Results 3,921-3,940 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (12 Dec 2023)

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 in that office on 26 August...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Currently applicants for the State Pension (Contributory) have their entitlement assessed under two separate criteria, the Yearly Average (YA) method and the Total Contributions Approach (TCA). The YA method has been in place since the introduction of the contributory pension in 1961. - The YA method sees all paid and credited contributions divided by time spent in the social insurance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Tax Yield (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated additional yield that would be raised by increasing the employer PRSI rate of 11.05% to 14% on the portion of wages in excess of €200,000 would be €110 million in full-year terms. This estimate does not take into account any possible changes in employer behaviour arising from increasing the rate of employer PRSI contribution.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are over one million customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2023 is €95 million. As part of Budget 2024 I was particularly pleased to extend my Department’s Free Travel Pass to support people who are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Policies (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has delivered significant achievements during 2023. The Social Protection Budget for 2024 is the largest in the history of the State. Budget 2024 will provide almost €2.3 billion in measures to assist households with the cost of living. This includes across-the-board increases of €12 per week in all core payments and will be combined with a series of lump sum...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Free Travel Scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are over one million customers with direct eligibility. This increases to 1.75 million customers when spouses and companions are included. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2023 is €95 million. The Free Travel Companion Pass scheme was...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 480 and 481 together. Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department can make an additional needs payment (ANP) to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. An ANP is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain other supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the customer’s own resources,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (12 Dec 2023)

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. At the end of November 2023, the number of customers in receipt of Child Benefit in Cork City and County was 72,546. A...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Offices (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Accommodation for my Department is provided by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in buildings which are either State owned or leased by the OPW on our behalf. The accommodation is typically shared with other Government Departments and Offices with limited car parking spaces available to staff. This has been brought to the attention of the Department's management who are currently actively...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Illness Benefit is a payment for those who cannot work due to illness and who satisfy the pay-related social insurance contribution conditions. Illness Benefit is paid for a maximum of two years and is classified as a short-term scheme. A Christmas Bonus will be paid to long-term Illness benefit customers in the week commencing 4th December. For the purposes of this bonus, long term is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (12 Dec 2023)

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. An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 14 January 2015. Once claims are in payment, my...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's Benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention. To qualify, the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions; employment conditions; show that they are providing full-time care and attention; and show that the care recipient requires full-time care and attention. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Programme (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Report of the Child Maintenance Review Group was published last November and the Government has accepted the Group's recommendations regarding the social welfare system. These changes will decouple child maintenance and social welfare and are significant reforms, which will be of great benefit to lone parents. As a consequence, child maintenance payments will be disregarded in the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (12 Dec 2023)

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 amedical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions. I can confirm that my Department received a DA application from the person concerned on 23...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (12 Dec 2023)

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. An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 4 August 2022. To qualify for CA the person being cared...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Properties (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Social Protection does not own any vacant or derelict properties or sites. With the exception of the Department headquarters in Dublin - Áras Mhic Dhiarmada, Store Street, which is held by the Minister on behalf of the Social Insurance Fund, all buildings and property occupied by the Department of Social Protection, are owned or leased by the Office of Public Works.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,700 schools and organisations benefitting 300,000 children. The objective of the 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Rights (12 Dec 2023)

Heather Humphreys: As outlined in my replies to the Deputy on 14 and 28 November, a number of so-called ‘test cases’ relating to the insurability status of a person were examined by the Department in the 1990s to support the identification of criteria that could be used by Deciding Officers and Appeals Officers when making decisions in relation to the correct class of PRSI applying to an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (12 Dec 2023)

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. A Child Benefit application was received from the person concerned on 8 November 2023. As one of the parents is...