Results 13,141-13,160 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Schemes (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As she will be aware, most of the contracts for local employment services have been in place since the 1990s and have simply been rolled over on an annual basis. Good governance and public procurement rules require that my Department does not continue the existing process of simply rolling over contracts for employment services. As a first step in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Schemes (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I assure the Deputy that there is no privatisation happening and it is wrong to say there is. The vast majority of marks in the request for tender, that is, more than 75% of them, are based on the quality of the service and the experience and track record of the tenderers in providing supports to those furthest from the labour market. I have spoken to several local providers that have seen...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Schemes (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: There has been extensive consultation with every provider across the country. We are now expanding this service. This is the first phase of that. We went through it with the providers before the request for tender went out. There has been a lot of explanation and I do not understand why the providers will have to employ a person to put in the requests for tender because they should have a...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Schemes (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. Up to now, all contracts for local employment services were issued for a single 12-month period and rolled over on an annual basis. Many of these contracts have been in place with very little change since the early 1990s. Good governance and national and EU procurement rules require that my Department does not continue this practice of simply rolling over contracts for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Schemes (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I want to allay those concerns. The focus here is on the client, the unemployed person. That is the number one priority. When a person is referred to the local employment service, it is done through the Intreo services. They will decide the best pathway. It is all about client-focused services and delivering the best outcome for the client. Under this contract, the local employment...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Schemes (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The first request for tender is a means of expanding the services. We are not reducing any services. However, there will be learnings from the first request for tender process. If tweaks or changes are needed for the second request for tender, I will be happy to make those. I am also happy to engage with the Deputies on the matter. At the end of the day, I want to ensure we provide...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The programme for Government includes a commitment to using the research into the cost of disability to individuals and families to properly inform the direction of future policy. My Department commissioned Indecon International Economic Consultants to carry out research into the cost of disability in Ireland. The report has now been received...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. As he said, this is a major piece of work. Indecon believes it is the largest survey of people living with disabilities ever undertaken in Ireland. I will be engaging with the disability representative groups as part of my Department's pre-budget forum on 14 July. As I outlined in my initial reply, we took several positive steps in last year's budget. Of course we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy knows, when it comes to the budget there are many competing priorities. It is a bit early to have a discussion on it. We want to do more this year but we will consider everything. We have the benefit of the report. We will be talking to the other Departments and bring the report to the Government. I will be consulting on 14 July. I am holding a pre-budget forum and I will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Approximately 227,980 people received a pandemic unemployment payment this week, representing a drop of 254,000, or almost 53%, since February when approximately 482,000 people were in receipt of the payment. We expect many more people to close their PUP over the coming period. The Government has throughout the pandemic done its best to support...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: It is important to say that we keep everything under review. Throughout the pandemic we have had to adapt our approach in line with the public health advice. We have kept the PUP open for applications for an extra week until 8 July. That means that any staff who may have gone back to work in the expectation of indoor hospitality reopening next week will have the opportunity to reapply for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I agree with the Deputy. There have been many anecdotal reports in the media about people staying on PUP and not returning to work, which we have all heard. The fact is that the numbers on the PUP fell by a quarter of a million since February. This clearly tells me that people want to get back to work as their sectors reopen and do not want to be sitting at home. I am strongly of this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The pandemic unemployment payment or PUP was an emergency measure introduced in the exceptional circumstances of Covid-19 to help cushion the financial impact on people temporarily laid-off work as a direct result of public health measures mandated by the Government. It has been an important support for hundreds of thousands of workers and their families through Covid-19. To date, over...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I wish to make it clear in the House again, because sometimes there is misinformation relating to artists and musicians, that I do not expect artists or musicians to retrain or to reskill. I wish to make that clear because I have been misquoted here before, not by the Deputy but by others. All my Department is doing is making people on the PUP aware of the various supports available to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: We also have to be fair about these schemes and look at all the people who have been on the standard jobseeker's payment since before the pandemic. As I said, I cannot have sector-specific social welfare payments. That has always been the case. To be fair, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, has worked very closely with this sector and a good deal of supports have been made available...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Partial capacity benefit is a scheme which allows a person with a reduced capacity to work to return to employment or self-employment and continue to receive a social welfare payment from my Department for a period of up to three years.  It is intended to act as a stepping stone payment to help a person with restricted capacity re-enter the labour market and establish...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The 13-week period was an administrative practice that resulted in the overpayment and this practice has now discontinued. However, the Department now contacts customers 13 weeks in advance of the end date of the payment duration period and the correspondence issued outlines the options for the customer to consider prior to the payment ceasing. Where a person completes the allowed period on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: A wide range of supports are available to help people with disabilities to get back to work. We have the EmployAbility Service and the ability programmes. I was delighted that we were able to provide funding so that the ability programme, which was co-funded by the EU and was due to finish in June this year, could continue. I worked very closely with the group and with the Minister of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (1 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is very much aware that many people from the music or arts sectors are not yet in a position to return to employment. For these people, many of whom are self-employed, the PUP continues to be an important income support. Rather than seeking to move people off this payment, I was pleased to work with the sector and to make changes to the scheme so that self-employed artists and...