Results 3,461-3,480 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Persons who are on career breaks, such as teachers, are able to maintain their social insurance record in a number of ways. Depending on their terms and conditions of their career break, such persons may engage in other employments which could be liable for PRSI contributions. Furthermore, persons on career breaks who are engaged in home caring may qualify for pension caring supports...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Overpayments of social welfare entitlements can occur where a person provides false or misleading information in their application or through error on the part of either the claimant or the Department. Persons who have been overpaid social welfare have a liability to refund the overpayment as they have been in receipt of a payment to which they were not entitled. In 2023 the total value of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that my Department has not engaged Grant Thornton or related companies on a contract for service or on a consultancy basis from January 2019 to date. Therefore, no costs have been incurred. I trust this clarifies that matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (30 Jan 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 9th May 2023. It...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (30 Jan 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 medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions. My Department received correspondence from the person concerned notifying a change of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: State pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a state pension contributory, or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. An application for state pension non-contributory was received from the person concerned on 4 August 2023. On 15...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (30 Jan 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 average processing times for all appeals finalised in 2023 was 16 weeks. The average time taken to process appeals which...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Oireachtas Committees (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: There is no requirement to correct the record with the Public Accounts Committee and the suggestion by the Deputy that erroneous information was given to the PAC is unfounded. In fact, if the Deputy reads the transcripts of both meetings, he will see that the Secretary General and the Chief Appeals Officer were consistent in what they said. They both stated that decisions with respect to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (30 Jan 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 24th August 2023. It...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. On Monday 22nd January the Supreme Court deliverd its judgment in relation to the entitlement of an unmarried co-habitant to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The scheme operates from June to September each year. The rates for the Back to School Clothing an Footwear Allowance were increased by €10 in 2022 to €160 for children...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is the office of my Department responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social protection entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that there are currently 44 Appeals Officers who are responsible for determining appeals against decisions...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Jan 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. In order to qualify, applicants must show that they are habitually resident in the State, that their means are less than...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. In general, social welfare schemes which involve medical or caring conditionality take the longest time to process. To help the Department make timely and fair decisions on applications,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. Following the expansion of the programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Jan 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 and 17 if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. The decision on entitlement for the person concerned has been made. A payment, which included arrears dating back to the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Social welfare legislation provides for backdating of widows, widowers or surviving civil partners pension for 6 months from the date of receipt of the claim. Section 241 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005, as amended, refers. An application for widow's, widowers and surviving civil partners pension was received from the person concerned on 27 April 2023, following her late...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (30 Jan 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. I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (30 Jan 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Recipients of certain social welfare payments can claim an increase in their payment in respect of a Qualified Adult, subject to a means assessment. A Qualified Adult is the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the recipient who is being wholly or mainly maintained by that claimant. As part of the Budget 2024 package, I increased personal weekly payment rates by €12 across the...