Results 4,781-4,800 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Legal Cases (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The table below sets out the available information regarding the number of litigation cases where the Department of Social Protection is the respondent. The Chief State Solicitor's Office, as Government solicitor, absorbs the costs of representing the Department. Year Number of cases 2023 (so far) 59 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The extension of Child Benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education was one of my key priorities as part of Budget 2024. This is a significant change to the Child Benefit payment which will require technical and operational changes to the social welfare system before implementation. For this reason, the change will take effect from September 2024. Where a child in full time education...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Current staffing levels of medical assessors in the medical review and assessment section of my department is provided in table below, Numbers Sep-2022 Sep-2023 Total MA 33 34 WTE 31.3 32.3 To meet the service needs, the medical assessor staffing levels are continually kept under review.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2024 (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In response to the ongoing cost of living pressures, I have secured a package of €2.3 billion for Social Protection measures as part of Budget 2024. This represents the largest Budget package for the Department of Social Protection in the history of the State and will help to support our pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, lone parents and families during this difficult...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Recovery of Benefits and Assistance (RBA) Scheme recovers the value of certain illness-related social welfare payments from compensation awards made to a person as a consequence of personal injuries claims. The benefits are recovered from the compensator, not from the injured person. A customer’s Illness Benefit claim is unaffected by the payment of recoverable benefits. An Illness...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The extension of Child Benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education was one of my key priorities as part of Budget 2024. This is a significant change to the Child Benefit payment which will require technical and operational changes to the social welfare system before implementation. For this reason, the change will take effect from September 2024. Where a child in full time education...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €412 million in 2023. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household. The criteria for Fuel Allowance are framed in order to direct limited resources in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Parental Leave (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Currently, seven weeks Parent's Leave and Benefit is available to all eligible parents of children born or adopted from 1 November 2019. The leave and benefit must be availed of within the first two years of the child’s life or adoption. In Budget 2024, the Government provided for the number of weeks of Parent's Leave and Benefit available to eligible parents to be increased from...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (18 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. Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is an educational opportunities scheme for persons in receipt of certain social welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The extension of Child Benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education was one of my key priorities as part of Budget 2024. This is a significant change to the Child Benefit payment which will require technical and operational changes to the social welfare system before implementation. For this reason, the change will take effect from September 2024. Where a child in full time education...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2024 (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In response to the ongoing cost of living pressures, I have secured a package of €2.3 billion for Social Protection measures as part of Budget 2024. This represents the largest Budget package for the Department of Social Protection in the history of the State and will help to support our pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, lone parents and families during this difficult...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Control of Dogs (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: No breed of dog is currently banned in Ireland. However, the relevant legislation in this area, the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2014, sets out a range of requirements for all dog owners or any other person in charge of a dog. Furthermore, the Control of Dogs Regulations 1998, S.I. 442/1998 set out additional requirements that owners of specific breeds of dogs, including strains or crosses of...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Legal Cases (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Three legal cases have been taken against my Department since it was established in 2017. One of these included a judicial review which was subsequently withdrawn. The total costs to date associated with one of the other two cases is €11,543, which relates to disclosure order costs. The third case was settled, with the settlement subject to a non-disclosure agreement.

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Recreation Policy (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) 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. Since the launch of ORIS in 2016, funding of in excess of €106 million has supported more than 1,500...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Budget 2024 (18 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department, through Budget 2024, will continue to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities across Ireland, including in Co. Clare. The Budget provision of €431 million for my Department provides over €205 million for rural development and over €225 million for community development. This will support investment in regional, rural and local...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (17 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: From September 2012, the rates of state pension (contributory) paid to those who had a yearly average of less than 40 contributions was lowered, as a step towards a fairer Total Contributions Approach to pension entitlement. In recognition that these rate changes may have negatively impacted certain cohorts, in January 2018, the Government announced an Interim Total Contributions Approach...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (17 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I am pleased to state that the Irish labour market is performing extremely well. The employment rate has been rising and now stands at 74.2 per cent, the highest in the history of the series, with over 2.6 million people in employment. Since Q4 2021 the unemployment rate has been below 5 per cent - beyond this level the economy is conventionally considered to be at full employment....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Gender Recognition (17 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Gender Recognition Act 2015 provides for a self-determination or self-identification model for legal recognition of a person’s preferred gender where that person is aged 18 or over. The applicant must sign a statutory declaration indicating their settled and solemn intention to live in their preferred gender for the rest of their life, that they understand the consequences of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (17 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered on the 25th January 2023....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (17 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...