Results 12,241-12,260 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The measures taken by this and previous Governments ensure that social welfare payment rates in Ireland are among the highest in Europe and considerably higher than in the UK. Social transfers contribute very significantly to reducing poverty rates in Ireland. According to the Central Statistics Office, in the absence of social transfers and pension income, the at-risk-of-poverty rate would...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: In last year's budget, my priority was to target resources at the most vulnerable, which was why we increased the qualified child payments, the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance as well as making changes to the one-parent family payment. I also extended the hot school meals programme to an additional 35,000 children with 189 new schools benefiting. This year's budget will be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I will certainly be making the case to my colleagues in government for increased expenditure on social protection so that we can build on the progress we made last year. We will face several competing demands, but I will certainly make the case. The Deputy will appreciate it is only May and I cannot give her commitments on what will be in the budget at this stage. However, the good work...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, was introduced on 13 March 2020 in response to the Covid-19 crisis. Since its introduction, in excess of 23 million payments have been made, with 14.7 million payments made in 2020 and 8.4 million payments in the first four months of 2021. Last week, my Department issued payments to more than 376,000 people...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Yes, a Cheann Comhairle, I definitely live in Monaghan but I know a fair bit of Cavan as well. I have many family members from County Cavan. As I believe the Deputy will accept, we have been able to support people with the PUP and the scale of support provided under this payment is unprecedented in the history of the State. I acknowledge the wonderful work of the staff of my Department....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue because it has been brought to my attention by his colleagues, the Ministers of State, Deputies English and Byrne. I have asked my officials to look at this case and they have been in direct contact with the school today. We are trying to find a solution. I understand the circumstances and we are looking at it.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 78, 79, 83, 86, 87, 102, 113, 116, 118, 127, 142, and 558 together. I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. As the Deputies are aware, the pandemic unemployment payment is an income support provided for employees and the self-employed who were in employment on or after 13 March 2020 and who lost employment as a direct consequence of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputies for raising these very important issues. The Government has not been found wanting in terms of supporting people during the pandemic. A sum of €7.6 billion has been spent on the PUP to date, with 23 million individual payments made and more than 850,000 people having received support. As regards the future of the PUP, I am working with my colleagues in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As I stated, the Government will not be found wanting. I thank the Deputies for their comments regarding the staff of the Department of Social Protection. I am very proud to head up and be Minister of that Department because what the staff have done has been amazing. It has been a monumental effort across the board by staff in every county. I offer my thanks to them because they are the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Pensions (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. I will pass on those thanks from the constituency of Dublin South-West. In 2019, my Department undertook a consultation process with a number of interested stakeholders to hear their views on possible approaches to indexation of pensions and social welfare rates more generally. This process included discussion with representatives of the community and voluntary...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Pensions (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: In the two most recent budgets, while the primary rate of State pension payment did not change, a number of targeted measures aimed at older people mostly at risk of poverty were introduced. These included a €10 increase in the living alone allowance and increases in the rate of fuel allowance. In addition, legislation was passed to ensure that the State pension age remained at 66...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Pensions (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As I have said, a possible approach to pensions indexation is under consideration. That uses what can be described as a smoothed earning system whereby the rate of pension would be linked, in the first instance, to a percentage of average earnings. In years when application of the benchmark rate is less than the rate of increases in prices, it would be linked to the rate of inflation. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I will answer the first question and then come back to the Deputy on the second. The Deputy has two questions. The first question is on the number of people who have indicated their intention to withdraw from Covid-19 support payments. The pandemic unemployment payment has proven to be a vital income support to workers, thousands of whom lost their jobs virtually overnight. Since its...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Sometimes there is an impression that people are not going back to work. As far as I am concerned, people want to go back to work. The quicker they can go back, the better. The sooner the restrictions are lifted, which is happening now, the better. There are many people who will only be too pleased to take up employment. The number of people in receipt of payments has come down. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I have heard that a number of people are having difficulty getting people back to work but I believe the majority want to go back to work. There is a support line for employers if they need assistance with difficulties they might face in getting staff. We want to help people retrain, reskill and find the jobs that are out there. Some will not go back to their old jobs so we want to help...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Retail opened yesterday, so I expect those numbers will reduce considerably over the coming weeks. One of the last sectors to open will be hospitality and accommodation so there will be a lead-in time for those numbers to come down. There are a number of sectors but we are happy to work with them all and we will do that across the board. Many young people have been impacted by Covid in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: There are a number of sectors which have been impacted more than others. The music sector, for example, has not had an opportunity since last March, which is over a year. It has been particularly impacted. We hope the accommodation services, hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation and all those facilities will come back but it is hard to say. I reassure the Deputy we will do everything to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I do not have those figures to hand. I will ask my officials. I do not know if they are available. There were a number of people in different sectors who closed their pandemic unemployment payment for the week of 11 May. We had the highest number of closures in the construction sector, with 3,107 that week. The previous week we had 3,729. There is a gradual reduction in that sector and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The fuel allowance is a payment of €28 per week for 28 weeks, a total of €784 each year, from October to April, incorporating the coldest periods of the year. It goes to over 370,000 low-income households at an estimated cost of €300 million in 2021. The purpose of the payment is to provide a contribution towards the energy costs of a household; it is not intended to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (18 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Deputy Kerrane will acknowledge the fuel allowance was increased on 1 January up to €28 per week. That was an important step and it would have helped in some way to assist people in meeting their fuel bills. The living alone allowance for older people was also increased. The Deputy is aware an exception was made last year for the fuel allowance, given that it is for a particular...