Results 3,981-4,000 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Illness Benefit Eligibility (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: Illness Benefit is paid for a maximum of 1 year if a person has a total of between 104 and 259 reckonable social insurance contributions paid or for a maximum 2 years if a person has a total of 260 or more reckonable social insurance contributions paid. The entitlement of the person concerned to Illness Benefit exhausted on the 29th March 2019 as she had received a full year of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Bereavement Grant (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: During the economic downturn, my Department focused on protecting primary social welfare rates.  In recent years, as the economy has been recovering, the Government's priority has been to concentrate resources in improving the core rates of these payments, particularly for pensioners, resulting in considerable increases in these rates. The Bereavement Grant was a payment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned will receive arrears due in respect of his jobseekers allowance by Electronic Funds Transfer to his Bank Account on 15th April 2019. I trust that this clarifies the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance Yield (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: It is estimated that a reduction of 0.4% in the lower employer PRSI rate would cost €16.5 million in a full year and affect approximately 794,800 employments. These estimates are based on PRSI Class A contributions.  They use the latest available data and reflect macro-economic indicators for 2019.  It should be noted that these estimates do not take into account any...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: At the outset it should be noted that there is no legally mandated retirement age in the State, and the age at which employees retire is a matter for the contract of employment between them and their employers.  While such a contract may have been entered into with a retirement date of 65, in the context of the previous State pension arrangements, there is no legal impediment to the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Act Employment Targets (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 540 and 541 together. My Department is committed to meeting its obligations under the Disability Act, 2005. According to the return to the NDA of the position as of 31 December, 2018, the number of staff employed in my department and in the agencies under its aegis who have disclosed a disability are set out in the table. The returns do not categorise the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Appeals (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: I can confirm to the Deputy that documentation requested from the person concerned has been received by Community Welfare Officer.  This documentation relating to verification of the position of the person concerned on the Local Authority housing list was required in order to complete a rent supplement review.  I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: The rent supplement claim of the person concerned was reviewed in April 2018.  As part of this review the customer was requested to provide certain documentation in support of the claim within 21 days. The person concerned was issued with several reminders regarding the outstanding documentation. When the documentation was not received his payment was suspended from July...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: CE scheme supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector that receive public funding. They are not employees of my Department or public servants. The Deputy should note that, in the past, CE supervisors benefited from pay increases linked to all phases of Benchmarking, Sustaining Progress (Parts 1 and 2) and Towards 2016 (all 4 phases). ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: The current system of establishing if a person  is genuinely seeking work is well established and based on a number of steps that have to be taken by all jobseeker customers in order to satisfy the Department that they are actively seeking work. These steps may include making oral, written or on-line applications for work, researching job vacancies, availing of training opportunities,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: An application for carer's allowance (CA) was received from the person concerned on 10 July 2018. It is a condition for receipt of a CA that the person being cared for must have such disability that they require full-time care and attention. This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: In assessing claims for means tested social welfare schemes, account is taken of the income and the value of capital, including shares, of the claimant and his or her spouse/partner. The general rule for assessment of pension funds or annuities is that money invested in a pension fund is not assessable for means purposes if it is not accessible to the claimant.  However, this must...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Poverty (16 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: In 2016 the Government launched a comprehensive Strategy to Combat Energy Poverty following extensive public consultation.  It sets out the Government’s commitment to protecting vulnerable households from energy poverty through a combination of supports, investment in schemes to improve energy efficiency, and energy efficiency awareness initiatives.  This Strategy is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (11 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: Since late September 2018, my Department has been examining the social insurance records of approximately 90,000 pensioners, born on or after 1 September 1946, who have a reduced rate State pension contributory entitlement based on post Budget 2012 rate-bands.  These payments are being reviewed under a new Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pension calculation which includes provision...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (11 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: It is well known that people are living longer lives.  For example, based on CSO figures, a 65 year old man in 1996 would have had life expectancy of 13.8 years (i.e. they could expect, on average, to live to 78.8), whereas by 2011 this had increased to 17.7 years, an increase of over 28%.  Over the same period, the life expectancy of a 65 year old woman increased...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Data (11 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection provides a range of activation supports catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. These supports include the JobPath service.  My Department selects clients for the JobPath service by means of a random selection process....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Sector Pensions (11 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: The information requested by the Deputy  refers to Public Sector Pensions.  This is therefore not a matter for my Department and is proper to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.  The Deputy should raise this matter with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. 

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (11 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: CE scheme supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector that receive public funding.  They are not employees of my Department or public servants. The current agreement for public servants is an agreed approach to the continued unwinding of the FEMPI legislation and does not provide for a pay increase.   The Deputy should note that,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: European Labour Authority (11 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: In February, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council reached a provisional agreement on the Commission's proposal to establish a European Labour Authority (ELA).  The ELA, will amongst other things, support Member States in providing information and services to citizens and business and facilitate cooperation and exchange of information between Member...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (11 Apr 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce an enhanced PRSI scheme for the self-employed as part of the Government's policy of making work pay and encouraging self-employment and entrepreneurship.  Making progress on this commitment has been one of my key priorities since becoming Minister. Self-employed workers, who earn €5,000 or more in a contribution year,...