Results 16,621-16,640 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (5 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I recently announced the Community Centres Investment Fund. This new capital fund, with a budget of €15m, will support community groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas, with the upgrade and refurbishment of existing Community Centres. This is an investment in both rural and urban communities across the country. The fund will assist with projects such as: - Energy retrofitting...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (5 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 979, 980, 982, 984 and 991 together. A vital part of my Department's mission is to support the creation of vibrant and sustainable communities across this country. The Department provides strategic interventions, funding programmes and supports which target and address issues of social and or economic deprivation in rural and urban communities throughout...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (5 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The LEADER programme is a key intervention implemented by my Department, which will help to underpin the Government's rural development goals as outlined in Our Rural Future. The LEADER programme is delivered through 29 Local Action Groups (LAGs) across rural Ireland. A feature of the LEADER programme is that it is based on a community-led, bottom-up approach to rural development. The...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Flexible Work Practices (5 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Our Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, recognises the potential of remote working hubs as key economic assets for our rural towns and villages. Notwithstanding the clear benefits to individuals and families in terms of quality of life indicators, remote working from hubs will also support local economies, reduce carbon emissions and may help to ameliorate the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (5 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I recently announced details of a new Community Centres Investment Fund. This capital fund, with a budget of €15m, is to support community groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas, with the upgrade and refurbishment of existing Community Centres. This is an investment in both rural and urban communities across the country. The fund will assist with projects such as: - Energy...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (5 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) is funded into the future. The LIS supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. The scheme makes an important contribution to connectivity in rural Ireland. The scheme was reintroduced in 2017 following a number of years...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Data (5 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) is funded into the future. The LIS supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. The scheme makes an important contribution to connectivity in rural Ireland. The scheme was reintroduced in 2017 following a number of years...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (5 Apr 2022)

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. Last September, I announced the 'approval in principle' of 31 new trails to join the Walks Scheme. This...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Flexible Work Practices (5 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Our Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, places a central importance on the objective of achieving balanced regional and rural development and maximising economic growth and development in all parts of the country. The Policy contains a wide range of actions across Government which will support this aim. I recently published the first Progress Report for Our...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Contracts (5 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy, on cost of consultants, is laid out in the tables below, by year. 2020 Cost Outline of role Review of the Community Services Programme - Indecon €37,473.99 (This final payment was paid on 27/01/2020, total cost of the Review was €112,422) Following transfer of responsibility...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (6 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Community Welfare Service of my Department delivers the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme which is the safety net within the overall social welfare system. This scheme provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. A Community Welfare Officer (CWO) is available to meet with customers at the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (6 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The European Union has put in place a Temporary Protection Directive to allow Ukrainian citizens and others fleeing Ukraine to move through the EU akin to EU citizens. This Department is providing support and services to assist people covered by this Directive who are fleeing Ukraine and who arrive in Ireland. As the situation is evolving, the Government will, of course, keep all aspects of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (6 Apr 2022)

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 Benefits (6 Apr 2022)

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, which is supporting up to an estimated 400,000 households in 2022, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The number of bereavement grant claims in 2013 was 23,716 at a cost of €20.29 Million. This represented an increase of approximately 4% on 2012. Based on a similar yearly increase each year since 2013, it is estimated that the number of bereavement grant claims that might arise in 2023, were the scheme to be reintroduced, would be in the region of 35,200, and the number would be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (6 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I confirm that an application from the person concerned for disability allowance (DA) was received by the Department on 1 February 2022. The processing time for individual DA claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim. On 9 February...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (6 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Under existing Family Law legislation, parents, certain categories of guardian or those acting in the place of parents, who may be liable under the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 are obliged to maintain their children. In cases where the family unit has broken down these obligations continue to apply. Child maintenance arrangements can be agreed directly between the parties...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (6 Apr 2022)

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, which is supporting up to an estimated 400,000 households in 2022, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (6 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 11 February 2012. They applied for State Pension contributory (SPC) on 13 September 2011. According to the records of my department, the person concerned has a total of 331 paid full-rate social insurance contributions. This gave them an entitlement to SPC with a yearly average of 18. They were notified in writing of this decision on 10 October...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (6 Apr 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Enhanced Illness Benefit (EIB) is a form of Illness Benefit that is payable to self-employed persons or an employee who is told to self-isolate or has been diagnosed with Covid-19. It is important to note that a person may have received Enhanced Illness Benefit on more than one occasion since the payment was introduced, and thus have more than one claim for Enhanced illness Benefit. The...