Results 9,861-9,880 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision on 14 August 2020. In accordance with social welfare legislation, where the Appeals Officer is of the opinion that the case is of such a nature that it can properly be determined...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance (8 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: It is confirmed that the Department have not, to date, received an application for a Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance from the person concerned. It is open to the person concerned to make an application and a decision will be made on same in due course.

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

Heather Humphreys: One of the conditions for receipt of the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is that individuals must have last worked on or after 6th March 2020. Departmental records (which have been confirmed by the Department's PUP review section) show that a Covid PUP application from Ms. Ali, dated 25th March 2020, was received and processed in the Department on 7thApril 2020. Ms. Ali...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (8 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department does not have any contracts with public relations agencies or PR consultants. I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (8 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I wish to advise the Deputy that details on my Department’s organisational structure, its Divisions and its senior management team (including their names and a description of all individual roles from Secretary General to Principal Officer level) are available on the ‘whodoeswhat’ website at the following link – . The email structure to contact officials at my...

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

Heather Humphreys: Since the 17th of September, the rate of all Pandemic Unemployment Payments (PUP) are related to the prior earnings of the customer. The entitlement to PUP of the person concerned has been re-rated to a rate of €250 per week – this is based on a combination of her 2019 self employment income and earnings. I understand that the arrears of PUP arising from this re-rating will...

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

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a means-tested payment for people with a specified disability who are aged between 16 and 66. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and a habitual residency test. The estimated annual expenditure on DA for 2020 is some €1.8 billion. The estimated cost of increasing...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Administration (8 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned is currently in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance at the weekly rate of €246.70 which is the correct payment for a person of her circumstances. The spouse of the person concerned is in receipt of Illness Benefit at the full personal weekly rate of €203. The person concerned therefore receives the difference between the appropriate family rate of...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Staff (8 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I wish to advise the Deputy that comprehensive details on my Department’s organisational structure, its Divisions and its senior management team (including their names and a description of all individual roles from Secretary General to Principal Officer level) are available on the ‘whodoeswhat’ website at the following link – . The email structure to contact...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Rights (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The deliberate misclassification of a worker as a self-employed contractor for PRSI purposes, in a situation where they are actually working as an employee, is wrong. My Department’s role is to ensure the correct class of PRSI is being returned for individuals, in order to protect their PRSI contribution record and scheme entitlements and to ensure the correct flow of funds into the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy is aware, the Government has been seeking to implement and operate supports during the COVID-19 emergency that are targeted where most needed to ensure continued economic activity and reduce the risk of poverty. The State Pension is the bedrock of the pension system in Ireland. It is extremely effective at ensuring that our pensioners do not experience poverty. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: 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 Government and the National Carers’ Strategy. My Department provides income supports to carers such as Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Any changes to the rates of social welfare schemes, including jobseeker's allowance, will be considered in a budgetary context, having regard to all available resources. Any person who is experiencing financial hardship may be eligible for financial supports under the means-tested supplementary welfare allowance scheme including an Exceptional or Urgent Needs Payment. I trust that this...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a suite of income supports for those who are unable to work due to an illness or disability. It is important to note that entitlement to these supports is not contingent on the nature of the illness/disability but on the extent to which a particular illness or disability impairs or restricts a person’s capacity to work. Apart from these income supports, my...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment was introduced as an emergency measure to provide an income support to those who had lost their employment as a result of Covid. In order to ensure that the scheme was simple and accessible for the unprecedented number of applicants, a flat payment rate was introduced. This rate was the equivalent of the rate for a two-person household. From 26 June...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Allowance (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Based on the evidence supplied in support of their application for disability allowance (DA), this person’s application was disallowed on the grounds that they had means in excess of the statutory limit. They were notified in writing of this decision on 6 July 2020. The person concerned requested an appeal to the independent social welfare appeals office (SWAO). The decision of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: As announced in the July Stimulus package, the enterprise support grant was extended to assist eligible self-employed, including sole traders, who exit the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment or jobseekers schemes after 18th May 2020 to re-start their business which was closed due to the impact of the pandemic. Funding of €12 million has been provided for this grant. A grant...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Parental Leave Act, 1998, as amended, allows parents to take unpaid leave to look after young children. Parental leave can be taken as a continuous block or, with the agreement of an employer, can be broken up over a period of time. Statutory Instrument 569 of 1998 provides for the crediting of employment contributions to insured persons for each week during which the person avails...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Invalidity Pension (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 2 October 2020. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Administration (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Fortnightly payments were introduced by my Department to assist with social distancing measures in the context of the current pandemic. Within any particular scheme, it is not possible to introduce different payment cycles for different individuals or for different categories of individual. All payments on each scheme, whether by collecting cash at the post office or depositing money...