Results 4,701-4,720 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: I am very aware of the impact that the increased cost of living has had on households over the last two years. This is why Government has provided an unprecedented response that aims to ease the financial pressure on households throughout the State. Over the last three Budgets, the personal rate of the State Pension (Contributory) has increased by €29 per week and €55.10...

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

Heather Humphreys: The CSO’s Labour Force Survey is the official measurement of unemployment in the State. It is welcome that the most recent unemployment rate for the State is 4.4 per cent in Q2, 2023, which is a level generally considered to be full employment. The unemployment blackspots profile was developed by the CSO using Census 2016 employment data. Census 2022 employment data is scheduled to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2024 (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 which I am very pleased includes a Social Welfare package of almost €2.3 billion, the largest in the history of the State. The measures contained in the Budget are designed to support the most vulnerable in our society...

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

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly in-work support which provides an income support for employees on low earnings with children. To qualify for Working Family Payment, the customer must be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment and have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them. The table below outlines the number and percentage of...

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 Benefits (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 2024....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (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. In 2007, and again in 2008, customers on continuous duration Illness Benefit were written to and advised of the option of applying for Invalidity Pension. This correspondence included a reference to persons on Invalidity Pension...

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

Heather Humphreys: Invalidity Pension is a long-term income support payable to an insured person who satisfies certain PRSI contribution conditions and who is permanently incapable of work due to an illness or incapacity. Access to Invalidity Pension is available to self-employed contributors to protect them in the event of long-term injury or disablement. Illness Benefit is the primary short term income...

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

Heather Humphreys: Means tests in my Department are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes have been made in recent years. I have introduced a number of changes to means testing, including providing for higher income disregards. These disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, their income from work to the level of the income...

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

Heather Humphreys: My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. In general, social welfare schemes with a number of complex qualifying conditions can take longer to process. Before a decision can be made on entitlement to carer’s allowance...

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

Heather Humphreys: The consistent poverty rate for people who were unable to work due to long standing health issues was 19.7% in 2022, whereas the national average in 2022 was 5.3%. While these figures are consistently higher for disabled people than for other cohorts, it must be noted that the 2022 SILC data is based on income from the 2021 calendar year and does not therefore take account of the many...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Department's Activation and Family Support Programme provides funding to assist local organisations and agencies implement training and education initiatives to address the needs of recipients of welfare payments and their families who are distant from the labour market. The Activation and Family Support Programme provided funding to 10 organisations in 2022 which provided training to...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Wage Subsidy Scheme is an employment support to private sector employers, the objective of which is to encourage employment of people with disabilities in the open labour market. There are currently 1,507 employers on the scheme in respect of some 2,432 participant employees. Estimated expenditure on the Wage Subsidy Scheme in 2023 is €24 million. To claim a subsidy under the...

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

Heather Humphreys: My department provides a suite of income supports to those who cannot work due to illness or disability. It is important to note that eligibility for these payments is generally not dependent on the type of the illness or disability but on the extent to which a particular illness or disability impairs or restricts a person’s capacity to work. My department also provides a range of...

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

Heather Humphreys: Last September I announced a series of reforms to the State Pension system in response to the recommendations from the Commission on Pensions. As part of this, the Government committed that a smoothed earnings method to calculating a benchmarked/indexed rate of State Pension payments will be introduced as an input to the annual budget process and be submitted to Government each year. My...

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

Heather Humphreys: My Department does not have responsibility for the introduction of statutory leave. An employee's entitlement to take time off in such circumstances depends on whether any provision exists in the employee’s contract of employment providing for such leave. For the vast majority of workers, conditions of employment, including bereavement leave provisions, are matters for negotiation...

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

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a disability. At the end of September 2023 there were 161,083 persons in receipt of Disability Allowance. Data requested by the Deputy for the end of each calendar year 2013 to 2022 are shown in the attached tabular statement. Calendar Year Number of Recipients 2013 106,279 ...

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

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year total cost of increasing Guardians payments by 100% is €18.3 million. If this was divided over 3 years the additional yearly cost would be about €6.1 million per year. These costings is subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of beneficiaries.

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

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned attended my Department’s Newbridge Intreo Centre on 16 October 2023 to renew their Public Services Card (PSC). A new card will issue within the next 10 days to their home address. The PSC online renewal service requires customers to provide a photograph which has been taken in the last six months and is compliant with International Civil Aviation...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Treatment Benefit Scheme provides dental, optical and aural services to insured workers, the self-employed, retired people and their dependent spouse/partner who have the required number of social insurance (PRSI) contributions. The person concerned does not qualify for treatment benefit in her own right. The person will, however, qualify for Treatment Benefit under her spouse's social...