Results 321-340 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Budgets (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Below is a table outlining the cost of increasing the Living Alone Allowance by the amounts requested. It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2025. Increase Cost €3 €39.06M €5 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Treatment Benefit is a PRSI-based scheme which provides free dental and optical services, and assistance towards the provision of audiological appliances and hair replacement products, to people who satisfy certain qualifying conditions, and to their dependent spouses/partners. In 2023, €133 million was paid in respect of 1.7 million Treatment Benefit claims. The following changes...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Oct 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 this appeal was allowed on the18th October 2024 and Ms Jones has been...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (22 Oct 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. An application for Carer's Allowance was received from the person concerned on 07 June 2024. The application was examined,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Oct 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. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16,17 and 18, if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. A Child Benefit claim has been received from the person concerned, and has been assigned to a deciding officer. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Oct 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 an appeal by the person concerned was registered on the 20th August 2024....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Telephone Support Allowance is a weekly payment of €2.50 for people on certain social welfare payments who are also getting both the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance. The primary objective of the Telephone Support Allowance is to allow the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including the elderly and those with disabilities, access to personal alarms or phones...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Household Benefits Package comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. The Department of Social Protection will spend approximately €294 million this year on the Household Benefits Package. People over the age of 70 receive the Household Benefits Package, with one package provided per household. The package is also available to people living in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The primary objective of the Carer’s Allowance payment is to provide an income support to carers whose earning capacity is substantially reduced as a consequence of their caring responsibilities and in so doing to support the ongoing care of the person or people in respect of whom care is being provided. It is important to note that the Carer’s Allowance is not intended to be a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Persons in receipt of certain social welfare payments who are providing full time care and attention to another person may continue to receive their main payment, and an additional payment of 50% of their rate of Carer's Allowance. This is known as the Half-Rate Carer's Allowance. At the end of September 2024 there were 14,889 recipients of State Pension Contributory or State Pension...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The school meals programme currently solely operates for 36 weeks of the school year in respect of primary schools and 33 weeks of the school year in respect of post primary schools. As announced in Budget 2025, it is planned to commence in Summer 2025, a Holiday Hunger pilot project which will be implemented by utilising my Department's School Meals Programme and the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Irish labour market continues to perform well. According to data made available by the CSO, the seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate is 4.3 percent as of September 2024. It has been between 4 and 5 percent, the level conventionally considered full employment for Ireland, since January 2022. Additionally, according to the quarterly Labour Force Survey, the long-term unemployment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €382 million in 2024. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household. Based on 40,354 additional recipients of the working family payment qualifying...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year of cost of increasing the living alone allowance by €2, €3, €4,€6, €8 and €10 is outlined in table below. Increase Cost €m €2 €26.04 €3 €39.06 €4 €52.08 €6 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16,17 and 18 if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. Child Benefit becomes payable in respect of newborn babies in the month after their birth. Parents of children born...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16,17 and 18 if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. In Budget 2025, I provided for two Child Benefit double payments to be paid before the end of this year. As a result, a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (22 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP), formerly Family Income Supplement, is a weekly in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. To qualify for Working Family Payment the customer must have at least 1 qualified child who normally resides with them and be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment. An application...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Oct 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 an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 18th...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (22 Oct 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. The total number of reviews of DA carried out in 2023 was 10,399 and 8,608 have been...