Results 4,641-4,660 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (25 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Invalidity Pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. The Department received a claim for IP for the person concerned on 3 May 2022. To qualify for IP, a claimant must, inter alia, have at least 260 (5 years) paid PRSI contributions since...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (25 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Section 9 of the Irish Sign Language (ISL) Act, 2017, assigns responsibility to the Minister for Social Protection, to provide funds to facilitate users of Irish Sign Language to access social, educational and cultural events and services (including medical) and other activities. I have assigned the implementation of these responsibilities to the Citizens Information Board (CIB), the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Oct 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 a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions I can confirm that the Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (25 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: As in previous years my Department schedules payments over the Christmas holiday period to cater for post offices, banks and credit unions being closed. This Christmas, double payments will be made in the week commencing Monday 18th of December. This ensures that social welfare customers will receive their weekly payments even though financial institutions and post offices are closed on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (25 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: There are a number of basic principles which underpin the Irish social insurance system, one of which is the general principle of one person, one payment. Generally, people qualifying for two social welfare payments receive the higher payment for which they are eligible. There are a limited number of exceptions in the social insurance system to the general principle of one person, one...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Consultations (25 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are intrinsic to my Department’s values and it is an equal opportunities employer. The Department of Rural and Community Development's programmes, policies and practices promote and advance social justice, equality, diversity and inclusivity across the range of interventions and supports to communities. To date, my Department has not facilitated...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (25 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: On 18th May, accompanied by the Taoiseach and other Government colleagues, I announced details of €50 million in funding for over 880 projects under the Community Recognition Fund. At its core, this Fund recognises the efforts of communities who have gone above and beyond during what has been a very challenging period for our country. It will support towns and villages nationwide...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (25 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme is funded by my Department under Our Rural Future. The scheme provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor infrastructure such as trails, walkways, cycleways, blueways and bridleways throughout rural Ireland. Earlier this year, I launched the 2023 ORIS with an allocation of €16 million, a €1 million increase on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Like the Deputies, I meet carers all the time in my constituency office. We help them fill out their forms and follow up on their applications in the same way the Deputies do, and I can only say they do great work. One of my priorities since I became Minister for Social Protection has been to do whatever I can to support our carers because I know the huge work they do and the contribution...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I want to be clear: my job in social protection is to provide people with a basic income. I cannot pay carers for the work they do; that is just the way it is. That is why I am setting up an interdepartmental group with the Department of Health in order that we can look at this whole area, have an open and frank discussion about it and see how we can adequately support carers for the work...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Green Paper that I published delivers on the Government's commitment under the roadmap for social inclusion to develop and consult on proposals to restructure long-term disability payments and to simplify the system. The proposals of the Green Paper are not final; they are intended to invite discussion and debate. We recognise it is well documented that people with disabilities face...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: If people are running into problems, they need to look to the essential needs payment. It is there and is available. Anybody who has a problem with their mortgage, before getting into any deep difficulties, should go to the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS. It is a free service and the staff give good advice and will advocate on people's behalf. Deputies should send people...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58, 90, 95 and 109 together. Carer's benefit is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for someone in need of full-time care and attention. It is payable for a maximum of 104 weeks for each person being cared for. It can be taken in one block or in separate periods as long as the combined total does not exceed 104 weeks. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Deputy Dillon mentioned the hot school meals programme. The expansion of the programme in 2024 will cover an additional 900 primary schools. That means that by this time next year, we will be two thirds of the way to providing hot meals to all primary school children. My aim is that any child born this year will have access to the hot school meals programme by the time they are going to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I am not that good. It is a big game changer and I want to pursue it. As regards secondary schools, I felt we should deal with the primary schools first because younger children are not able to fend for themselves. When they get to secondary school, they might be able to put a bit of ham in the middle of two slices of bread and move on. We will expand it. We have the school meals...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Citizens Information Services (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this issue. The Citizens Information Board, CIB, is a statutory body under the aegis of my Department. CIB funds and supports a number of service delivery companies to provide services on its behalf including eight regional citizens information service, CIS, companies which operate the national network of citizens' information centres. The Comhairle...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Citizens Information Services (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I take on board the points made by Deputy McAuliffe. I know the Deputy's background and he will be aware that my background is in the credit union so nobody knows better the value of community, the value of volunteers and the voluntary ethos that I saw at first hand there. I am pleased to see a number of recruitment drives for volunteers are taking place around the country. I want to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Citizens Information Services (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In my Department of Rural and Community Development we are developing a national volunteer strategy because it is important that we get people to volunteer. It is very rewarding. Some people may think they are taking on too much and maybe sometimes the responsibilities are too onerous for them but we do want to encourage them to get involved. We all know it can be very rewarding. I am...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 84 and 101 together. As part of budget 2024, I secured a €2.3 billion social protection package. This is, for the second year in a row, the largest in the history of the State. This package provides a mixture of exceptional cost-of-living payments delivered over the coming weeks, along with an across-the-board €12 weekly rate increase...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are more than 1 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...