Results 8,601-8,620 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Review (25 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested payment, made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that they require that level of care. An increased payment can be made where full-time care is being provided to two people. Before a decision can be made on entitlement to CA, evidence must be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (25 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Government acknowledges the important role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for a Partnership Government and the National Carers’ Strategy. My Department provides a range of supports to those who are caring for family members, friends or neighbours. These measures aim to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: National Carers Strategy Implementation (25 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Government acknowledges the important role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for a Partnership Government and the National Carers’ Strategy. The Department of Health has responsibility for the National Carers’ Strategy which sets out the strategic direction for future...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Support Grant (25 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Carer’s Support Grant (formerly called the Respite Care Grant) is an annual payment made by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection to full-time carers. The Grant is paid automatically to carers who are receiving Carer’s Allowance (whether full rate or half rate), Carer’s Benefit, or Domiciliary Care Allowance. Other full-time carers who are not...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Childcare Services (25 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: I work closely with that Minister on a regular basis on a range of issues, including the national childcare scheme, which is to be expected given the shared policy objectives across our respective departments. The new national childcare scheme will benefit most families; however, I understand from that a number of issues have been raised with as regards to the impact on lone parents....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Childcare Services (25 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: I work closely with that Minister on a regular basis on a range of issues, including the national childcare scheme, which is to be expected given the shared policy objectives across our respective departments. The new national childcare scheme will benefit most families; however, I understand from that a number of issues have been raised with as regards to the impact on lone parents....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (25 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: As announced in January 2018, pensioners born on or after the 1st September 1946, affected by the 2012 changes in rate bands, will have their state pension (contributory) entitlement calculated under an interim 'Total Contributions Approach' (TCA). These changes also provide for up to 20 years of home caring periods in the pension entitlement calculation, for those who took time out of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Proposed Legislation (25 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: I am particularly determined to tackle the issue of false self-employment. I believe the deliberate mis-classification of a worker as a self-employed contractor, in a situation where they are actually working as an employee, is wrong for a number of reasons. Firstly, it denies the worker full protection under the Social Welfare Acts, which means he or she is deprived of entitlements...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme (26 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned is awarded Jobseeker's Allowance from 5 November 2018. The person concerned was referred to the Jobpath programme on 4 March 2019 for activation support over the course of a 12 month period. The Jobpath provider is Seetec Ltd, and he attends the local Seetec Office. On the 12 June 2019, the person concerned, (through Seetec) requested an appointment with Coolock Intreo...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (26 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance 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. The person concerned is in receipt of carer’s allowance (CA) for one care recipient since 3 December 2015. My department received an application for CA for a 2ndcare recipient on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Maternity Benefit Expenditure (26 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: Maternity Benefit is paid for 26 weeks at a rate of €245 per week. The 2019 Estimates for the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection provide for expenditure of approximately €256 million on Maternity Benefit. The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of maternity benefit for an additional four weeks would be approximately €39 million in a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Benefit Expenditure (26 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: Carer's Benefit is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for someone in need of full-time care and attention. A person may be eligible for Carer's Benefit if they have enough PRSI contributions. This and other care-related supports, such as the Carer’s Allowance payment and the Carer’s Support Grant, provide recognition and support for the valuable...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Investigations (26 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: An application was received in Scope Section on 15 April 2019 seeking a decision with regard to the employed/self-employed status of the individual named by the Deputy. A Scope investigation was opened on 17 April 2019 and was referred to a Social Welfare Inspector on 29 April 2019 to interview the parties concerned. These investigations are currently underway. Once the investigation is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment Eligibility (26 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Working Family Payment (WFP) is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings. The WFP is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependants, and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment. There are currently almost 53,000 families with 119,000 children in receipt of the WFP. The estimated spend on the WFP in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Data (26 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: The table below outlines the number of recipients of the one parent family payment (OFP) each year since 2016 to date, the numbers of OFPs who transferred onto JST, and the overall number of JSTs at each date: Date Dec-16 Dec-17 Dec-18 May-19 OFP 40,317 39,310 39,580 39,417 OFP Transferred to JST 1,811 1,550 1,528 899 Overall JST 14,580 14,618 14,796 14,947 The Jobseeker’s...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment Data (26 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly in-work payment which provides additional financial support to employees on low earnings with children. WFP is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependents and to offer a financial incentive to take up employment. The number of recipients of WFP in 2018 and to date in 2019 is as follows: Year WFP Recipients 2018...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (26 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: Pre-1995 public sector employees pay PRSI contributions at modified rates of contribution, Classes B, C or D. Class B covers permanent and pensionable civil servants recruited prior to 6 April 1995, registered doctors and dentists employed in the civil service and Gardaí recruited prior to 1995. Class C is paid by commissioned army officers and members of the army nursing service,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: This was brought to my attention only a week ago. There is an anomaly but I am not sure I can fix it. I will do more investigation. People who get a free travel pass from the Department of Employment and Social Protection only get one if they are in receipt of another payment but there are many people who are not in receipt of a payment who might have capacity issues with regard to their...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: As a former Minister for Social Protection for five years, the Deputy should know that the practice has not changed one single bit since she was in the Department.

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (27 Jun 2019)

Regina Doherty: I would love to be able to thank the Deputy for introducing the legislation, but it is a tremendous pity that he opened his statement on this exceptionally flawed Bill by calling the Citizens Information Board the most toxic organisation in the country given that it provides extremely valuable and much-loved services.