Results 3,161-3,180 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions Reform (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: Since late September 2018, my Department has been examining the social insurance records of approximately 90,000 pensioners, born on or after 1 September 1946, who have a reduced rate State pension contributory entitlement based on post Budget 2012 rate-bands. These payments are being reviewed under a new Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pension calculation which includes provision for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Living Wage (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Living Wage is based on research identifying the income required for the Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) for a single-adult household in Ireland. It is an estimate made by a Living Wage Technical Group, led by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (VPSJ). The living wage approach starts with an analysis of the expenditure likely to be incurred by an individual...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: Rent supplement continues its important role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 20,160 recipients for which the Government has provided €132.4 million for 2019. Under the legislative provisions governing rent supplement, the Department’s relationship is with the tenant. There is no contractual relationship between the landlord and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Payments (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 901 and 902 together. Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. An urgent needs payment (UNP) may be made to persons who may not normally qualify for SWA...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: My Department does not receive any incremental staged payments. All of the Department's streams of income are reported annually in the statutory accounts being Vote 37 Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection Appropriation Account and the Social Insurance Fund financial statements. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Project Ireland 2040 (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 904, 905 and 907 together. The National Development Plan 2018 to 2027 which forms part of Project Ireland 2040 sets out there two projects that come under my Department's remit, viz.additional ICT modernisation and the refurbishment of my Department’s Áras Mhic Dhiarmada building. In relation to ICT modernisation, my Department continues to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Review (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government agreed to establish an Interdepartmental Group (IDG) to explore how social inclusion schemes might best be organised into the future including which Department should hold lead responsibility for sponsoring CE schemes focused on social Inclusion, the Rural Social Scheme and the Job Initiative scheme. Meetings of the IDG have taken place along...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions Reform (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: Since late September 2018, my Department has been examining the social insurance records of approximately 90,000 pensioners, born on or after 1 September 1946, who have a reduced rate State pension contributory entitlement based on post Budget 2012 rate-bands. These payments are being reviewed under a new Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pension calculation which includes provision for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: For those people who reached state pension age since September 2012, two different methods of calculating their entitlement to a contributory state pension are used. There are several differing elements involved in each calculating method. For example, the Yearly Average (YA) method does not include a limit on credited contributions. The interim Total Contributions Approach (TCA), as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Capital Expenditure Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: My Department’s capital allocation is split over three subheads i.e. A.2. (v) Office Equipment and External IT Services, A.2. (vi) Office Premises Expenses and A.2. (ix) eGovernment Related Projects. The following table outlines my Department’s plans for the 2019 capital allocation of €15m (including €1m capital carry over from 2018). A.2. (v) Office Equipment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Capital Expenditure Programme (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: I understand the Deputy is seeking information on projects with a spend of €5 million or above since 2010. The capital allocation for my Department is primarily used to deliver IT modernisation and carry out refurbishments on the Department’s buildings. There have been no individual capital projects with a spend of €5 million or above since 2010. I hope this clarifies...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: My Department has arrangements in place to assist with member tracing. Where the administrator of a pension scheme is unable to trace a member using their own resources they can use my Department’s host mailing service. Following discussions between my Department, the Pensions Authority and the Irish Association of Pension Funds, a revised protocol was put in place in October...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Redundancy Rebates (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: It is an employer’s responsibility to pay statutory redundancy to eligible employees. Previously employers were entitled to a rebate from the state of 60% of the relevant redundancy payment. These rebates were abolished from 2013 due to the high cost to the Social Insurance Fund. These Employer rebates were paid to employers regardless of the financial situation of the company and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Redundancy Rebates (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate employees for the loss of their jobs, where the employer is unable to pay statutory redundancy due to financial difficulties or insolvency. The scheme was never intended as a support to businesses to hire staff. The scheme is funded from the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). Up to 2011, the scheme provided a rebate of 60 per cent...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: Under current legislation, a Public Services Card (PSC) cannot be requested by any public or private body or person that is not designated as a specified body in Schedule 5 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended). The PSC can only be used by public bodies specified in this legislation when conducting a public transaction with the person concerned. One of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions Payments (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: Since late September 2018, my Department has been examining the social insurance records of approximately 90,000 pensioners, born on or after 1 September 1946, who have a reduced rate State pension contributory entitlement based on post Budget 2012 rate-bands. These payments are being reviewed under a new Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pension calculation which includes provision for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme Data (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: A detailed breakdown of the number of recipients of Farm Assist by county in each of the years 2010 to 2018 and to date in 2019 is attached in table 1. An equivalent breakdown of Farm Assist expenditure by county is not available. However, the nationwide expenditure in each of the years 2010 to 2018 and to date in 2019 is detailed in table 2. Tabular statement attached/..... Table 1: Farm...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: A breakdown of the number of recipients of Fish Assist by county in each of the years 2012 to 2018 and to date in 2019 is detailed in the attached tabular statement. I regret that expenditure on Fish Assist is not segregated from overall expenditure on Jobseeker's Allowance, so that I cannot provide the corresponding expenditure figures. Tabular statementattached/..... The number of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Benefit Applications (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: It is a condition for receipt of Carer's Benefit (CARB) that the person being cared for must have such a disability that they require full-time care and attention. This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continual supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself. An...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Administration (11 Jul 2019)

Regina Doherty: Community Employment (CE) projects are typically sponsored by groups wishing to benefit the local community, namely voluntary and community organisations and, to a lesser extent, public bodies involved in not-for-profit activities. The private school outlined by the Deputy provides an alternative to the mainstream model of education. Charges are applied in respect of those attending the...