Results 5,661-5,680 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (31 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned recently made an application for Illness Benefit in respect of a period commencing 17 February 2023. The application was disallowed on the grounds that the person has no PRSI contributions paid in the relevant class. If the person concerned is encountering difficulties in meeting their basic financial commitments, it is open to them to contact the Community Welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (31 May 2023)

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, a means test and the habitual residency condition. I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (31 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments (ANP) to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. An ANP is an overarching term used to refer to Exceptional and Urgent Needs Payments, and certain other Supplements available to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from a person’s...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (31 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Most weekly social welfare payments include provision for an additional payment – an Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) – in respect of each qualified child up to the age of 18, which is extended to encompass older children to age 22 under certain circumstances. This measure provides targeted support to low-income families. In Budget 2023, the IQC rates increased by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (31 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Occupational Injuries Benefit scheme is provided by my Department under Section 87 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. The scheme provides a range of benefits in the form of compensation or income supports to those injured by an accident at work or travelling to and from work, or who contracted a prescribed disease at work. Long COVID is not a prescribed disease or illness...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (31 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Town and Village Renewal Scheme is part of a range of measures to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland. The programme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 and supports the objectives of Our Rural Future, Ireland's Rural Development policy, as well as the Town Centre First policy. Since the introduction of the Scheme in 2016, over €149 million has been approved for more...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy Naughten for raising this issue. I know he has raised it on a number of occasions. I have written to my colleagues, the Ministers for Health and Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and I will meet with them. Ultimately, it will be a Government decision as to how we deal with this matter, because, as we know, it was a whole-of-government response to Covid. I will meet with...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 439 and 440 together. The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations benefitting 260,000 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Government is conscious of the recruitment and retention challenges in the home and community care sector and is supportive of properly informed measures to increase capacity in the sector. Towards this end, it established a Strategic Workforce Advisory Group to look at the labour force challenges facing providers of home-care services. The Group’s Report was published in October...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: As part of the overall Government response to the cost of living crisis, the cost of living bonus was paid to Illness Benefit customers who had been receiving Illness Benefit for a year or more. Illness Benefit is available for a defined period and it does not link to most other social welfare payments. If these payments were linked, this may result in the number of days that Illness...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will appreciate that the Basic Income for Artists (BIA) scheme was introduced as an alternative income stream for participants and is not intended to be payable concurrently with social welfare supports such as Jobseekers Allowance. Payment is made at a weekly rate of €325 which is significantly higher than the personal rate of Jobseekers Allowance of €220. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (30 May 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 customer 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 has been received by the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: A public sector worker who is certified by their GP as being unfit to attend work due to illness and who has paid sufficient Class A PRSI contributions in the relevant tax years can qualify for Illness Benefit. In instances where the particular absence is expected to last for a period of at least 12 months, then the person may qualify for Invalidity Pension which is a PRSI contribution-based...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: State pension (non-contributory) is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, who have a legal right of residence and habitually reside in the State, and who do not qualify for a state pension contributory, or only qualify for a reduced-rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. The eligibility conditions for state pension non-contributory do not require...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's Allowance 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. Following a review of the entitlement, Carer's Allowance has now been awarded to the person concerned with effect from 10...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Reasonable Accommodation Fund aims to support the employment of disabled people by providing financial support to help make workplaces more accessible. The review of the Reasonable Accommodation Fund is near finalisation and I expect to publish it in the coming weeks. The aim of the review is to improve the effectiveness of the supports to employees and employers, to identify gaps in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme offers support for people who have either been out of work for long periods or who are young unemployed people, and who wish to enter the labour market through self-employment. The scheme plays an important role in supporting the development of new enterprises. The Government has provided €34.8m for the scheme in 2023. The Back to Work...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: State pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, legally and habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a state pension contributory, or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. For the purposes of the means-test, at application stage and thereafter, claimants must provide full and up...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Redundancy Payments Act 1967, as amended, provides for the making of payments by employers to employees in respect of redundancy. It is the employer’s responsibility in the first instance to pay statutory redundancy payments to all eligible employees. The purpose of the Redundancy Payments Scheme is to compensate employees for the loss of their job by reason of redundancy in cases...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned applied for Jobseekers Allowance on the 9th of February 2023. As the person is under the age of 25 and their parent is self employed an assessment of the parent's income needed to be completed to assess means from benefit and privilege. For this reason the applicant was asked for additional information including a notice of assessment for the self employed...