Results 5,281-5,300 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Waiting Times (19 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: The average appeal processing times for all appeals determined to the end of November 2017 and to the end of November 2018 broken down by all social welfare scheme types is outlined in the table below. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (19 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: Pensions reform is a Government priority. The ‘Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023', which I launched in February 2018, details specific time-lined actions Government will take to reform our pension system. This includes the introduction, from 2022, of an ‘Automatic Enrolment’ retirement savings system, for those without personal retirement savings. This project...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (19 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: A policy to introduce the Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pensions calculation was adopted by Government in the National Pensions Framework in 2010, as was the decision to base the entitlements of all new pensioners on this approach from 2020. In advance of this, on 23 January, the Government agreed to a proposal that will allow pensioners affected by the 2012 changes in rate bands...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (19 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department administers over 70 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 general 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 therefore an important part of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (19 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: For the purpose of this response, I have interpreted “the amount spent on marketing and media” as media buying costs incurred from public information campaigns, announcements and senior management vacancy notices. My Department is committed to ensuring that members of the general public are aware of the welfare supports and services that are available to them and that they are...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. When any notification such as this is made to the Department, we immediately send somebody out to the organisation and hold information evenings for all those who are unfortunately losing their jobs to ensure that they know their exact entitlements and to get them on their social welfare payment immediately, but also to look at their skills, work...

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: It is ten.

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Senator will have to excuse me for being confused. In my head, I am hearing two separate issues here which do not relate to each other. If I am answering the wrong one, I ask the Senator to give me the nod. On the public consultations on total contributions, not a single decision has been made, not one. If we arrive at 30 years with ten years' credits, it will be because we have...

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: We introduced 20 years of credits for this interim period.

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: I understand what the Deputy means.

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Senator was looking for the report to satisfy herself as to who was going to be excluded from receiving a full pension on the basis of not having either 20 years work with 20 years caring or 30 years work with ten years caring. The difficulty I have with this is that it is not new. The move to this model was flagged back in 1994, and the reason we changed from 260 initial contributions...

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: With ten years' credit.

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: No, because we are increasing the contributions to 20 years.

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: I am sorry the Senator feels that way because I can genuinely tell her that we have not made any decisions. I have not started reading all of the propositions that have come in to us from the various people who have made their views known. I can say that categorically a week before Christmas. If we stay at 30 years, then we will limit the caring credit to ten years. If we move to 40...

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: We are not moving the goalposts. The only reason we would consider moving to 40 years is because people who will retire from 2020 onwards will have had the opportunity to have had 20 full years plus working, because they will be 66 or 67 at that stage. In addition, we are adding in the gaps for caring. We changed the caring credit. Historically, the homemaker's credit was only for women...

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: Not for the new system.

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: I do not think the Senator will be surprised by what I tell her. She suggested that some people in the Department have concerns about the public services card but they do not. There are some people in Ireland who consistently express their concerns with the public services card, but they do not come from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and the Senator and I both...

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Senator is making my case for me. The reason it is so low is that we employed SAFE 2 in 2011.

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: I assure the Senator that there is no intention of anybody moving towards an ID scheme. If there was, it would be a fairly poor one given that one is not obliged to show one's public services card, PSC, card to anyone, so it certainly would not work. I regret that it appears that I am always fighting with Senator Higgins, because I have huge respect for her, but I cannot allow her to say...

Seanad: Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2018: Report and Final Stages (18 Dec 2018)

Regina Doherty: None of that is in the remit of my Department.