Results 321-340 of 2,225 for long speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (5 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...Allowance, Invalidity Pension, and Blind Pension into one scheme with contributory and non-contributory streams. Another important element of the Green Paper is that where people have a life-long disability, they would not be subject to ongoing medical reviews by the Department of Social Protection as is currently the case. I want to assure the Deputy that the intention is to try...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (5 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...for a period of 183 days within the previous 12 months of the date of their application. Further information on the qualifying criteria for this payment can be found at www.gov.ie. Persons with a long-term housing need should contact their local authority where information is available regarding suitable housing supports including the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). According to the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...in receipt of the Fuel Allowance payment prior to going on the CE scheme, they may still apply for and qualify for Fuel Allowance in the following circumstances:If the CE scheme participant was in receipt of a long-term qualifying payment prior to going on the CE scheme, this will allow them to satisfy the qualifying payment element. However, all other qualifying conditions of Fuel...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (4 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...per week).  The diet supplement scheme was discontinued for new applicants from 1 February 2014 based on this evidence. Recipients continue to receive the diet supplement at their existing rate of payment for as long as they continue to have an entitlement to the scheme or until their circumstances change.  This ensured that nobody was immediately worse off by the closure of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...of One Parent Family Payment or Disability payments can qualify without waiting days where conditions of their scheme are met. Community Employment (CE) Schemeis designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. To participate on CE a person must...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...under all possible methods with the most beneficial payment rate paid to the applicant. Despite the existing measures within the State Pension system that recognise periods spent caring, some long-term carers of incapacitated dependents may still face barriers in accessing the State Pension (Contributory). They may for example have difficulty establishing the minimum number of 10...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...and the Make Work Pay Report and taking account of the Cost of Disability Report. I would like to emphasise that this Green Paper is not a final design. It is a proposal on what the future of long-term disability payments could look like. It doesn’t claim to be the best way or the only way to change the structure of our payments. However, I believe that the proposals in the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance scheme is a means tested payment to assist pensioners and other long-term social welfare dependent householders with their winter heating costs. The payment is a contribution towards heating costs; it is not intended to meet these costs in full. The payment is made over the winter season at the weekly rate of €33.00 or, if preferred, by way of two instalments....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...be noted that recognition confers very different entitlements in different countries. It is important to state that the European Commission has not made a recommendation about recognising long-COVID as an occupational disease and most member states have not recognised long-COVID. The UK Department of Work and Pensions presented a report to the UK parliament in November 2022 which...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (28 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: .... I would like to emphasise that this Green Paper is not a final design and no changes will be made to the current payments at this time. The Green Paper is a proposal on what the future of long-term disability payments could look like. It doesn’t claim to be the best way or the only way to change the structure of our payments. The proposals in the Green Paper represent a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: All I can say is that it is a small grant that makes a big difference in communities. Deputy Griffin is right that it would take a long time to raise €50,000. In this regard, I learned a lesson many years ago when a community group got what was a very small grant in the overall scheme of things. It might have been €10,000, or not even that much. Those concerned rang me up...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Offshore Islands (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...really good ideas on the island. I met some of the people in the community. Some of them went all the way to Arranmore for the launch of the policy. It was good to see them there because it is a long journey from Donegal to Bere Island. Croí Cónaithe is a really good scheme, as the Deputy knows. If you live on an island, you get an additional payment to renovate a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...the social enterprise strategy. It is important that this be done as quickly as possible. I will be working on it. I want to ensure that all of these strategies are right. We found it took a long time to develop the island strategy, but we got there in the end and it was welcomed as a good strategy. Our Rural Future is a good policy document and has been recognised by the OECD as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Rural Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: .... It is not at the same expense that they were originally, but it is up to the landowners to try to keep them in good shape. I received a message this evening from someone who had been waiting a long number of years. The person sent a photograph of a LIS lane that had just been repaired. My goodness me, but it was done to a very high standard. A decent amount of tar is put on the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Priorities (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...credit of €600 is another important Government measure which benefitted all households.A further range of measures were announced in February of this year. This package included a €200 lump sum payment which was paid to over 1.3 million recipients in receipt of long-term social welfare payments, including pensioners.Decisions about Budget 2024 will be made in the coming...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...In line with most social assistance payments, deductions permitted for Blind Pension include PRSI, union dues and pension contributions. My Department is committed to consulting on proposals to reform long-term disabilities payments. In this regard, I launched a Green Paper last week at a meeting with stakeholders and a public consultation to reform disability payments in Ireland. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...(WPEP) is a funded work placement scheme to provide work experience for jobseekers who have been unemployed for more than six months. The scheme aims to keep jobseekers close to the labour market and prevent scarring effects of long-term unemployment. The WPEP is also available to people who are on a One Parent Family Payment, Jobseekers Transition Payment or Disability Allowance. To...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...Welfare Payments): A foster carer who is in receipt of a primary social welfare payment (such as Jobseeker’s Allowance) is eligible for an Increase for a Qualified Child in respect of a foster child (as long as no other person is in receipt of an Increase for a Qualified Child in respect of the same child). Working Family Payment: The Working Family Payment is paid to low-income...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (26 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...period to the next. The Department also has a research partnership in place with the ESRI, which is currently focussed on scoping potential high level indicators for rural development in the long term. The Department also regularly engages with the Central Statistics Office (CSO), including with regard to their work on producing statistics which analyse differences across urban and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (21 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: ...therefore suggested that the issue needs a whole-of-government response. My Department has committed under the Roadmap for Social Inclusion to develop and consult on a proposal for the restructuring of long-term disability payments. This proposal, which will be in the form of a Green Paper, will also simplify the system and take account of the concerns expressed in the Make Work Pay...