Results 5,141-5,160 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The system of social assistance supports provides payments based on an income need. The means test plays a critical role in determining whether or not an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency – such as disability, unemployment or caring. This ensures that the recipient has a verifiable income need and that resources are targeted to those who need them most....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (20 Sep 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: Departmental Strategies (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In response to the information sought, the following are the measures that the Department has undertaken to address the specific action points in the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy 2019 - 2021; for ease of reference I will use the abbreviation 'LGBTI+' throughout. 1.2 Identify key large-scale events each year to promote LGBTI+ visibility Department officials coordinate yearly, Pride...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reports (20 Sep 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 to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: WALK PEER is one of 27 projects funded by my Department under the former Ability Programme. The Ability Programme, introduced in June 2018, was a three-year pre-activation programme for young people with disabilities. The total funding for the programme amounted to approximately €16 million and was provided jointly under the European Union’s ESF 2014-2020 Programme for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The purpose of the voluntary contributions scheme is to provide persons who were but are no longer compulsorily insured under the social insurance system, either as an employee or as a self-employed person, with the opportunity to pay contributions directly to my Department. Voluntary contributions act to maintain a person’s established social insurance record in respect of eligibility...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (20 Sep 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. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (20 Sep 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 Benefits (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: There is a range of supports provided by the Community Welfare Service (CWS) under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme. These supports can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, as well as single Additional Needs Payments (ANPs). The basic SWA provides immediate assistance for those in need who are awaiting the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The State Pension (Contributory) system currently gives significant recognition to those whose work history includes an extended period of time outside the paid workplace, often to raise families or in a full-time caring role. PRSI Credits, Homemaking Disregards and HomeCaring Periods recognise caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment in the calculation of a payment rate....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Government has committed to the continued support of working parents to achieve a better work-life balance. The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced two weeks of paid Parents' Leave for each parent to be taken in the first year after the birth or adoptive placement of a child. In April 2021, an additional three weeks of paid Parents' Leave was made available to each...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy is shown in the attached tabular statement. Number of recipients Number of children Domiciliary Care Allowance 52,667 58,968 Working Family Payment 45,504 97,366 Carer's Allowance 94,310 53,055 Carer's Benefit ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (20 Sep 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 5th July 2023. It is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Fuel Allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments towards the cost of their heating needs. In order to receive the Fuel Allowance, a person under 70 years of age must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, satisfy a means test and live alone or with other qualifying persons. The person concerned is receiving a Working Family Payment which is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (20 Sep 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 Fuel Allowance is paid to social welfare recipients such as pensioners,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a number of income supports for those unable to work due to illness or disability. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes. The primary disability related social assistance scheme is the Disability Allowance, which is a means-tested payment for people with a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 11 May 2023. An application form for State Pension (contributory) was received on 24 May 2023. 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. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Parent's Leave and Benefit are currently available for seven weeks to all eligible parents of children born or adopted from 1 November 2019 and must be used within the first two years of the child’s life or adoption. Parent’s Benefit is paid at €262 per week - the same rate as Maternity, Paternity and Adoptive Benefits. A budget in excess of €89 million is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year cost of increasing the Carer's Support Grant by €150 to €2,000 is €21.8 million. It should be noted that this cost is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2024.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (20 Sep 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned was recently awarded Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) in respect of their child. As the applicant had a debt of €20,336.30 owing to the Department, the local Debt Recovery Unit (DRU) wrote to the applicant on 26 July 2023 proposing to withhold the DCA payment arrears of €660.00 owing to them, for partial recovery of the outstanding debt and they were allowed...