Results 2,441-2,460 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: EU Directives (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy said, that does not come under my remit. I will have to raise that issue with the relevant Minister and ask him or her to come back to the Deputy on it. I have to remind the Deputy that he and colleagues of his have said in the past that not only should Ukrainians get full social welfare payments but all refugees arriving in this country should get the same treatment. That...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: EU Directives (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I have also seen some of the Sinn Féin election leaflets referring to open borders. We are an island. The only open border we have is with Northern Ireland, and I do not think the Deputy would suggest we have a hard border with Northern Ireland because, in fairness, we put in a huge amount of work-----

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: EU Directives (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: -----and a huge effort during Brexit to make sure we would not have such a hard border.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: EU Directives (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: We know what we heard from Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson on Brexit, "It is time to take back our borders", and we know where that ended up, so we need to be very careful here.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Regarding the Department of enterprise, the Deputy is right that it has an important role in getting the message out to employers that all workplaces need to be assessable. That is why I will be shortly announcing a new and improved scheme to support employers in adapting their workplaces for disabled people. The Deputy mentioned transport. I am extending the free travel pass to anyone who...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Citizens Information Services (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I also value the important work carried out by employees of the citizens information service, or CIS. I acknowledge the role they play in providing people with free, quality and independent information, advice and advocacy services throughout the country. It is important to point out that employees of the CIS are not employees of my Department nor are they public servants. They are...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Citizens Information Services (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: To be clear, there is a process under way. It has been referred to the Labour Court and a date set for 14 June. We have to let that process run its course. When the Labour Court concludes its work, my Department will not be found wanting in responding. Shortly after I was appointed, we managed to sort out a long-running issue, and it was long running, for CE supervisors. We provided...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Meals Programme (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Not too many measures are universally popular but I think that everybody absolutely supports the hot school meals programme. I have always been a firm believer that it is not possible to beat a hot meal in the middle of the day. I visited St. Thomas's Junior National School in Lucan with the Taoiseach last week. We saw the children getting their hot meals. They were all sitting down...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Meals Programme (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I say to Deputy Murnane O'Connor that the hot school meals programme is running in 31 schools in Carlow, covering 5,639 children. In response to Deputy Wynne, Ennis Community School was brought to my attention. I was obviously very conscious the amalgamation, involving some DEIS and some non-DEIS schools - that was the secondary school. We were able to provide that support and solution...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Meals Programme (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Regarding dietary standards, healthy eating guidelines are set out for the suppliers. They must meet certain standards and I would expect them to do that. There are intermittent inspections by my Department in different schools. It is up to the to the principal and teachers to make sure the appropriate food is coming in because it is being paid for.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I will deal with Deputy Tully's question later. I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for raising this matter. I am committed to addressing the cost of disability and improving outcomes for people with a disability. I announced a number of measures to support people with disabilities in budget 2024, including a €400 lump-sum payment in November, a Christmas bonus double payment in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: One of the main findings of the cost of disability report was that there is a broad spectrum of disabilities. We all recognise that some people need more support than others. We all recognise that. There are some people with moderate disabilities who are able to work and some with profound disabilities who we know will never be able to work. That is the reality. The Cost of Disability...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are over 1 million customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel for 2024 is €103.5 million. As part of budget 2024, I was particularly pleased to extend access to free...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Meals Programme (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take questions Nos 9 and 15 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. Following the expansion of the programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering 443,000 children are now eligible for funding. I recently...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this. I propose to take questions Nos. 11 and 48 together. In budget 2024, the Govemment decided to extend the payment of child benefit to 18-year-olds who are in full-time education or have a disability. This was one of my key priorities in the budget. With many children now starting primary school at age five, together with the increase in pupils doing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: It was originally planned to take effect next September so I asked my officials to expedite the work on this. Some work needs to be done when we change payments. The IT systems have to be updated. We got the legislation passed last month, the systems are ready to go, and it will take effect from May. I would say to the parents whose children just turned 18 in February, for example, to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Flood Relief Schemes (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies. My Department provides assistance to eligible households in the immediate aftermath of emergency weather events under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme. The purpose of the scheme is to provide income- tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged and because of lack...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Carer’s Allowance scheme is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. In 2024 the expenditure on the Carer’s Allowance scheme is estimated to be over €1.1 billion. Means tests are an essential components of our social welfare system - they help to direct scarce reroutes to where they are needed most. In the absence...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reports (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Officials in my Department have been compiling material related to all areas of the organisation to draft the Annual Report for 2023. This information is currently being collated. The content and design will be finalised in the coming weeks. It is intended that the 2023 Annual Report will be submitted to Government by the end of June 2024. The aim is to lay it before the Houses and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Equal Opportunities Employment (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a wide range of income and employment supports to assist jobseekers and employees with disabilities, and their employers. These supports include the Reasonable Accommodation Fund and the Disability Awareness Support Scheme. The Reasonable Accommodation Fund provides financial support for people with disabilities and for employers to help make their workplaces more...