Results 421-440 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: Regarding fuel poverty, as we know, the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term is to improve the energy efficiency of the dwelling through proper building and household insulation. As the Deputy knows, I expanded the number of people who can qualify for the fuel allowance last year. I increased the income limits for the over-70s. In this budget, I dropped that to age 66 and over....
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: Yes. It is 46,000.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: As I said to the Deputy, there is a report coming, and I will publish that report as soon as I receive it. This Government has not been found wanting. We had a set of two cost-of-living payments last year and we have a cost-of-living payment this year. Prior to that, we had Covid. We supported people with the PUP. We have a good track record in supporting people and improving people's...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: Yes.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: Which payment was that? Sorry.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: I will try to answer those. If I miss any, come back to me, Chair. The first one is administration, A.2, as the Deputy said, non-pay. A lot of the increase there would be to do with the payments we make for medical certs. We pay the doctors for the medical certs, obviously, for people who are off sick. We also pay An Post for the services it delivers on our behalf. When I am in here...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: They get double the allowance the others get, so if they get back into work, we do pay them extra.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: On the last question, we are going to look at a review of the means test, which is fair enough. As for trying to target the fuel allowance at the type of house a person has, God bless us that would be an awful job as we tried to decide who would get it and who would not. The child benefit payment was mentioned, but the minute you bring in a means test there will be winners and losers....
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: I am a sitting duck so.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: There is not.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: There are 93,000.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: That is including half rate and full rate.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: I said earlier it is 90%.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: At the minute, but if we widen it there might be more who qualify.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: Yes.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: That is fine and that is based on what we know, but there are people who say we should get rid of the means test altogether for carers. Based on current figures we reckoned that would cost €600 million. Then it could increase up to €2 billion based on the number of people who said they are in a caring role in the census.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: Maybe not everyone is aware of the carer's support grant and that they can get it.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: We do publicise it, but it is amazing how may times we say something and people still do not apply.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: I understand 6,700 carers get the carer's support grant.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2024
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Supplementary) (16 Oct 2024) Heather Humphreys: I agree with the Deputy there, but I cannot-----