Results 10,481-10,500 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Allowance (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Social welfare legislation provides that, for social assistance schemes such as Disability Allowance, all income and capital (such as savings, investments and property other than the family home) belonging to the claimant and his or her spouse/partner, where applicable, are assessable for means assessment purposes. If a claimant is married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting, the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Education Policy (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Social Protection operates the Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA), a monthly payment for a child, aged under 16 with a severe disability who requires ongoing (continual or continuous) care and attention, substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age. While the Department does not provide any specific supports to sup-groups of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The procurement of supplies and services is essential to support my Department and bodies under the aegis of my Department in providing high quality services to the public, in a cost effective and efficient manner. The tables below set out details of contracts over €25,000 for my Department and those bodies under the aegis of my Department that were found to be non-compliant with...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Council (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 539 and 552 together. I am pleased that the Government approved the establishment of the Commission on Pensions in fulfilment of the Programme for Government commitment. As the Deputies will be aware, I announced on Budget Day that the planned increase in the State pension age from January of next year will be deferred, in line with our Programme for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Benefit (24 Nov 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 a number of 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: Illness Benefit (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: In March of this year, under the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 (No. 1) and subsequent regulations, the Government, provided for entitlement to illness benefit for persons who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 or are a probable source of infection with Covid-19. The rate of payment of the enhanced Illness Benefit payment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Process (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Government approved an expansion and reinforcement of the arrangements for pre-legislative scrutiny in September 2013. A number of new Standing Orders were adopted by the Dáil on 17 October 2013 in order to underpin these new arrangements and these Standing Orders came into effect on 5 November 2013. In order to clarify the operation of these new Standing Orders, an Agreed...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Chief Data Protection Officer in my Department is employed at the Principal Officer grade.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Probate Applications (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: State Pension (non-contributory) (SPNC) 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. Recipients of SPNC are obliged to notify the Department of any changes in their circumstances that may affect...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 545, 547, 549 and 550 together. Internationally, and in Ireland, research consistently indicates that the provision of a personal advisory/case management service to unemployed jobseekers is an effective method of supporting jobseekers to secure and sustain employment. In Ireland, this personal advisor/case management service is provided directly by the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 546, 548 and 551 together. JobPath 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 determined by the number of people who participate in the programme and the number who get sustainable jobs. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: An Increase for qualified adult (IQA) is a means tested payment, payable to State pension (contributory) (and other contributory scheme) claimants whose spouse, civil partner or cohabitant is being wholly or mainly maintained by them, and where that qualified adult’s personal means from any source does not exceed a means test income limit. Currently there are 58,236 beneficiaries of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that my Department has allocated Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) to the individuals referred to by the Deputy. Letters issued on 17th and 23rd November 2020 with details of the PPSNs. The SAFE registration process, which involves the authentication of a person's identity in a face-to-face interview, is the normal method of processing an application for a Personal Public...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Tribunals of Inquiry (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: There is one statutory tribunal under the aegis of my Department. The Social Welfare Tribunal was set up in 1982 to deal with cases where entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance is refused due to an involvement in a trade dispute. The legislation governing the operation of the Social Welfare Tribunal is provided for in Sections 331 to 333 of the Social Welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 556, 580 and 592 together. Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approximately 815,000 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 or where their employer availed of the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. Consequently, there...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The priority for my Department up to now has been to ensure that payments are being made currently to workers of a company (details supplied). To date over 3,200 claims have been put into payment in respect of employees who have applied for a jobseeker's payment. This work is now complete and work commenced last week on applications in respect of the period pre-September when the Temporary...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payment (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: According to the records in my Department, the first person concerned is currently in receipt of an Illness Benefit payment of €409.70 per week which was awarded on 10/09/2020. There is no recent record of an application for an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) from the persons concerned in my Department. Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department can make a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Inspections (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: All Social Welfare Inspectors operate under a code of practice which sets out the manner in which they are required to deal with the public. The code of practice is published on www.gov.ie/en/publication/f75848-operational-guidelines-swi- code-of-practice-for-social-welfare-inspe/. It requires that Customers must at all times be treated equally, fairly, with respect and dignity, as outlined...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Invalidity Pension (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. The department received a claim for IP for the lady referred to on 08 October 2020. The claim was refused on the grounds that the medical conditions for the scheme were...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Where a person in receipt of disability allowance (DA) dies, the payment may continue for a period of six weeks after death in certain circumstances. In order to qualify for six weeks payment after death the spouse must reside at the same address, be an adult dependant on the claim or be in receipt of a social welfare payment in their own right at the same address. As the person in question...