Results 2,981-3,000 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (29 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable 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 that disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (29 Feb 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 confirm that an application for CA was received from the person concerned on 27 November 2023. A person can be...

Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: From the Seanad (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: On Committee Stage in the Seanad, I brought forward three amendments, all of which relate to the extension of child benefit to 18-year-olds who are in full-time education or who have a disability. Of these, amendment No. 3 is the substantive amendment and will provide for the extension to take effect from 1 May rather than from 3 September. The other two amendments are technical amendments...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are over one million customers with direct eligibility. This increases to 1.75million customers when spouses and companions are included. The estimated expenditure on the Free Travel in 2024 is €104 million. As part of Budget 2024, I was...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: While sectoral supports in this area are a matter for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Social Protection administers the Farm Assist scheme, which is a statutory means-tested income support specifically for farmers on low-incomes. There are approximately 4,000 claims in payment at present. The Government has provided €50.93 million for the scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I understand that the matters raised by the Deputy have been the subject of legal proceedings and, in that context, l understand that a settlement of the matter was reached. My Department was not a party to these proceedings or settlement and has no knowledge of them.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (28 Feb 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. To date, the Department has not received an application form for CA from the person concerned. An application form for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Maternity Benefit is a payment made for up to 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who are on maternity leave from work and who satisfy certain qualifying conditions including social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions on their own insurance record. To qualify for Maternity Benefit, the claimant must be in insurable employment that is covered by the Maternity Protection Act,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Within the social welfare system, there are a number of supports for people who suffer a bereavement. In particular, there is an arrangement known as the six-weeks payment after death which allows for certain payments to continue to be made after a person dies. To qualify for a continued payment, the spouse/partner must be either a qualified adult on the deceased person’s payment or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Treatment Benefit Scheme provides dental, optical and aural services to insured workers, the self-employed, retired people and their dependent spouse/partner who have the required number of social insurance (PRSI) contributions. The Department of Social Protection entered into a consultation process with the Irish Dental Association (IDA) at the end of 2022 to review the Dental Contract...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: In late 2020, my Department commenced an investigation into the PRSI classification of RTÉ’s contractors. RTÉ provided the Department with lists of 695 workers engaged on a contract basis in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and these formed the basis of the investigation. Whilst the scale of my Department’s investigation in RTE is significant and involves retrospective...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Treatment Benefit Scheme provides dental, optical and aural services to insured workers, the self-employed, retired people and their dependent spouse/partner who have the required number of social insurance (PRSI) contributions. The Department of Social Protection entered into a consultation process with the Irish Dental Association (IDA) at the end of 2022 to review the Dental...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The provision of library services, including the provision of library buildings, is primarily a matter for local authorities in their capacity as library authorities under the Local Government Act 2001. Accordingly, the delivery of library services in Mayfield is primarily a matter for Cork City Council. I am advised that the extension and refurbishment of the Frank O’Connor Library,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I have put in place an integrated programme of capital funding supports for the development of community facilities right across the country which are relevant to the case raised by the Deputy. For example, under the 2022 Community Centre Investment Fund in particular, over €45.8 million was committed for improvement and refurbishment of over 860 existing community centres across...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Expenditure (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I have set out in the following table details of the cleaning contractors servicing my Department's offices in Trinity Point in Dublin and Ballina, Co Mayo, and the respective payments for 2023 and to date in 2024. Company Name 5 Star Cleaning (Trinity Point) MOUNT CHARLES GROUP FACILITIES MANAGEMENT IRELAND LTD (Ballina) 2023 € ...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Library Services (28 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The provision of library services, including the provision of library buildings, is primarily a matter for local authorities in their capacity as library authorities under the Local Government Act 2001. As the first step in the development of a public library, local authorities are required to submit an application for approval in principle to my Department as part of my Department's Four...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: It is primarily the insurance industry’s role to insure people's homes against damage and most policies are fully covered in terms of lightning strikes. The insured person should make certain that they have adequate insurance in place to cover any claim for damages, given the rising building costs. It would not be correct for the Government or the taxpayer to displace the role of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Government acknowledges the valuable role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy. The main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (27 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the customer’s own resources,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: EU Funding (27 Feb 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The European Social Fund Plus Managing Authority is the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, which has responsibility for the implementation of the Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training Programme in Ireland. The specific objective of addressing material deprivation through food and basic material assistance through the European Social Fund...