Results 4,681-4,700 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under current eligibility conditions, an individual must have 520 full-rate paid contributions in order to qualify for standard State pension (contributory). 520 full-rate contributions equate to 10 years of full-rate insurable employment. Currently applicants for the State Pension (Contributory) have their entitlement assessed under two separate criteria, the Yearly Average (YA) method...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Government is keenly aware of issues in relation to child poverty, and these issues have formed a critical input into the development of the Budget 2024 package; at almost €2.3 billion, it is the largest social welfare Budget package in the history of the State. I provided for the weekly rates of the Increase for a Qualified Child to increase by €4 to €46 per week in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department can make additional needs payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation, and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73, 99, 107 and 116 together. The Green Paper is my Department's response to our 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 main proposal of the Green Paper is a three-tiered Personal Support Payment. This would replace Invalidity...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: There are a number of payments and pensions paid by my Department to people over State Pension Age. One of these is the State Pension (Contributory) (SPC), qualification for which is based on a number of criteria, including a minimum of 520 qualifying social insurance contributions having been paid. For those who have paid the required contributions, these will be used in the calculation of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Benefit Payment for 65-Year-Olds, provided for under the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme, has been introduced in line with the Programme for Government commitment, to address the position of people who are required to or choose to retire at age 65 before the pension age of 66. The payment is designed to bridge the gap for people who retire from employment or self-employment at age 65 until...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Green Paper on Disability Reform is my Department's response to our 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 Green Paper is a consultation document we developed to start a structured discussion with disabled people and stakeholder groups on what the future of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I am aware of the consistently high poverty rates among people who are unable to work due to a disability, as reported in the CSO’s 2022 Survey on Income and Living Conditions. My department provides income supports to 220,000 people who cannot work due to a long-term illness or disability. The two main long-term payments are Disability Allowance and Invalidity Pension. I am committed...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 78 and 114 together. The Community Welfare Service (CWS) provides a flexible service to meet the different needs of clients, who may find themselves in a financially difficult or vulnerable situation. It is important that this service is easily accessible and responsive to our clients’ needs. In County Laois, a Community Welfare Officer (CWO) is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2024 (24 Oct 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. The extension of Child Benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education was one of my key priorities as part of Budget...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: As part of Budget 2024 I secured provision for a Pay-Related Benefit for Jobseekers to be introduced later in 2024, subject to further Government approval of the scheme. This would link the rate of benefit to a person’s previous earnings. The aim of a pay-related benefit scheme is to soften the income shock that a worker may face if they suddenly lose their job. The introduction...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Illness Benefit is the main income support provided by my Department to those who cannot work due to illness of any kind and who are covered by social insurance. Eligibility for Illness Benefit is based on medical and contribution conditions and it is paid from the Social Insurance Fund. Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) paid under Classes A, E, H and P count towards Illness Benefit....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The SAFE registration process, which my Department uses to authenticate a person's identity, is a face to face process which results in the issuing of a Public Services Card (PSC). Currently, it is not possible for a person who does not already have a PSC to acquire one without attending an in-person appointment. However, my Department is currently developing an online service to allow...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (24 Oct 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. The total number of recipients currently in receipt of a Carer’s Allowance payment is 94,807. Please find the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable to a parent / guardian in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age, and the level of that disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care and attention for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Partial Capacity Benefit is a scheme which extends the Illness Benefit and Invalidity Pension schemes to recognise and respond to the reality that some people in receipt of these payments have a capacity to engage in open market employment while continuing to need to receive some income support from the State. People in receipt of Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit (the latter for a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Free Travel Scheme is available to all persons aged over 66 and those under age 66 on certain qualified payments, who are living legally and permanently in the State. The scheme permits those who are eligible to travel for free on most CIE public transport services, Local Link, LUAS and a range of transport services offered by some 74 private operators countrywide. Under the Free...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Application Forms (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Educational Sector Workers including Personal Assistant’s who are assigned students with additional needs at third level institutes, who wish to avail of income support while temporarily laid-off during the school term breaks, including the summer, can apply for a jobseeker’s payment but must satisfy all the qualifying conditions to receive this payment. This includes...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2024 (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I was pleased that Budget 2024 included a social welfare package worth almost €2.3 billion, the biggest in the history of the State. The package contained a balanced mixture of once-off lump sum measures set to be delivered over the coming weeks along with a significant rate increase and is combined with a targeted package to support the most vulnerable. The measures are designed to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (24 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department currently provides employment services for people with disabilities through 23 EmployAbility contracted service providers across the State. The budget allocation for 2023 provides €10.9 million to run the service. The EmployAbility service is dedicated to improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities or with any long-term medical condition, illness or...