Results 15,881-15,900 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Regional Development (17 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this matter. The programme for Government places a strong emphasis on balanced regional development through a range of measures. My Department supports this commitment through targeted investment that supports rural regeneration, facilitates new working opportunities, and fosters regional enterprise growth. In the 2022 Revised Estimates, my Department was...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Regional Development (17 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. He is correct. Sometimes there are many different funding streams and organisations are not sure which one to apply for. I will engage with local authorities and various other groups to give them briefings on the different funding streams and what they are targeted towards. The first port of call for any community group applying for funding through my Department is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Regional Development (17 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Any community group looking for funding from my Department needs to go to the local authority. Local authorities engage with communities. They send applications to my Department and put proposals together. In terms of LEADER funding, organisations go to a local LEADER company which funds different initiatives, such as enterprises or community halls. There are a number of different funding...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (17 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for the question. The LEADER programme is one of the key intervention of our rural future, the Government's policy for rural development launched last year. An indicative budget of €180 million is allocated for the LEADER programme for the period 2023-2027, with €70 million already provided for 2021 and 2022 under the transitional LEADER programme. A total...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (17 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. In fairness, she probably knows this process much better than I do when it comes to Europe. The funding allocation for 2021-2027 has been maintained at the current level. It is important to me that LEADER continues to support rural communities as it moves into the new programming period. That is why it was vital for Ireland to submit its CAP strategic plan to the EU on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (17 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: It was the same story in 2016. The programme did not run out of money then. We have always supported it. I am conscious of the work that it does. I do not want to second guess the negotiations in the EU. We hope that it will move on quickly. The transition programme was brought in and the funding was provided so that it could continue its good work.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Chairman and members of the committee for their invitation to attend here today to discuss the 2022 Revised Estimates for the Department of Social Protection. As we face into 2022, we must be conscious of how far we have travelled in overcoming the challenges that Covid-19 presented both for society and the economy, as well as for our people. We have experienced and dealt with...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has been doing a blend of remote working and in-presence work during Covid. About 50% of the staff were working from home and the other 50% were in the offices because, obviously, the nature of the service we provide meant people had to come in. The HR department continues to engage with staff because there is a policy and we want to find the solution that works both for the...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: We have been engaging with all of the PUP recipients, particularly those who went onto PUP prior to it being reopened in December of last year. We have contacted every single one of them and offered them our services. Some of them at the time were waiting for their sectors to reopen and some were waiting because their jobs had not come back. We have engaged with them and we continue to do...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I have some figures on the basic supplementary allowance. My apologies; the first question was on the PUP so I will begin with that. The amount paid in PUP this week was €15.2 million. I can provide the committee with a full sheet giving a detailed breakdown of who is on the payment from the different sectors. The main sector is accommodation and food services, in which the number...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The supplementary welfare allowance is the fund or the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. It is a demand-led scheme so there is no limit on it. People get it as they need it. It provides once-off and regular support to those on low...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: We have started a campaign on social media to say that this is available, that if people need help, we are here to help them, and that the first place to go is the community welfare officer and they can go to the local Intreo offices as well. We do not want to take anybody out of the community. It is a case of people using services in a different way now, so we have to try to respond to the...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I will refer to the issue of the post office. What we are doing is returning to the system that was in place prior to Covid-19. It has always been the case that jobseekers, prior to Covid-19, collected their payments in the post office. This is about supporting the post office network, which is an integral part of the community throughout the country. It is not just post offices in rural...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: No, we do not have any numbers on rejections. As I said, a person can appeal to another department if he or she is not happy with the outcome. Rather than going back to the same person, he or she can appeal to another higher grade officer who deals with that. I will go back to the issue of the post offices. Just to be very clear here, we have a control system within the Department of...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. The issue of the incentive to work in relation to tax and the social welfare system is something the Deputy has great knowledge of and keen interest in. I have met him concerning a number of suggestions he has put forward. My officials are working on those, particularly in relation to the means test. I was delighted to be able to make some changes to the means test,...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. I will look at the deserted wife's benefit that she has raised. On the fuel allowance, two pensioners over age 66 can receive up to €600 per week and qualify for that allowance; a couple under 66 can receive an income of €542 per week and qualify for it. I take the Deputy's point on deserted wife's benefit. The scheme has been closed and it is a smaller...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Can I be very clear here? All community welfare officers have been notified that more people may not be able to meet their costs and that decisions need to take all circumstances into account. This has been relayed. As the Chairman well knows, my job as Minister involves setting policy. It is the job of the Executive and staff to implement that policy. I have been very clear today that...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The committee is aware that there is a live procurement process for the new local area employment service. I am, therefore, unable to answer specific questions about any matters pertaining to the procurement process. The deadline for tenders is 21 March. My Department has amended phase 2 to take into account many of the issues raised following phase 1. Changes have been made to the...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I was pleased to announce a few weeks ago that jobseeker's payments will return to the post offices in line with the easing of the Covid-19 restrictions. The changes will apply initially to all new jobseeker applications before being extended to other jobseekers over the coming months. When the public health restrictions were introduced in 2020 people in receipt of social welfare were given...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I will ask the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to deal with the CES, Tús and RSS. As to JobPath, some 324,000 customers have engaged with the service. The average cost per participant is €873, excluding VAT. A total of 69,000 people found full-time employment. The fees are paid when an individual gains and sustains employment. The local employment service request for tender...