Results 4,941-4,960 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. To qualify for Working Family Payment, the person 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. An application for WFP was received from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year cost of increasing short term Illness and Injury schemes to a €300 weekly payment is €231.2 million. This includes estimated costs for Illness Benefit of €225.2 million, Incapacity Supplement of €3.6 million and Injury Benefit of €2.4 million. It does not include any cost for longer term Illness schemes such as Invalidity Pension...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (3 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 the limited...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are over one million customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2023 is €95 million. It is important to note that, in general, access to a free travel pass for those aged under 66 is a secondary benefit linked...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 4 April 2023. An application for State Pension (contributory) was received on 30 December 2022. According to the records of my Department, the person concerned has a total of 892 reckonable paid and credited social insurance contributions giving a yearly average of19 contributions. This gave entitlement to State Pension (contributory) at a current...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Last week, I published a Green Paper on Disability Reform and launched the associated public consultation. The Green Paper on Disability Reform was developed as a response to commitments under the Roadmap for Social Inclusion, the Pathways to Work Strategy and the Make Work Pay Report and taking account of the Cost of Disability Report. I would like to emphasise that this Green Paper...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Data Protection (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department identified the following number of data breaches in each of the years since 2016 and to date in 2023. No records are available for the period before 2016. YearNumber of data breaches 201657 2017108 2018226 2019371 2020508 2021646 2022502 2023 to date 482 The vast majority of the confirmed data breaches relate to incidents where customer information was accidentally and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance scheme is a means tested payment to assist pensioners and other long-term social welfare dependent householders with their winter heating costs. The payment is a contribution towards heating costs; it is not intended to meet these costs in full. The payment is made over the winter season at the weekly rate of €33.00 or, if preferred, by way of two instalments....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (3 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 the limited...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: An application for Invalidity Pension (IP) was received from the person concerned on 29 May 2023. Based on the information supplied with this application, they were deemed not medically eligible, in line with the conditions for IP. They were not considered to be permanently incapable of work and notified of this decision on 1 August 2023. On 17 August 2023, the person concerned...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,700 schools and organisations benefitting 300,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Government acknowledges the important role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy. The key role of my department is to provide income supports where an income need may arise due to unemployment, illness/disability and caring...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Claimants with cohabiting partners are recognised within the social welfare system as having additional needs in cases where their cohabiting partner is financially dependent upon them. The payment of an Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) in addition to the personal rate of payment reflects these additional household needs. The IQA is payable in respect of a person who is wholly or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,700 schools and organisations benefitting 300,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Person Concerned has requested a backdate of Jobseekers Allowance. In order to make a decision their Deciding Officer has requested a letter from the customers School/College confirming their finish date. This was requested by email on the 28th of September, after two unanswered phone calls to The Person Concerned. As yet no response has been received. Once this information is received...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 424 and 429 together. My Department is aware of the recommendation of the European Commission made in 2022 regarding the prescription of Covid-19 as an occupational illness. However, the decision on whether or not to recognise an illness as an occupational illness is a Member State competence. It should be noted that recognition confers very different...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department can make additional needs payments to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. An application can be made under the scheme for assistance with funeral and burial expenses where there is an inability to pay these costs, in part or in full, by the family of the deceased person without causing hardship....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Measures (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Section 6 of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 introduces new provisions relating to the registration of the father where the parents are not married to one another. This section sets out that the mother is required to give the father’s details, with limited exceptions, and that the father is then required to acknowledge paternity. This section requires technical...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In circumstances where people are ill on a short-term basis but do not qualify for the relevant social insurance schemes, my Department provides means tested supports under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. An additional needs payment is also available to people who have expenses that they cannot pay from their weekly income. My Department will continue to keep its range of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Policies (3 Oct 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department continues to research the potential use of A.I. technologies in the future. At present, my Department does not use ChatGPT or similar Gen. A.I. technologies. My Department makes limited use of A.I. on the MyGovID platform. This A.I. Chatbot provides the customer with advice in real time on how best to utilise the MyGovID service. In line with “AI – Here for...