Results 181-200 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66 years. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and the habitual residency conditions. I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Civil Service (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I am satisfied that the Department implements the provisions of Circular 4/2013 by making an offer to any Civil Servant that requests to return from career break as soon as an appropriate vacancy becomes available and within 12 months of their return from Career Break. The Department's HR and local business areas endeavour to facilitate the return of an employee from career break as soon...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a suite of income supports for those who are unable to work due to an illness or disability. These include contributory payments based on PRSI contributions, such as Illness Benefit and Invalidity Pension, and non-contributory payments based on a means test, such as Disability Allowance and Blind Pension. Invalidity Pension is a social insurance scheme paid from...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 6 March...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Nov 2024)

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 can confirm that an application for CA was received from one of the persons concerned on 23 October 2024. It is a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable to a parent / guardian in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and where the level of the child's disability is such that the child is likely to require this...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The JobsPlus scheme is an incentive paid to employers who recruit long-term unemployed people for new positions in their workplace. Employers can avail of JobsPlus when filling new positions or positions that arise as a consequence of natural turnover and receive a subsidy of €7,500 or €10,000 per employee. The value of the grant is dependent on the age of the new employee and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 25...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 671 and 675 together. The Carer’s Support Grant is an annual payment made to carers who get Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance. It can also be paid to certain other carers providing full-time care, including those not in receipt of these payments. The number of recipients of Carer's Support Grant by county at the end...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: In assessing Budget options, the Government was mindful that the cost of living pressures are most acute over the winter period. For that reason, rather than taking a simplistic approach to applying an indexed rate of increase to weekly rates of payment, the Government decided to 'front-load' supports through the provision of once-off payments, including extra payments for pensioners...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion contains a commitment to develop a benchmarking approach for use in adjusting the value of State pension payments. The approach proposed by the Department, known as the smoothed earnings approach, was subsequently endorsed by the Pensions Commission. Government subsequently decided that the Department of Social Protection would, in submitting budget...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: In September 2022, in response to the report from the Commission on Pensions, I announced the largest ever series of reforms to the State Pension System. Since this announcement, the following reforms have been introduced: State Pension age is remaining at 66 years and is not increasing to 67 or 68 over time as recommended by the Commission. A person can now choose to defer drawing down...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers be sought from the scheme area of the Department....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 679 and 680 together. There were no staff coming to an end of career break in my Department in 2023 and 2024 who were not notified of an appropriate vacancy within 12 months of the end of career break. Given the small numbers involved it would not be appropriate to provide detailed breakdowns for individual staff members. In accordance with the relevant...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reviews (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: In general, public servants who joined prior to 6 April 1995 paid modified contributions which are not reckonable for the standard state pension (contributory). However, such employees generally have an occupational pension, the level of which is related to a number of factors, including years of service. To be eligible for the standard state pension (contributory) an individual must have...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: There are some 2,200 Primary Schools currently eligible for hot school meals for the 2024-2025 school year. As announced in Budget 2025, Hot School Meals will be extended to all remaining primary schools in 2025 meaning that there will be 3,200 eligible schools in respect of 550,000 children. All schools who wish to avail of funding are responsible for choosing their school meals supplier...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Money Advice and Budgeting Service (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As you will be aware, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) is funded by the Citizens Information Board (CIB), a statutory body under the aegis of my Department. MABS provides free advice and support to people on debt and money management issues. MABS also provides support to people in mortgage arrears and is the gateway to Abhaile - the National Mortgage Arrears Resolution...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My department has five contracts in place with Vodafone Ireland for the periods requested. These contracts are for a range of networking equipment for my departments networks and to provide support and maintenance for my department's contact centre. I have outlined the information requested in tabular form below. Year No. Contracts Nature of services provided ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Equipment (5 Nov 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My department has been actively reducing the number of mobile phones in used by staff. I have outlined the number of mobile phones issued, for the requested years, in tabular form below. This is a record of the number of phones in use as staff can have the same phone for many years. My department has a contract in place that ensures predictability of billing. For this reason, the costs...