Results 501-520 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The figures requested by the Deputy are set out in the table below. There were approximately 100,000 recipients of the State Pension (Non-Contributory) at 31 December 2023. There were approximately 509,000 recipients of State Pension (Contributory) at 31 December 2023, of whom just under 165,000 qualified before 1 September 2012. Not all State Pension awards can be categorised according to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: From September 2012, the rates of State pension (contributory) paid to those who had a yearly average of less than 40 contributions were lowered. In recognition that these rate changes may have negatively impacted certain cohorts, in January 2018, the Government announced an Interim Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to calculate the entitlement of pensioners who reached State pension age...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 383, 387 and 388 together. The Department of Social Protection does not hold statistics on reasons for unsuccessful claim applications. Claim processing statistics are not collected on a county basis, and thus it is not possible to provide the requested county data; national totals are provided. In the State in 2023 there were 22,633 claims registered for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Cost of Living Issues (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions. All bonuses and additional payments will be payable to recipients of DA who are awarded/in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a wide range of income and employment supports to assist jobseekers and employees with disabilities, and their employers. Work and Access is a set of supports to help people with a disability get a job or stay in work. It is available to the private, community, not-for-profit, and voluntary sectors and the self-employed. This scheme is funded by the Exchequer through...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As previously advised to the Deputy, under the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023, since January 2024 long-term carer's contributions can be awarded to a person who has cared for an incapacitated person for a period of 20 years or more. These contributions are treated the same as paid contributions for State Pension (Contributory) entitlement only and can be used to fill any...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (15 Oct 2024)

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 €382 million in 2024. 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 (15 Oct 2024)

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: Departmental Staff (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: There are elements of communications to most roles in my Department, given the millions of individual interactions every year between the staff of the Department and the people they serve. The Unit whose function relates to supporting corporate communications is the Communications and Press Office. Their focus is to ensure the provision of timely information on the range of services and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Advertising (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department administers more than 90 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. The Department is fully committed to ensuring that members of the public are fully aware of the welfare supports and services available, as well as ensuring key changes are communicated to them. Public information campaigns are an important part of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 393, 404 and 408 together. Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. As the Deputies are aware, on 22nd January, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the entitlement of an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Oct 2024)

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: State Pensions (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Social welfare legislation provides that the Personal Representative of a deceased person who, at any time, received a means-tested payment, is obliged to give notice to my Department of their intention to distribute the deceased's estate, to provide a schedule of the assets of the estate and is requested not to distribute the estate until they receive formal clearance from my Department. If,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Oct 2024)

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 16,17 and 18, if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. The person concerned and her family reside in Northern Ireland. The customer is employed in the Republic of Ireland and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2025 (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned was awarded state pension (contributory) with effect from 29 April 2024. As part of Budget 2025, I announced a €2.6 billion Social Protection package to support families, pensioners, carers and people with disabilities. This package will assist households through a mix of cost-of-living payments, targeted supports and across the board increases to weekly payments....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Oct 2024)

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 Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (15 Oct 2024)

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. CA was in payment to the person concerned for the period 28 May 2020 to 22 June 2022. Following receipt of your...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP) is an income-tested weekly payment which provides additional financial support to employees on low earnings with children. WFP provides financial support for employees who have low earnings/income relative to their family size. The WFP rate payable is 60% of the difference between the average weekly family income and the relevant prescribed income limit. In order...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is responsible for the administration and payment of a range of supports to assist an eligible person who is parenting alone including the One-Parent Family Payment and Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment, described below: One-Parent Family Payment is a payment for parents under 66 years who are parenting without the support of a partner and whose youngest child is under 7...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJI) is an administrative scheme under Jobseeker's Allowance, which allows those who are long-term unemployed to take up part-time employment for up to 24 hours per week. Those who qualify receive a payment of either €147 or €239.90 if they are receiving an increase for a qualified adult. The rates are increasing to €154.60 and...