Results 14,041-14,060 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I am getting a briefing on this matter this afternoon. I will bring forward plans on the recreation scheme in due course.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Housing Schemes (23 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 295 and 296 together. The requirements to provide birth certificates to access housing supports is a matter for each local authority. Arrangements are already in place between Local Authorities and the Department of Social Protection to enable information, including birth information, to be made available to enable applications to be processed. I understand...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Jobseekers Benefit is a social insurance based statutory income support provided by the Department for people who are covered by PRSI paid contributions and satisfy the other qualifying conditions of the scheme. The Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Act 2020 provides for the attribution of social insurance contributions to insured persons who were beneficiaries of the pandemic...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (23 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is currently at an advanced stage of the first phase of procuring new employment services. This phase involves the procurement of employment services for seven counties in the Midlands and North-West across four lots. These counties do not have an existing local employment service and represent the first phase of an expansion of employment services. The funding approach for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (23 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned attended an in person medical assessment on the 25th August 2021 to have her continued entitlement to claim Illness Benefit reviewed. It was the Medical Assessor's opinion that she was capable of work. A letter issued to her on the 8th September 2021, affording her the opportunity to provide any further medical evidence she believed was relevant to her case before a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (23 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The over 80 allowance is an increase of €10 per week on the basic pension rate, which is automatically awarded to qualified pensioners on attaining 80 years of age. Only one such allowance is payable in respect of each pension. An Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) is paid, generally, where a pensioner has an adult dependent (e.g., a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant who is...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Recreation Policy (23 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Walks Scheme, which is funded by my Department, contracts landholders to undertake maintenance work on National Waymarked Ways and other priority trails that traverse their lands. The landholders receive modest payments for maintenance work undertaken in line with agreed work plans. My Department commissioned an external review of the Walks Scheme to examine the delivery and...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We have received the advice of the Attorney General and having considered that advice the Department of Justice has invited the Nugent family to a meeting to explain the next steps regarding Judge Clyne's final report. This meeting is due to take place in person next week. I appreciate that Mr. Nugent's family are most anxious to receive the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will get him an update on it and will have it sent to him. I do not have it off the top of my head, but I will provide it to him.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: €10.6 billion was received in respect of social insurance contributions in 2020. Social insurance contribution receipts for any given year can include receipts in respect of earlier contribution years as well as the current year. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. 

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: In April 2012, the number of paid contributions required to qualify for a State Pension (Contributory) increased from 260 to 520. While this change only took effect in 2012, it had been signalled well in advance. In 1993, "Developing the National Pension System - Final Report of the National Pensions Board” was published, which recommended that the number of paid contributions...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The purpose of the voluntary contribution scheme is to provide persons who were but are no longer compulsorily insured under the social insurance system with the opportunity to pay contributions directly to my Department. Voluntary contributions ensure continuity of social insurance for pension purposes during periods where former contributors are no longer insured as employed or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 494 and 495 together. My Department is now at an advanced stage in its first phase of procuring new employment services. This phase involves the procurement of regional employment services for seven counties in the Midlands and North-West across four lots. These counties do not have an existing local employment service and represent the first phase of an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The State Pension (Contributory) is paid to people from the age of 66 (State Pension Age) who have enough Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) Contributions. It is not means tested. One of the basic principles underpinning the Irish social insurance system is the contributory principle. Under this principle there is a direct link between the PRSI contributions that a person has paid...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned, a State pension (contributory) recipient, applied for an Increase for qualified adult (IQA) in respect of his spouse, who is currently in receipt of the maximum rate of State pension (non-contributory) in her own right. While State pension (contributory) is an insurance-based scheme, the IQA is a means-tested payment, payable to State pension (contributory) claimants...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: In October 2020, I announced an extension of referrals for a further twelve months to the end of 2021 for all contracted service partners including JobPath, the Local Employment Services, Job Clubs and EmployAbility. These measures were taken in order to ensure the Public Employment Service had sufficient capacity to support those impacted by the pandemic with access to employment services...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Social Protection is committed to the development of all its staff in order to deliver the best possible service delivery to our customers. Staff from my Department attended a number of Common Purpose Ireland programmes between 2015 and 2018, as part of my Department's focus on leadership development. As there were a number of different programmes attended by various...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned made an online application for Enhanced Illness Benefit on the 13th September 2021. In order to support her application for Enhanced Illness Benefit, medical evidence for Covid-19 was needed to support her claim. The person concerned emailed a copy of her HSE texts stating her positive diagnosis of Covid-19 to the Department on the 16th September 2021. Subsequently,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Any increase in the entry threshold for persons to access social insurance coverage from the current employee earnings level of €38 per week would lead to a reduction in the social insurance contribution yield. It is estimated that there would be a loss of approximately €7 million to the Social Insurance Fund if the entry threshold for persons to access social insurance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (28 Sep 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €28.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €784 each year) from October to April, to over 370,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €300 million in 2021. 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...