Results 8,561-8,580 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (30 Jun 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has developed and circulated guidelines for civil service organisations (Working from Home during COVID-19 – Guidance for Civil Service Organisations), which is intended to assist civil service organisations as long as necessary to address the health and safety risks of COVID-19 and has also commenced work on the development of a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (30 Jun 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The SAFE registration process, which my Department uses to authenticate a person's identity, is a face-to-face process which results in the issuing of a Public Services Card (PSC). Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, my Department has temporarily suspended the SAFE registration process.  This decision was taken in order to comply with HSE and WHO guidelines...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (30 Jun 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Community Employment (CE) programme is a community centred labour market initiative established to help long-term unemployed people and other vulnerable groups to enter the workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment.  Under the CE Programme projects must not displace employment opportunities in the open labour market and, as such, the range of services delivered by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (30 Jun 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,580 schools and organisations benefitting 250,000 children.  The objective of the scheme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them.  The programme is an important...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (30 Jun 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department, as part of the overall response of the Department to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, continues to engage with a range of organisations including the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, in relation to the income support needs of all families during the ongoing crisis. My Department provides financial supports to families and their children through the Increase for a Qualified...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (30 Jun 2020)

Heather Humphreys: 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. Where a carer is in receipt of a social welfare payment (other than jobseeker payments or supplementary welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (30 Jun 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Government acknowledges the crucial role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role.  This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy. The main income supports to carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit and the Carer’s Support...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Bereavement Care (30 Jun 2020)

Heather Humphreys: A claim for assistance with funeral expenses under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) Scheme is treated as a claim for an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP).  An ENP is made at the discretion of the designated officer on the basis of the circumstances of each case and in line with governing guidelines. According to the records of my Department, the person concerned submitted an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Benefit (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Child Benefit is payable in respect of children who are ordinarily resident in the State, regardless of citizenship, provided the applicant satisfies the habitual residence condition. As a family benefit, Child Benefit is exportable in cases where an applicant is working in Ireland but where the child is living in another EU/EEA state. However, the exportability of Child Benefit does...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Benefit (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Child benefit is the main policy instrument for assisting families with the costs of raising children. It is a universal payment and is paid in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years, or to the age of 18 in respect of children who are in full-time education or who have a disability. In order for payment to continue beyond the age of 16, proof of attendance at school or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Bodies (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice (including money and budgeting advice) and advocacy services on a wide range of public and social services. CIB delivers on this remit through its provision of some services directly to the public and through a network of service delivery companies. In February 2017,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The data requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. SCHEME AVERAGE NO OF WEEKS TO AWARD MAY 2020 State Pension (Contributory) 4 Widow(er)'s Contributory Pension 1 State Pension (Non-Contributory) 5 Jobseekers Allowance 1 Jobseekers Benefit 1...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The emergency Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment has been introduced as a time-limited emergency measure so that payments can be made as quickly as possible to the large number of people who have become fully unemployed due to the pandemic. During the month of March, my Department received and processed jobseeker claims equivalent in number to a three year claim-load. These...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Benefit (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's Benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention. An increased payment can be made where full-time care is being provided to two people. To qualify the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions, employment conditions, show that they are providing full-time care and attention and must show...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The matter of Community Employment (CE) Supervisor pension claim following the 2008 Labour Court Recommendation 19293 was the subject of an extensive discussion at the Community Sector High-level Forum, chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER). Its role was to examine certain issues pertaining to the Community Employment sector and in particular the subject of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: 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. Means are any income belonging to the carer and their spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant, property, (except their own...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Insolvency Payments Scheme (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The purpose of the insolvency payments scheme is to protect certain outstanding pay-related entitlements due to employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer. The scheme operates under the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984, which derives from EU Directive 2008/94.Payments are made from the Social Insurance Fund. The Protection of Employees...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Under the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 (No. 1), and subsequent regulations, the Government, having regard to the manifest and grave risk to human life and public health posed by the spread of COVID-19, made exceptional provision in the public interest and to mitigate the effect of the spread of the disease to amend and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 488 and 489 together. The Community Employment Scheme (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. The programme is delivered through independent CE sponsoring...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Administration (7 Jul 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Employment Affairs & Social Protection provides two main options for payment methods for its customers: payments in cash at post offices or payments direct to customer accounts in financial institutions. The Department intends, where possible, to continue to offer its many clients the choice of being paid in cash at the post office or directly into an account in a...