Results 14,941-14,960 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Insurance (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The issues the Deputy mentioned are among those the Commission on Pensions considered. It has set out comprehensive and far-reaching recommendations. All the recommendations were unanimously agreed by the commission, with the exception of the increase in the State pension age. The member nominated by ICTU disagreed with this. The recommendations can be broken into three broad interrelated...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Insurance (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Government is committed to bringing the recommendations in the report of the Commission on Pensions to the Government. I will bring a response and recommended implementation plan to government by the end of March 2022. I am also progressing the issue of auto-enrolment, another aspect we have committed to introducing during the term of this Government. Much work can be done to improve...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Staff (24 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Since the establishment of my Department in July 2017, I can confirm that there have been no staff removed from their positions, transferred to another role or had their employment terminated due to breaches of Departmental standards or professional misconduct or incompetence. Throughout the year all staff performance and behaviour is managed through the Performance Management and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a range of supports to carers including Carer's Allowance and Carer's Benefit. These payments support individuals who provide care to people in need of full-time care and attention. Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means tested payment and Carer's Benefit (CARB) is a payment to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours. Historic information on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Fuel Allowance criteria are designed in a way that directs the resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. This ensures that the fuel allowance payment goes to those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and those who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own. We made a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds is a recently introduced scheme to provide an income support to people who are 65, who were in employment and who are required to, or who choose to, retire at age 65, but who do not qualify for the State Pension until they reach age 66. This scheme has been introduced as a new measure to address a specific concern raised on behalf of people in this very...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment, or PUP as it is referred to, was introduced as an emergency response to an almost complete economic shutdown. The Government mandated public health restrictions meant that most sectors throughout the economy were closed with the hundreds of thousands of employees and self-employed did not have alternative employment options. In those circumstances the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. When an appeal is assigned to an Appeals Officer for consideration the Appeals Officer makes a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I was pleased to announce on Budget Day that a 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid in early December this year benefitting over 1.4 million people in recipient of long-term social welfare payments. The payment of the Bonus this year will cost €313 million. As we know, this payment is an additional help to people as we enter the Christmas period and much of this is spent locally,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from October to April, to 369,000 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 not...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I understand that the issue raised refers to the fact that applicants approved for the Back to Education Allowance, including those transferring from the Jobseeker's Transition scheme, are not eligible for a maintenance grant from SUSI. Whereas the Jobseeker's Allowance Transition payment is an eligible payment for the special rate of maintenance grant. The rules around the eligibility for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department can make a single Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. An urgent needs payment (UNP) may be made to persons who may not normally qualify for supplementary welfare allowance but who have an urgent need...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22, 60, 79 and 84 together. Parent's Leave and Benefit are currently available to all eligible parents of children born or adopted from 1 November 2019 for five weeks and must be used within the first two years of the child’s life or adoption. The Parent’s Benefit scheme is family-friendly and flexible, allowing parents to take one week of leave...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: 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, which aims to be operational from January 2022. Procurement for the second phase, which will roll out services across the State, will commence shortly....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizens Information Services (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is a statutory body under the aegis of my Department, which funds and supports the South Leinster Citizens Information Service company which in turn has responsibility for the provision of information, advice and advocacy services in its geographic area, which encompasses Co. Wicklow. I have been informed by CIB that the Citizens Information Centres in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As Minister for Social Protection, I am required to have an actuarial review of the social insurance fund undertaken at five yearly intervals. The review takes account of the adequacy or otherwise of the contributions to the fund to support benefits and other payments as well as other matters relevant to the current and future financial condition of the fund. The most recent actuarial...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I was pleased to announce a number of changes to the means testing of social welfare schemes as part of Budget 2022. While some of these measures will be brought forward in the Social Welfare Bill, others will be implemented by way of statutory instrument and others relate to non-statutory schemes. These measures include: - In recognition of the vital role carers play in society, I am...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 28, 89 and 102 together. The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 29, 34, 37, 71, 77, 82, 86, 103, 106, 108 and 116 together. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was introduced as an emergency response to an almost complete economic shutdown. The Government mandated public health restrictions meant that the hundreds of thousands of employees and self-employed did not have alternative employment options. Since then...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Poverty Impact Assessment (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Poverty Impact Assessment on reduced rates of jobseeker allowance for young jobseekers aged 18-24 years was carried out further to the requirement as set out in Part 2 Section 7 of The Social Welfare (No 2) Act 2019 which requires that it shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection. A copy of the report was provided for the...