Results 17,561-17,580 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizens Information Services (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body with responsibility for the Citizens Information Service (CIS).  CIB provides funding to eight CIS companies that operate a national network of Citizens Information Centres.  Each CIS is a limited company overseen by a board of directors and makes decisions independently on the delivery of services in their regions. South...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizens Information Services (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is a statutory independent body as set out in the Comhairle Act 2010, which operates under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection. CIB provides funding to 22 companies in order to deliver services on its behalf. This includes eight CIS companies that operate a national network of Citizens Information Centres, including South Munster CIS, which...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Education Schemes (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) provides income support for jobseekers and others in receipt of certain social welfare payments who pursue courses of education at second or third level.  The provision for the scheme for 2022 is €105.4 million.  The Rent Supplement scheme provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Circulars (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I  can confirm that my Department and agencies/bodies under the aegis of my Department continue to have dedicated contacts in place for members of the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Deputy will be aware that my Department provides members of the Oireachtas with a list of dedicated e-mail addresses for the various scheme areas in order to facilitate a rapid response...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP) is an in-work payment which provides additional income support to employees on low earnings with children. In order to qualify for WFP, an applicant must have a qualified child and be engaged in full-time paid employment as an employee for not less than 38 hours per fortnight. A Working Family Payment application for the person concerned was received on 25...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a suite of income supports for those who are unable to work due to an illness or disability.  It is important to note that entitlement to these supports is generally not contingent on the nature of the illness or disability but on the extent to which a particular illness or disability impairs or restricts a person’s capacity to work.  As the Deputy is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Data Protection (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Turas Nua is one of two companies under the JobPath contracts to provide, as part of the State's Public Employment Service, employment assistance and advice to the long-term unemployed in order to assist them secure full-time paid employment. Externally contracted employment services have formed part of my Department's service provision since these services transferred from...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: All persons in receipt of a jobseeker payment must be available for and genuinely seek work, and must engage with the activation process. Labour Market activation policies are designed to give jobseekers a better chance of finding employment. Activation is the process of selection and referral of a person in receipt of a jobseeker payment to a compulsory engagement and case management...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I confirm that my Department received an application for disability allowance (DA) from the above named person on 27 September 2021.  She was awarded disability allowance with effect from 29 September 2021. The person concerned sent requests to the DA section in November 2021 for her claim to be backdated to 13 March 2020. The requests were considered by a deciding officer (DO). Having...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: In March 2020, following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, my Department closed its offices in accordance with the prevailing public health restrictions.  This meant in-person Public Services Card (PSC) appointments, including PSC renewal appointments, had to be deferred.  As a result, automatic invitations to those whose PSC was due to expire were suspended, to ensure customers...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. I confirm that an application for CA was received from the person concerned on 5 April 2022. The person concerned was...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: There are 329 Community Welfare Officers (CWO) in my Department. The number of CWOs by county is set out in table 1 below.  Details of the number of CWOs who retired in the past three years is not readily available.  The number of CWO retirements from January to June 2022 is included in table 2 below. Table 1:  Number of CWOs by county County No. of CWOs...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance  scheme, my Department can make additional needs payments to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income.  Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation, and all the relevant circumstances of the case in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly payment in respect of a child, aged under 16 with a severe disability who requires continual or continuous care and attention substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age. An application for DCA was received from the person concerned on 18 January 2022. Their application was disallowed...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Gender Balance (21 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department had the whole-time equivalent of 350 serving Social Welfare Inspectors working across several units at the end of May 2022.  The gender breakdown is 212 females and 147 males. In addition there are 14 Gardaí seconded to the Department’s Special Investigation Unit who are also appointed as Social Welfare Inspectors in line with the 2005 Social Welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The key role of the Department of Social Protection is to provide income support where an income need arises because of a particular contingency – be that illness, disability, caring or unemployment. The assisted living scheme is separate from these supports and does not fall under the remit of my Department. Disability Allowance is the Department’s main income support for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (22 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is working alongside other relevant departments in supporting access to the labour market and employment for those arriving from Ukraine, under the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive. Intreo employment services are assisting those arriving from Ukraine as they seek employment in Intreo Offices and through jobsireland.ie.  A dedicated section...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (22 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Illness Benefit scheme is designed to provide support to those who cannot attend work in the short term due to illness. To qualify for a payment under the terms of the Illness Benefit scheme a person must be under pensionable age, satisfy prescribed PRSI conditions and be certified by a doctor as being incapable of attending work due to illness. Details of the average processing...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (22 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As outlined in the previous reply, prepaid envelopes are provided for all our social welfare schemes, necessitating 119 Free post licenses.  In cases where a customer is requested by telephone to provide additional information a freepost envelope would not normally be issued, as this would lead to unnecessary delays.   A freepost envelope would of course be available on request.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Jun 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned applied for Jobseeker's Allowance on the 15th March 2022. The application was forwarded to a Social Welfare Inspector for full examination in relation to means from parental income. Upon receipt of the Social Welfare Inspectors Report a decision was made and the person concerned was awarded Jobseeker's Allowance at the rate of €90.70 per week. As the person...