Results 17,041-17,060 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Live Register (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Prior to the onset of Covid-19 in March 2020, the labour market was performing strongly and the live register, which measures people claiming standard jobseeker's payments, stood at just over 183,000. By May 2020, this number had increased to just under 226,000. At its peak, the combined total of people in receipt of jobseeker's payments or...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Live Register (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: It is very clear the intervention we took during Covid worked. The economy was able to bounce back and businesses got back again. The EWSS was particularly successful in keeping employees linked to their employers so when the Covid restrictions lifted they were ready to go. The PUP was absolutely essential. It is encouraging to see many, if not all, the people on the PUP are back at work....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Live Register (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: We have increased resources in the area of PPS numbers. There is huge demand at present, which the Deputy will appreciate, since we have just issued almost 32,000 PPS numbers to Ukrainians who are coming to this country. We have increased the resources in that area. Deputy O'Dowd talked about skills shortages. I was at the Vintners' Federation of Ireland, VFI, conference last week. We...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cost of Living Issues (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: On an ongoing basis, and as part of the normal budgetary cycle, my Department actively monitors key economic indicators and also takes account of research data, including data on the minimum essential standard of living from the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. The social impact of budget measures is also assessed using the SWITCH model developed by the ESRI. It is through this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cost of Living Issues (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Data from SILC in 2021 are the official poverty data for Ireland. The survey was undertaken in 2021 and refers to 2020 income. I will give the Deputy a few figures from it. The rate of consistent poverty reduced from 4.7% in 2020 to 4% in 2021. The number of people at-risk of poverty reduced from 13.2% to 11.6%. The deprivation rate reduced from 14.3% to 13.8% in 2021. Social transfers...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cost of Living Issues (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Government has taken significant action which I have already listed. It includes a lump sum of €125 and a further lump sum payment of €100 this week; a €200 energy credit; excise reductions on fuel; public transport fare reductions of 20%; and the retention of lower VAT levels in the hospitality sector. On top of that, we introduced the largest social welfare...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has been designing a new model of externally provided public employment services since 2019. This is required to comply with the legal obligation to ensure such services are procured through a competitive process. For almost three and half years, extensive consultation with existing providers and representative bodies, including the Irish Local Development Network and trade...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I do not have the figures for the four areas in phase 1 to hand but there had been engagement and in some of the instances the staff involved took up employment with the new contract providers. We are in phase 2 and the procurement phase is ongoing, as the Deputy knows. I am not the employer, nor is my Department. I cannot come in and promise enhanced redundancy terms for anybody because...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: We cannot jump the gun because there are no redundancies yet. We need to await the outcome of the procurement process. Some have said that the community and voluntary sector will be wiped out due to the procurement process but we should wait and see who wins it and, as I said, it is ongoing. All contracts are extended until the end of August, unless the companies have decided not to extend...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: We will take Deputy Gannon's question in the meantime.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: In line with the programme for Government commitment, the Government established a child maintenance review group to examine certain issues in relation to child maintenance in Ireland. The group's terms of reference were to consider and make recommendations on the following: the current treatment of child maintenance payments in my Department; the current provisions regarding liable...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As I said, the report runs to a few hundred pages and the chairperson of the group was Judge Catherine Murphy. A huge amount of work was put in, they asked for extra time so that it could be given the attention it deserved and I want to thank the group for the work they put in. There are a lot of issues here; it is not just social protection but there are other issues as well that cross...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Reports (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As I said in reply to Deputy Kerrane earlier, I will not leave this sitting on a shelf. This report will be acted on. I will bring a memorandum to Government with the full report and our proposed response. I want to move it along. I would like to get it to Cabinet before the summer recess. We will publish the report and the Government's response at that stage. We want to provide ample...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make a single exceptional needs payment to help meet essential, once-off expenditure that a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of his or her weekly income. The scheme is demand-led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The exceptional needs payment and the urgent needs payment are available. They are their demand-led schemes, and if people run into difficulties, they are encouraged to apply for that payment. I have been trying to highlight it. We have introduced a number of measures to help alleviate some of the rising costs, as the Deputy has acknowledged. Nobody is excluded from applying for this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: We paid out €13.5 million in supplementary welfare payments between 1 January and the end of April this year. If the Deputies are aware of a case where somebody did not get support, I ask them to bring the details to me and I will raise the matter with my officials. I have raised this matter on a number of occasions and have been reassured that a community welfare officer is only one...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Parental Leave (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Government has committed to the continued support of working parents to achieve a better work-life balance. Parent’s leave and benefit falls into this category and encourages the sharing of parental responsibilities equally between couples. The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced two weeks of paid parent’s...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Parental Leave (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As I said, we are going to increase parent's leave and benefit to seven weeks this year. I think parent's benefit, to which the question related, is very important. It is important for parents to be with their children in their most formative years. They need that quality time. It is not easy when parents are out working and both parents have to work these days. It is good that this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Parental Leave (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: From July 2022, parent's leave and benefit will increase from five weeks to seven weeks. I and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, who has responsibility for policy in this area, will undertake to do a communications campaign at that time to make sure people are aware of it. This is an important support for parents and it is something we want people to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Schemes (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 and 85 together. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Farm assist is a statutory income support specifically for farmers on low incomes. There are approximately 4,800 claims in payment at present. The Government has provided €53.9 million for the scheme for 2022. The means assessment under farm assist is generous when compared with the means...