Results 3,261-3,280 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: No.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: That is the way it has always been done.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: I would say it is more the Department of public expenditure and reform.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: We have the targeted measure, which is the back to school clothing and footwear allowance. That is targeted at low-income families going back to school in September. We have expanded the school meals programme, which will be a big help. It is coming onstream for another 900 schools from 1 April. We extended the child benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education, which will come in later...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy knows, I am bringing the legislation through at the moment to reduce the payment to €38.80 per week for new arrivals from Ukraine who reside in designated State-provided accommodation. We have discussed this at length on Committee and Report Stages over the past few weeks. There will be a further opportunity to discuss it in the Seanad. The point I made in the...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: The policy for this is with the Departments of Justice and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth as to what actions to take. That will be decided by Government. In the Department of Social Protection, we make the necessary payments to the various recipients, whether it is the full payment or the €38.80. Policy for that will be decided by Government. The Minister for...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: I do not have the figures to hand but I will be happy to provide those details.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: We have compensated in other areas with lump sum payments for the fuel allowance, for example, as the Deputy knows.. I can give some statistics. The household benefits electricity allowance is €189 million. In 2021, it was €181 million and, in 2022, €189 million, so it has gone up. In 2013, it was €165 million and it went up to €189 million in 2022. The...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: The latest figure shows there were 523,301 recipients of the household benefits package in December 2023, a 3.3% increase on the number in December 2022.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: It has gone up. The Deputy is dead right.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: I will get the Deputy a table of that information.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: The €300 credit was useful.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: It was.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: We pay it directly to the Department of culture. There is a review of that going on. I do not know much.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: I will have to come back to the Deputy with that figure because I do not have it.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: In fairness, it is complex linking rules across the different schemes. Claimants are meant to be on jobseeker's allowance for 12 months to receive the payment. That is the way it works. On the question of whether there is something we can do, it is going to be quite complex. I encourage anybody who thinks they should have received the payment to contact us. We are happy to look at it and...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: There are 90 different schemes across the Department. It would be very difficult to try to connect them. The benefit is automatically paid for the vast majority of people. It is just a matter of processing it. We are talking about millions of payments on a weekly basis. I would not like to tell the Deputy we are going to change it because it would be extremely difficult in terms of our...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: Yes. There are currently 45,316 families in receipt of the working family payment. New applications remain high compared to previous years. There was an average of 602 applications per week. Some 80% of all applications are received online. Budget 2024 announced a €400 cost-of-living payment for working family payment recipients, which was paid on 23 November. That was a top-up...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: I will get that detail for the Deputy and will provide it to the committee. The bulk of the families have one or two children. That is majority, I am told. We will find the information.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (7 Feb 2024) Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will know himself.