Results 4,301-4,320 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Revised) (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: I can only explain to the Chairman that we probably did not anticipate that JobPath would be as accessible as it was.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Revised) (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: First of all, the purpose of JobPath is not only to get somebody a job. It is to make sure that he or she keeps it and that we support him or her. It is a holistic service. It is not only about getting somebody his or her CV, sitting the person in front of an employer and making sure he or she gets the job. It is making sure the person maintains sustainability within employment. That...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2019
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Revised) (27 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: Ms Kathleen O'Toole, the Irish-American who we employed to produce The Future of Policing in Ireland report for Government, made a presentation a number of months ago. I accept that was only about policing, but some of it is connected with the issues that we all experience and see in our towns and villages. Ms O'Toole cited examples of what she did in Seattle, Boston and New York that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Guardian's Payment (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: A Guardians payment is made to a person caring for a child who satisfies the definition of an "orphan" under social welfare legislation. A child is considered an orphan if they are under 18 (or 22 if in full time education) and both parents are deceased; or one parent is either dead or unknown or has abandoned and failed to provide for the child and the other parent is unknown or has...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: National Minimum Wage (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: Legislation governing the national minimum wage is set down in the National Minimum Wage Acts 2000 and 2015. These Acts provide for the setting of a national minimum wage (NMW) and also provide that in specified circumstances, such as younger workers and trainees, a reduced, sub-minimum rate may be applied. In September 2015, the Low Pay Commission was requested to examine the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions Payments (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: At present all State pension's are paid weekly except where the payment is to an account in a financial institution outside the State. There is no consideration at this time to change the timing of these payments.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: Rent supplement continues its important role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 22,600 recipients for which the Government has provided €132.4 million for 2019. Generally to qualify for Rent Supplement a claimant must be in a bona fide tenancy, not in full-time employment and: - have been residing in private rented accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions Reform (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: In January 2018, I announced the Government Decision to introduce a new interim Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to the calculation of State Pension (Contributory) for pensioners born on or after 1 September 1946, who were awarded state pension (contributory) under the post 2012 rate bands. This approach, which includes generous provision for homecaring periods, will benefit many such...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to Work Allowance Eligibility (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) scheme was established to encourage persons who are long term unemployed and wish to develop or take up self-employment opportunities. The scheme allows a qualified person to retain a reducing proportion of their social protection payment plus secondary benefits over two years. To qualify for this scheme a person must set up a self-employment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment Payments (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: Working Family Payment (WFP) is an in-work payment which provides additional financial support to employees on low earnings with children.  In order to qualify for WFP, the applicant or the applicant and their spouse, partner or cohabitant must be engaged in full-time employment as an employee for not less than 38 hours per fortnight. This condition must be satisfied on an ongoing...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Review (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned has been in receipt of carer’s allowance (CA) for her son since 25 August 2005. My department received a second application for CA in respect of her sister on the 31 January 2018. The application was referred to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Waiting Times (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed as quickly as possible. However, social welfare schemes with a number of complex qualifying conditions can take longer to process. To qualify for carer's allowance (CA), the carer must show that they are habitually resident in the State, that they are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Benefit (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The circumstances in which a person shall be regarded as being available for employment for the purposes of Jobseeker’s Benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance are set out in Article 15 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 – S.I. No 142 of 2007. Retained firefighters are subject to the conditions of being available for and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: In January last year I announced a new Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to calculating the entitlement of pensioners who reached state pension age on or after 1 September 2012 (i.e., those born on or after 1 September 1946) and who have a reduced rate pension entitlement based on post-Budget 2012 rate bands. People whose pensions were decided prior to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Government intends to introduce a Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to establishing the level of entitlement for all new state pension contributory claims from 2020 onwards (TCA2020). I launched a public consultation on the design of the full TCA for all new pensioners to be introduced from 2020 on the 28th of May to which a wide variety of stakeholder groups were invited.  A...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Data (26 Mar 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: Social Insurance Rates (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: People within PRSI Class A are those in industrial, commercial and service-type employment who are employed under a contract of service with reckonable pay of €38 or more per week from all employments, and Civil and Public Servants recruited from 6 April 1995. Currently, there is no set number of hours per week that must be worked. Until 1991 the threshold for access to social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. All decisions taken by Deciding Officers / Designated Persons of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection are appealable to the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: 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. CA was awarded to the person concerned on 14 March 2019 and the first payment issued to her nominated bank account on 21...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Benefit Eligibility (26 Mar 2019)

Regina Doherty: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years.  The payment continues to be paid in respect of children up to their 18th birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability.  Child Benefit is currently paid to almost 622,900 families in respect of nearly 1.2 million children, with...