Results 9,681-9,700 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: 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. Under social welfare legislation, CA for the care of a care recipient who is aged less than 16 years can only be successful where Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is awarded. DCA was...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Ministerial Advisers (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The appointment of Special Advisors is as provided under Section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. Guidelines for the Appointment of Ministerial Staff of the 33rdDáil, including the relevant terms and conditions of appointment of Special Advisers, were approved by Government on 4th August 2020 and have been published by the Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: JobPath provides employment service support to jobseekers. It is a payment by results model and all set-up and day-to-day operational costs are borne by the companies.  The companies are paid on the basis of performance and, with the exception of the initial registration fee, payments are made only when a client has achieved sustained employment.  The overall cost of JobPath will be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 579 and 580 together. The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment is available to employees and the self-employed who have lost their job on or after 13 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Where a person has returned to work and loses their employment due to the Covid-19 pandemic before the end of the year, they can re-apply for PUP. The quickest and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: According to the records of my Department, the person concerned applied for a Jobseeker’s Benefit payment on 15/09/2020.  In order to process the application, further documentation was sought from the person concerned on 15/09/2020.  To-date this information has not been provided and the claim remains pending.  The person concerned applied for a Covid-19 Pandemic...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approximately  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.   In order to address an issue of this...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Allowance (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision.  The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Administration (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Christmas Bonus payment is made to long-term social welfare recipients, such as pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, lone parents and long-term unemployed people who rely wholly or mainly on their social welfare payments for financial support. As is the case every year, the payment of a Christmas Bonus is a discretionary decision made by Government in the context of the annual...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Government has agreed, as part of the July Stimulus, that the pandemic unemployment would be paid at three rates from 17 September.  Since this date, the payment has been linked to a person's prior average weekly employment earnings and paid at three rates, €300, €250 and €203 per week. I have recently announced that applications for the scheme will...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Circulars (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Rent supplement continues to play a key role in supporting families and individuals in private rented accommodation, with the scheme currently supporting approximately 19,600 recipients. The scheme provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes Data (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly tax-free payment which provides additional income 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 pursue employment. The number of Defence Forces personnel that received WFP for each of the years 2013 to 2019,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: SOLAS Administration (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: This person is in receipt of PUP since April 2020.  PUP is not a qualifying scheme for Education and Training courses.  We have a number of such customers who are potential FET (Further Education and Training) participants and I wish to advise that this matter is currently under consideration by the Department and we will revert to the person concerned once a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Payments (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: According to the records of my Department, the person concerned was awarded a Jobseeker's Benefit (JB) claim on 07/10/2019.  Entitlement to JB ended on 02/09/2020 when the person concerned reached 234 days of payment thereby exhausting her entitlement. The person concerned applied for a Jobseeker's Allowance and a Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Programme for Government (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: LEADER is co-funded by the European Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The current programming period concludes in December 2020.  Proposals for new regulations for the CAP 2021-2027 were launched in June 2018 by the European Commission.  However, given the nature of the discussions on the CAP and the wider EU Budget post-2020, there has been a delay in adopting...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Development Programme (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that an Expression of Interest to be included in my Department's Walk Scheme has been received by my Department in respect of the project referred to by the Deputy.  A general review of the Walks Scheme is currently in train and decisions in respect of the inclusion of additional trails, based on Expressions of Interest received, will be taken...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Improvement Scheme (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme, or LIS, is a programme for improvement works on small private or non-public roads in rural areas which are not under the normal maintenance of the Local Authorities.  The scheme is funded by my Department and is administered through the Local Authorities.  There was no dedicated funding available for this scheme for a number of years until it...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Ministerial Advisers (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: On the commencement of every Dáil, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform issues guidelines setting out the arrangements for the staffing of Ministerial Offices. The appointment of Special Advisers is subject to section 11 of the Public Service Management (PSMA) Act 1997. The Guidelines for the 33rd Dáil, which incorporate the principles of section 11 of the PSMA Act,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Staff (29 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department uses workforce planning processes to identify the critical resource needs required to deliver its business goals.  Workforce planning is a key tool in enabling my Department to forecast its current and future staffing needs (subject to the limits of the annual estimates process, the usual budgetary constraints and approvals by the Department of Public Expenditure and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (30 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The determination of whether a person is entitled to payment from their employer in respect of a public holiday is governed by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.  Under the Act, for each of the nine public holidays in a year, an employee is entitled to either a paid day off on the holiday, a paid day off within a month of the holiday, an extra day’s annual leave, or an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (30 Sep 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Government has agreed to extend the date for applications for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment to the end of the year.  The payment was due to close to new applications on the 17th September 2020 but it has been decided to extend this period at this time. Where a person returning from maternity leave has lost her employment as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic they...