Results 10,001-10,020 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Food Poverty (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: Data from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) published by the CSO includes two items from relating specifically to the consumption of food as part of the 11 item deprivation measure: - the percentage of the population unable to afford a meal with meat, chicken or fish every second day; - the percentage of the population unable to afford a roast once a week. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Applications (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: According to the records held by my Department, the person concerned has not recently submitted an application for a Jobseeker’s payment. In addition to a number of other qualifying conditions for Jobseeker's Benefit, a person must be available for, capable of and genuinely seeking full-time employment to be eligible for this scheme. It would appear that as the person concerned is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the following table. Total number of carer's allowance and carer's benefit claims registered, awarded, rejected, withdrawn, cleared and pending together with the average time to award claims in weeks at the end of October 2019. Registered Awarded Rejected Withdrawn Cleared ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Interdepartmental Committees Reports (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: In early 2019, the Government agreed to establish an Interdepartmental Group (IDG) to explore how social inclusion schemes might be organised going forward. A series of meetings of the IDG have taken place and a number of bilateral meetings were also undertaken with the relevant Departments. In addition to this, written submissions were received from key stakeholders and community...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: CE Supervisors are not employed by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. CE Supervisors have always been employees of Community Employment Sponsoring Bodies which operate in the community and voluntary sector. However, earlier this year, I undertook to engage with unions representing CE supervisors to address issues of concern to their members and this process is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Community Employment Scheme (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. The programme is delivered through independent Community Employment Sponsoring Bodies. The contract agreement between the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: Social welfare legislation provides that, for social assistance schemes such as one-parent family payment, all income and capital belonging to the claimant are assessable for means-testing purposes. Accordingly, where an individual is renting part of their family home, the cash value of the rental income is assessed. However, such rental income is reduced by a range of deductions. These...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (3 Dec 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 a disability such that they require that level of care. It is a condition for receipt of a CA that the person being cared for must have such a disability that as a result they require full-time care and attention. This is defined as requiring...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme Appeals (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 7 November 2019. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. These papers were...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Nursing Home Subventions (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Deputy is referring, in part, to the Nursing Home Support Scheme administered by the Department of Health. Queries in that regard should be directed to the Department of Health. My Department is currently finalising the state pension (non-contributory) claim of the deceased. Social welfare legislation provides that the personal representative of a deceased person, who at any...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Eligibility (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €630 each year) from October to April, to over 368,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €240 million in 2019. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: Applications for Personal Public Service Numbers (PPS Numbers) are processed in a network of offices of my Department across the State. Customers can make appointments through an online appointments system through the mywelfare.ie facility and many offices also offer a walk-in service. Demand varies across various geographical locations for reasons such as population, demographics and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: The interim Total Contributions Approach (known as the Aggregated Contributions Method) for calculating State Pension (contributory) that I introduced in early 2018 makes it easier for many post-2012 pensioners affected by the 2012 rate band changes and assessed under the yearly average model, to qualify for a higher rate of the State pension (contributory). This model requires 40 years...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Measures (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: My Department has responsibility for the legislation underpinning the social welfare code, occupational and private pensions, civil registration and gender recognition, redundancy and employer’s insolvency, employment rights and the Citizens Information Board. Fourteen Acts relating to these matters have been enacted since November 2013, as set out in the following table ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned applied for State pension (contributory) on 30 October 2019. According to the records of my Department, they have a total of 2,079 full-rate paid and credited contributions for the period from 1974 to 2019. This equates to a yearly average of 46 contributions which is sufficient to qualify for 98% of the maximum rate of State pension (contributory), awarded from the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: JobPath 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 with the exception of the initial registration fee; payments are made only when a client has achieved sustained employment. Total fees payable per client comprise of an initial Registration fee payable on completion of a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Labour Activation Programmes (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 602 and 603 together. When a customer completes and signs a Personal Progression Plan (PPP), it is countersigned by their Employment Adviser and an electronic copy issued to the customer. My Department has not had any notifications from customers who signed a PPP that it was not their signature on the PPP. On occasion a customer may decline to sign a PPP...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (3 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: I am not aware of any specific powers within the social welfare code under which my Department would require a person to surrender their passport. If the Deputy is aware of a particular case, perhaps he would let me have the details and I will arrange to have the matter investigated.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (4 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: To date, the Data Protection Commission, DPC, has not issued an enforcement notice, although I understand that one is being prepared. On receipt of the notice, the Department will consider its scope and terms and will respond appropriately at that time. I am advised that the findings in the Data Protection Commission's report do not have the force of law until such time as they are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Public Services Card (4 Dec 2019)

Regina Doherty: I cannot say that I am or I am not. What I will say for the record is that I, as Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, am not responsible for the roll-out or usage of the PSC in any other Department or offices or agencies under their auspices. It is up to each individual line Minister to engage with Government e-services and decide how they want to employ them.