Results 9,901-9,920 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: Under the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 (No. 1), the Government, having regard to the manifest and grave risk to human life and public health posed by the spread of COVID-19, extended the Social Welfare Acts to provide for entitlement to illness benefit for persons who have been diagnosed with, or are a probable source of...

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

Heather Humphreys: Applicants in receipt of the COVID Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) who apply for part time or full time springboard courses can retain a weekly social welfare payment if they transfer to a qualifying payment. This will ensure that these Springboard applicants will have an alternative income source on cessation of PUP. In advance of commencing a course of education, a person in receipt of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (13 Oct 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 18,984 active 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 available...

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

Heather Humphreys: The July Jobs Stimulus includes commitments to the investment of €200m. in training, education, skill development, work placement schemes, recruitment subsidies and jobs search and assistance measures aimed to help those who have lost their jobs find a new one, retrain or develop new skills. One of the measures is the development of a funded Work Placement Scheme to provide work...

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

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 22 February 2018. According to the records of my Department, they have a total of 1093 qualifying full-rate paid contributions and 937 credited contributions from their date of entry into insurable employment on 22 February 1968 to end-December 2017. This equates to a yearly average of 41 contributions and gives them an entitlement to a standard...

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

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 14 April 2019 According to the records of my Department, they have a total of 770 full-rate paid contributions, 1111 HomeCaring Periods and 222 credited contributions from their date of entry into insurable employment on 14 April 1969 to end-December 2018. This gave them an entitlement to a standard State pension (contributory) at 87% of the...

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

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 18 January 2020. According to the records of my Department, they have a total of 543 qualifying full-rate paid contributions and 185 credited contributions from their date of entry into insurable employment on 19 October 1970 to end of December 2018. This equates to a yearly average of 15 contributions and gives them an entitlement to a standard...

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

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 27 May 2017. According to the records of my Department, they have a total of 853 qualifying full-rate paid contributions and 282 credited contributions from their date of entry into insurable employment on 29 May 1967 to end December 2016. This equates to a yearly average of 22 contributions and gives them an entitlement to a standard State...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Walks Scheme (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department administers the Walks Scheme under which landholders receive modest payments for maintenance works on approved trails in line with agreed work plans. There are currently 39 trails included in the Walks Scheme and, in December last, it was announced that 10 new trails will be added as part of a phased expansion of the scheme. Work Plans are currently being finalised with...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Recreation Policy (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Arising from the first and second calls under the Rural Regeneration scheme, 63 Category 1 projects have been approved for funding of €131 million and 76 Category 2 projects have been approved for funding of €35 million. Category 1 relates to major projects that can drive sustainable rural regeneration and development, while Category 2 supports projects that require development...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: CLÁR Programme (13 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that the application referred to by the Deputy has been received by my Department . Over 300 applications have been received by my Department under the programme in question. My officials are currently assessing all of the applications received and I hope to be in a position to announce the successful projects over the coming weeks when the assessment process is fully complete.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (14 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The household benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €264 million this year on HHB for over 465,000 customers. The package is generally available to people living in the State aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic (14 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The decision to extend the emergency measure relating to an employee's entitlement to claim redundancy from their employer following temporary lay-off or short-time work which arose as a result of Covid-19 was a difficult one. I know many employees who have been laid off are experiencing great uncertainty but, in making this decision, the Government had to consider the need to ensure...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme (14 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each August/September. The allowance is payable for eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child increase is being paid. It is also payable to those between...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Non-Contributory) (14 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: State pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a state pension contributory, or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. For the purposes of the means-test, it is necessary at the outset for applicants to provide full details of any...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Invalidity Pension (14 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 22 July 2020. Under social welfare legislation the decision of an Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by an Appeals Officer in the light of new...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (14 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The pandemic unemployment payment is payable to people between the ages of 18 up to 66 which is consistent with other social protection schemes payable to people of working age who have lost their employment. People aged 66 years and over are provided for through the contributory State pension or the non-contributory State means tested pension. A person in receipt of the State...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (14 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department, in line with the overall Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, moved swiftly at the outset of the pandemic to put in place enhanced and new supports for existing customers and new customers who, as a result of COVID-19, are working reduced hours or who have lost their employment entirely – even if on a temporary basis. A decision was taken in March to allow for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (14 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment Scheme is available to employees and self- employed people who have lost their employment and the income from that employment due to the pandemic, and who satisfy the other qualifying conditions of the scheme. From the outset of Covid-19, many employers will have taken the initiative, in line with requests from the Government, to be as flexible as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment (14 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department, in line with the overall Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, moved swiftly at the outset of the pandemic to put in place enhanced and new supports for existing customers and new customers who, as a result of COVID-19, are working reduced hours or who have lost their employment entirely – even if on a temporary basis. A decision was taken in March to allow for...