Results 2,621-2,640 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (16 Apr 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. Disability Allowance is a payment for people who are aged between 16 and 66...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: 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 extra educational achievement. Following the expansion of the Programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. On 22nd January, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in relation to the entitlement of an unmarried co-habitant to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (16 Apr 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 a Carers Allowance appeal by the person concerned was registered in that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Funding (16 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Home Care Packages (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a number of social welfare payments to support families and specifically children. Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children who are in full-time education, or who have a disability, until their 18th birthday. The standard...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Tax and Social Welfare Codes (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 469 to 471, inclusive, together. Given the complexity of the issues raised in the questions, it is not possible to provide the information requested within the timeframe available. My Department is currently liaising with the Deputy's office in order to clarify the exact features of this proposed PRSI credit and how it is envisaged it would operate. Once...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Department’s 2024 Administration Budget for Vote 37 and the Social Insurance Fund (SIF), as published in the Revised Estimates for Public Services 2024 is €752.582m. Some of the administration expenditure incurred by Vote 37 relates to work performed in respect of the administration of SIF schemes. Some costs, such as payment transaction fees, are clearly identified by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Illness benefit is the primary income support provided by my Department to those who are unable to work due to illness of any type. Eligibility for illness benefit is based on medical and contribution conditions. Claimants must have a minimum of 104 social insurance contributions paid under Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) classes A, E, H or P and must meet other conditions in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The SAFE registration process, which my Department uses to authenticate a person's identity, is a face-to-face process which results in the issuing of a Public Services Card (PSC). I can confirm that the individual referred to by the Deputy successfully completed their SAFE registration interview on 2 April 2024. A Public Services Card (PSC) has been ordered and the person concerned will...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: This Government acknowledges the important role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the State Pension system currently gives significant recognition to those whose work history includes an extended period outside of paid employment, often to raise families or in a full-time caring role. The current State Pension (Contributory)...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Most welfare benefits require the recipient to be habitually resident in Ireland. Certain welfare benefits, such as State Pension Contributory allow the recipient to live outside the State. The data requested by the Deputy for the calendar year 2023 is shown in the attached tabular statement. There were approximately 3,500 recipients of increased qualified adult payments living abroad, and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Recipients of certain social welfare payments can claim an increase in their payment in respect of a qualified adult, subject to a means assessment. A qualified adult is the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the recipient who is being wholly or mainly maintained by that claimant. The information requested is not readily available, and may also not be available for all schemes. My...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Subject to certain conditions and those applying to the different schemes, an Increase for a Qualified Adult is payable in respect of a person who is wholly or mainly maintained by the person applying for the payment. For the purposes of social insurance schemes, a spouse/civil partner/cohabitant of the applicant is only regarded as being wholly or mainly maintained, where that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. Each primary payment has specific eligibility criteria, which may include residence in Ireland. In addition to these primary payments, the Department also provides a range of other payments, on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Persons entitled to receive their social welfare benefit abroad are also entitled to cost of living lump sum payments to help with the cost of living. This includes, for example, recipients of State Pension Contributory, Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension or Invalidity Pension. In 2023 there were approximately 63,000 recipients receiving 91,000 cost of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Ukraine War (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's allowance 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. Disability Allowance is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The January bonus was paid to recipient's of a long term Social Welfare Payment. Long Term are customers with over 312 paid days from this Department. Persons in receipt of Jobseeker's Benefit from are entitled to either 156 or 234 paid days only and therefore would not have an entitlement to the January Bonus, unless it was linked to Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) within 26 weeks,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (16 Apr 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. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions. I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (16 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Benefit Payment for 65-Year-Olds was introduced in line with the Programme for Government commitment to address the position of people who are required to or choose to retire at age 65 before the State pension age of 66. The payment is designed to bridge the gap for people who retire from employment or self-employment at age 65 until they qualify for the State Pension at age 66. The...