Results 9,221-9,240 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Community Employment (CE) is a positive initiative that enables the long-term unemployed to make a contribution to their communities whilst up-skilling themselves for prospective future employment. It helps to break the cycle of unemployment and improve a person’s chances of returning to the labour market. CE is delivered through independent CE Sponsoring Authorities. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Partial Capacity Benefit Scheme (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) allows a person who has been in receipt of Illness Benefit for six months and who may not have full capacity for work, to return to employment and continue to receive a partial or full payment from the Department. The personal rate of payment is based on the assessment of the persons restriction on capacity for work i.e. Moderate, Severe or Profound, whereby...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 727 and 762 together. Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approx. 750,000 people have applied for payment and in some cases, they have done so on a number of occasions as they moved in and out of employment. Consequently, there are over 1 million applications to be examined to determine if arrears are due. During...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: 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. This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continual supervision in order to avoid danger...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department introduced a series of measures to maintain social welfare payments while assisting with social distancing measures designed to combat the spread of the Coronavirus. Fortnightly payments were introduced to minimise the need for people to attend and queue in banks or post offices to collect payments, so helping people restrict their movements to essential activities only....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment is a payment for employees and self-employed who are out of work (i.e. fully unemployed) due to a downturn in economic activity related to COVID-19. People who meet the criteria set out for the Payment will continue to receive it if their workplace is closed and they are genuinely seeking work. However, people who can return to work but do not do so due to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Rights (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Provisions in relation to continuity of employment are contained in the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973. The First Schedule to the Act provides that a lay-off shall not amount to the termination by an employer of his employee’s service. An employee's service is considered continuousunless he/she is either dismissed or voluntarily leaves his/her job. If the employees...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The SAFE registration process, which my Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection uses to authenticate a person's identity, is a face to face process which results in the issuing of a Public Services Card (PSC). At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, my Department temporarily postponed the SAFE registration process to comply with public health guidelines in respect of social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Payments (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the tables below. Table 1: People who received at least one Jobseeker Payment - 2018 Q1 2018 Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2018 Carlow 4,375 4,385 4,326 3,869 Cavan 4,541 4,459 4,432 4,022 Clare ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Payments (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the processing times for jobseeker claims is currently in line with my Department’s target for timely decision making on these claims. There is no need or intent to seek the assistance of third parties in the processing of jobseekers claims. I can confirm that my Department has 24 contracts in place for employment services with Local...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 736 and 742 together. Under the July Stimulus the Back To Education Allowance has been extended to people who have been in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The Department's Back to Education Allowance provides income support for people who wish to pursue second or third level courses. In advance of commencing a course of education or training,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: In advance of commencing a course of education, a person in receipt of Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is required to establish an entitlement to a qualifying social welfare weekly payment, generally a Jobseeker’s payment, to access a Back to Education Allowance (BTEA). A person will then be required to transfer from PUP to the relevant qualifying social welfare scheme to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The COVID 19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment was introduced in March 2020 as a time-limited emergency measure to meet the surge in unemployment which resulted from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. To be eligible for this payment a person must have been in employment /self-employment immediately prior to 13th March 2020 and have become fully unemployed or suffered a collapse of income if...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Requests for extending participants on Community Employment Schemes are only considered by the Department at the request of the Project Sponsor and a request for an extension has not been received in respect of the person concerned. Work Schemes such as Community Employment (CE) are labour market programmes that enable long-term unemployed people to progress into employment and/or further...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Data Protection (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 740 and 741 together. JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. The service is delivered by two companies, Seetec and Turas Nua. Information is shared by my Department with the JobPath providers to enable...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Benefit (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Child benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children, until their 18th birthday, who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Child benefit is currently paid, as of end-July 2020, to over 637,793 families in respect of over 1.2 million children....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals whose Public Services Cards (PSCs) were expiring in the following three months were written to by the Department advising them that they could renew their PSC by attending an office of the Department and having a new photograph taken, or by applying for a renewal by post, by sending a passport-size photograph. In the context of the Covid19 pandemic,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Without having knowledge of the circumstances of the person concerned, it is not possible to provide information on his social welfare entitlements. It is open to the person concerned to contact the Clondalkin Intreo Centre to discuss his situation at (01) 4030000, (01) 4667200, SWLOClondalkin@welfare.ie. Information about my Department’s schemes and services, including qualifying...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: For the month of June 2020 a total of 8,785 people working in the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation sector were in receipt of at least one pandemic unemployment payment at the standard rate of €350. The most recent figures for September 1st 2020 show that 5,032 people from this sector were still receiving this payment, with 1,486 people receiving the lower rate of €203 and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance (8 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Fuel Allowance is a seasonal payment for 28 weeks, from October to April, to help low income households with their heating costs. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household. Fuel allowance expenditure and recipient numbers for the past 5 years are: Year 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 ...