arrangement that the person concerned has entered into with her employer and the reduction in the hours worked, as outlined by the Deputy, I would advise that she...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: EU Directives (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: I am aware of the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Case 266/14 generally referred to as the 'Tyco case'. The decision made in the Tyco case was based on a set of facts relating to the particular circumstances of mobile workers in the context of a pre-existing arrangement in respect of those journeys. The Tyco case was referred to the CJEU in relation to...

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: I apologise-----

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: I do not appear to have the right document.

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: No.

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: I thank Senator Nash for his continued interest in this area and he committed to addressing this matter long before I became the Minister with responsibility for employment affairs. The Bill was not opposed on Second Stage by the Government because we all want and hope to see this matter being addressed within a short period. There were some fundamental flaws in the Bill that had to be...

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: To reiterate, there are some issues with regard to the other sections but I will not be pressing them to a vote. It is just to put them on the record. There are an enormous number of subsections in section 2 that are very helpful and clarify certain scenarios that would rule out a determination of employment. I have asked the Department to seriously consider, with the Senator's permission,...

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: I have some minor issues regarding section 5. In regard to intermediary third parties, the Bill refers to functions which "are matters of form only and not of substance". Those terms are not defined anywhere in legislation and I have been advised by the Attorney General that the wording would lead to considerable debate and possibly a large amount of litigation which, obviously, none of us...

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: To be clear, obviously, no two cases are the same. Many organisations legally use intermediaries and are perfectly entitled to do so and enjoy the benefits that go with that. However, where the deciding officers in the scope section determine that there is an intermediary, that does not preclude us from determining, in the case of a person working through the intermediary to, perhaps, a...

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: I point out to the Senator that it is section 5 that relates to intermediaries. I hope I did not miss something in section 4 that-----

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: That is fine. I wanted to ensure we are talking about the same thing. No two cases are the same. One could have two people working through an intermediary for the same organisation, one of whom may be self-employed and the other an employee. What I am saying is that the power to determine who is the employer already exists in law and within the powers of the deciding officers. We will...

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: If I gave the Senator that impression, I did not mean to because that it is not the reality. One can have two people doing the same role but one could be self-employed and the other could be an employee. It is determined on the contract of engagement. For example, take two people teaching Irish. One is in control of his or her working arrangements, time and space, as well as how he or she...

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The section states the Revenue Commissioners may form an opinion on a particular transaction which constitutes false self-employment as a taxation transaction for the purposes of sections 811, 811A, 811B, 811C and 811D of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. The difficulty is that all those applications relate to transactions which only commenced on or prior to 23 October 2014. While the...

Seanad: Protection of Employment (Measures to Counter False Self-Employment) Bill 2018: Committee Stage (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: In response to Senator Craughwell, this is not a new problem. Sometimes when we have this conversation we talk about it as something that has only arisen in recent years. CSO statistics tell us that there has been no increase in self-employment in generations. We have been a nation of entrepreneurial people forever. The issue is that, as the economy changes, employers are finding other...