Results 521-540 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: The Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme which is the safety net within the overall social welfare system, helps eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. Supports provided under the SWA scheme can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, as well as single...

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. I recently announced that form this Fuel Allowance season, the period a person...

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

Heather Humphreys: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet essential expenditure which an eligible person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income. An ANP application can be made for assistance with funeral and burial expenses where there is an inability to pay these costs, in part or in full, by the...

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

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance 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. Cost of living lump sum payments to people on education courses, such as those raised by the...

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

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP), formerly Family Income Supplement, 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 customer must have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them and be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment. A review of Working...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (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. I can confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned...

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

Heather Humphreys: Accommodation for Government Departments is provided by the OPW. The layout and size of some Intreo Centres can only accommodate toilet facilities for staff use, which are located behind security doors. In exceptional circumstances, access can be arranged for customers in some of these offices. My officials and OPW are currently undertaking accessibility surveys of the Department's...

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

Heather Humphreys: The main income supports to carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending on these payments is expected to amount to over €1.7 billion this year. The Carer’s Allowance scheme is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the...

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 Payments (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. My Department received an application for CA from the person concerned on 8 May 2024. It is a necessary condition for...

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: 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: State Pensions (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 Appeals Office that an appeal for the person concerned was received in that office on 13 April 2023. An Appeals...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Household Benefits Package comprises of the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. Only one Household Benefits Package is payable per household. The payment is made on a monthly basis. The person concerned is in receipt of the Household Benefits Package since 2009. We recently issued out a communication to the customer and we are awaiting for this to be returned...

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

Heather Humphreys: Social assistance payments are means-tested. The means assessment reflects the fact that there is an expectation that people with reasonable amounts of income or capital are in a position to use these resources to support themselves so that social welfare expenditure can be directed towards those who need it. However, in recognition of the benefits that work can bring – both...

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: Official Engagements (15 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm I have not attended international events or engagements at which members of the media attended at a cost to my Department.

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

Heather Humphreys: The €200 living alone allowance lump sum to be implemented in November 2024 will benefit an estimated 250,000 social welfare recipients. As this is a future payment, it is only possible to provide estimated numbers for the recipients of this payment at county level, as current recipients may change their underlying payment, close their claims, change address, or have other changes in...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 423 and 424 together. For the costing the Deputy is referencing, data from the 2022 Census was used. In Census 2022, approximately 290,000 people over 19 years of age self-reported as carers. The Deputy is correct in saying that the number of carers estimated as being eligible for Carer's Allowance under the 'High Scenario' for this costing was 201,600. There...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Civil Registration Act 2004 (CRA) sets out the mechanisms to be used by an individual to amend any error of fact in the register of births. Under section 63 of the CRA, a person can apply directly to the Superintendent Registrar of the Area the birth was registered and provide such evidence as is considered adequate together with a statutory declaration from two credible persons who have...