Results 181-200 of 5,521 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. He probably knows the social welfare system more than many of us in this House. He certainly has a great understanding of it and a great appreciation of the many, varied and difficult circumstances in which people find themselves. He regularly discusses this with me. I would be happy to examine the specific case. If somebody says one cannot have such a payment...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Meals Programme (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58, 63, 65, 75, 76 and 80 together. The objective of the school meals programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and additional educational achievement. It is my overriding...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Yes.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. I have increased the threshold for the means test capital allowance for carers. I have also increased the income thresholds so that from June, a couple will be able to earn up to €900 per week and have €50,000 in savings and will still qualify for the full carer's allowance payment. The reality is that no matter where I draw the line, some people will fall...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputies. As I said, the interdepartmental group has been set up. It is not a new idea that people should work together. They should work together but sometimes we get into Departments and look after what is specific to our areas when in actual fact, we need to take a much broader cross-government approach. I have worked hard with the carer's association, which has been...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I reassure Deputies that there is no tendency to refuse applications for carer's allowance or disability allowance in my Department. In fact, the majority of claims are granted at first decision. Approximately 10% of all claim decisions are appealed. Deciding officers are required under legislation to act independently and to make decisions in a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Services Card (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Once the application process is completed, the card will be posted within seven to ten working days. If a person is getting the appointment well in advance of the card's expiry they should be okay. I will have to take up the issue around the photograph with my officials. We want to streamline this process to allow people to go online and upload the photograph. People want to know that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Services Card (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I take the Deputy's point. They get the notice three months in advance, which is good. At least they are getting the notification that their card is due to expire. The card was introduced in 2011 and there were a lot of first-time applications in 2012, 2013 and 2014 when many people started to use the public service card, so there are a good few extra for renewal at this point. Since the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The main income supports to carers provided by my Department are the carer’s allowance, the carer’s benefit, the domiciliary care allowance and the carer’s support grant. Spending on these payments is expected to amount to more than €1.7 billion this year. Since my appointment as Minister, I have made a number of improvements in the social welfare system to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. One of the key pension reform measures I introduced from January this year is to enhance State pension provision for people who have been caring for incapacitated dependants for 20 years or more. To date, 2,746 applications have been received from people requesting that a caring period be included on their social insurance contribution record....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: We have the applications that are in now. We opened the scheme up for applications some time ago to give people a chance. I cannot say exactly how many will apply but the good news is, as the Deputy said, that none have been disallowed to date. I do not have the specific details of the different carers who have made applications but I can ask the officials if they can give me a further...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I just wanted to share that information with the Deputy. My apologies.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: This scheme is for over 20 years. The home caring payment or credits are in place for periods of up to 20 years. We wanted to expand that and we came up with the scheme for longer term carers. As with all schemes in my Department, there is always an appeals mechanism. The family carers register has been set up and we have worked very closely with Family Carers Ireland. In fairness to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Public Services Card (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy Moynihan. Intreo centres manage the front-line delivery of the standard authentication framework environment - the long version of SAFE - registration. This includes registration for public service card issuing and renewal and the processing of applications for personal public service numbers. Demand for these services remains high. The public service card is a physical...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: EU Directives (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: To say to the Deputy again, the discussions at EU level have a way to go. As for my Department, whether during the pandemic, the response to the war in Ukraine or the various cost-of-living payments we have made, the Department of Social Protection can react and respond quickly and that is what it will do. We cannot predict the future here. We have to see how the discussions play out at EU...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children in Care (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The guardian’s payment, contributory, and guardian’s payment, non-contributory, are, respectively, social insurance and social assistance payments made to a person caring for a child where that child is defined as an orphan under the social welfare legislation. A child is considered an orphan if they are under 18, or 22 if in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children in Care (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Yes. The means of the guardian, including any maintenance payments paid to him or her in respect of the child, are not assessed when establishing entitlement to the payment. It is a means-tested payment that is based on the means of the child. The Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023 is currently before the Oireachtas and is expected to be enacted in the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children in Care (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The only means we take account of under the guardian payment is that of the children themselves. In most cases the child has no means at all. We do not take account of the means or the income of the guardian. That does not come into play. The only case where this should arise is in respect of maintenance payments that are paid directly to the child. When the child maintenance...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children in Care (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy is saying that by virtue of the fact a child got anything it disqualifies him or her because it is not then deemed as parental abandonment.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children in Care (20 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I will speak to my officials about that. I am happy to engage with the Deputy because that is not the purpose here. We want to try to help people, especially if they have a guardian and especially now that I am removing the maintenance payment that a child may have got. That will not be taken into consideration. It is not about putting obstacles in anybody's way here. Taking on a child...