Results 11,521-11,540 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (25 Feb 2021)

Heather Humphreys: During the pandemic, the Department has continued to avail of existing contracts where it was possible to do so. Due to the difficulties in securing goods, and the urgent requirement for some services, there were fourteen contracts to the value of approximately €1.3m awarded without a competitive process in 2020. No contracts for Covid-19 related goods and services have been awarded...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (25 Feb 2021)

Heather Humphreys: While the Department used existing contracts where possible, it was necessary due to the difficulties in securing goods, and the urgent requirement for some services, to award fourteen contracts for Covid-19 related goods and services without a competitive process in 2020. No such contracts have been awarded to date in 2021. Details of the breakdown of goods and services are set out in the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Procurement Contracts (25 Feb 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Circular 20/2019 on Promoting the use of Environmental and Social Considerations in Public Procurement provides for public bodies to deliver wider social aims through their procurement processes by the inclusion of social considerations, such as the promotion of social enterprises. The purpose of such a clause is to support the inclusion of social enterprises in public procurement given...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Consultation Process (25 Feb 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The issues raised in the approximately 1,000 submissions to the public consultation relating to the control of dogs in Ireland are wide ranging, complex and require analysis, further consultation with stakeholders and an exploration of approaches in other jurisdictions. This process is nearing completion and I expect the findings of this review to be submitted to me shortly. Some of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: European Council Meetings (25 Feb 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I do not currently attend any specific Council of the European Union fora, either formal or informal, in my role as Minister for Rural and Community Development.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Procurement Contracts (25 Feb 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 379 and 380 together. I can confirm that no contracts for Covid-19 related spending for my Department, in 2020 or to date in 2021, took place via negotiated procedure without prior publication.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 526, 527 and 529 together. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is a statutory scheme and requires that a person has lost their employment as a direct consequence of Covid-19 and has paid at least one contribution in the 4 weeks immediately before claiming the support. People who are currently receiving a Jobseeker’s Payment, including...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Invalidity Pension (3 Mar 2021)

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 person concerned on 21 February 2020. The claim was refused on the grounds that the medical conditions for the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned was in direct contact with my Department in relation to this matter and a response was issued to him in August 2020 addressing all the matters he raised. The Department has obligations to safeguard data and official information which are set out in a range of legislative and administrative provisions. These provisions include the Official Secrets Act 1963, the General...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make an exceptional needs payment to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The exceptional needs payment scheme is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Social welfare legislation provides that all income and capital belonging to an applicant (and his or her spouse/partner, where applicable) is assessable for means testing purposes for social assistance schemes, such as the State Pension Non-Contributory (SPNC). This includes property (other than the family home) or capital including sums which have been inherited. Under the means...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: To be eligible for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), a person must satisfy the qualifying conditions of the statutory scheme which, in the case of an employee, includes that they are not in engaged in insurable employment. Accordingly, an employee who remains in part-time insurable employment is not eligible for PUP. Where an employee is in part-time employment they may qualify...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The main income supports to carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending on the above payments to carers in 2021 is expected to exceed €1.4 billion. Notwithstanding the substantial extra financial demands due to the COVID-19 crisis, I announced that the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Wage Subsidy Scheme (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Wage Subsidy Scheme is an employment support to private sector employers, the objective of which is to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities and thereby increase the numbers of people with disabilities obtaining and sustaining employment in the open labour market. The scheme provides financial incentives to private sector employers to hire people with a disability for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The information sought by the Deputy is in the attached tabular statement. Please note that figures for February 2021 refer to recipients up to February 23rd 2021. €203 Recipients €250 Recipients €300 Recipients €350 Recipients Total Cost (€) Mar 2020 238,531 0 0 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Summary information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below, while the larger tables are provided in the attached document. The recipient and closure numbers set out here refer to the total number of individuals who were in receipt of a PUP or closed their PUP over the course of the calendar month. As such, the monthly totals here are greater than the individual weekly totals...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is a scheme that allows persons in receipt of certain social welfare payments the opportunity to pursue a course of study, while still maintaining their income support, subject to satisfying a number of conditions, one of which is the progression to a higher level of education than that already held by the applicant. The BTEA scheme is designed to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm for the Deputy that the technical issues encountered by the Illness Benefit scheme on transfer of the scheme to a new IT system in late 2018 have now been resolved. Processing overpayments have reduced significantly over the past two years as have the value of overpayments in this period. I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Invalidity Pension (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The qualifying medical criteria for Invalidity Pension (IP) and Disability Allowance (DA) differ. Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged over 16 and under 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. To...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance (3 Mar 2021)

Heather Humphreys: In order to be eligible for fuel allowance, a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, satisfy a household means test and live alone or only with certain other qualified people. Under the means test, an applicant and members of his/her household may have a combined assessable income of up to €100 a week above the appropriate rate of State Pension Contributory. It was...