Results 6,001-6,020 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is both a means and medically assessed payment. It is a condition of the scheme that a DA recipient must reside in the State. An overpayment of DA was raised against the person concerned for periods during 2019 as they were absent from the State and had not notified the Department of same. It is Departmental policy to recover all debts in full. This can be done via...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Non-contributory pension is a payment to people over 66 whose entitlements is based on a means test. All means tests in my Department are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes have been made in recent years. Last year I announced a series of measures designed to remove barriers facing social welfare customers who choose to accommodate people in their homes. In July...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Cost of Living Issues (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The spouse of the person concerned is in receipt of a State Pension (contributory) payment from my Department which includes an Increase for their Qualified Adult. The Government is acutely aware of the effect that high energy prices and the cost of living are having on families, businesses and the most vulnerable. In addition to the substantial package of supports provided in Budget 2023,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (16 May 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 in that office on 23 March...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Tax Code (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Department operates a range of means-tested social assistance payments. The means test takes account of the income and assets of the person (and spouse / partner, if applicable) applying for the relevant scheme. Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned (other than the family home) and capital...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Tax Code (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: State pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, 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. Recipients of state pension non-contributory are obliged to notify the Department of any changes in their circumstances...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (16 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, means test and Habitual Residency conditions I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Departmental records reflect the person concerned has not made a recent application for a Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA). It is open to the person to apply by completing a SWA1 form and providing all relevant documents in support of their application. For convenience, a SWA application pack was posted to the person concerned on 09/05/2023. On receipt of a completed application form and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 454 and 455 together. Civil and public sector employees recruited prior to 6 April 1995 paid social insurance contributions at modified rates under classes B, C and D and continue to do so after this date. There were no such employees transferred from class A to class D. However, all civil and public servants recruited from 6 April 1995 pay social insurance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget Process (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Issues relating to tax relief are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Finance. The One-Parent Family Payment is a payment for lone parents under 66, who are not cohabiting, and whose youngest child is under seven. The Jobseekers Transitional Payment is a special arrangement under the Jobseeker’s Allowance scheme for lone parents under 66 who are not cohabiting and whose...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 26 March 2021. An application form for State Pension (contributory) was received on 28 January 2021. The person concerned was awarded State Pension (contributory) at the maximum weekly rate, currently €265.30, from 26 March 2021. The Increase for a qualified adult was awarded at the maximum rate of €237.80, from 18 January 2023....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: 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 important component of policies to encourage school attendance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation, and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Irish Sign Language (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Irish Sign Language (ISL) Act 2017 assigns specific responsibilities to the Minister for Social Protection in relation to the funding of a scheme of accreditation for ISL interpreters (Section 7) and the provision of funds to facilitate ISL users with access to specific events, services and other activities, as specified in guidelines (Section 9). I have assigned the implementation...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned has been in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance from September 2021 to date. The means assessment completed by a Social Welfare Inspector in the Buncrana Office is based on independent auctioneer property valuations submitted by the customer in March 2023. The customer has requested an appeal which is being prepared by a Deciding Officer in the Buncrana Intreo Office . An...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The €200 Spring lump sum payment was paid to 1.3 million recipients in receipt of long-term social welfare payments. This lump sum was paid in late April and cost approximately €261 million. This support was paid on a similar basis to the Christmas Bonus, including to those on jobseeker's payments or Illness Benefit for over 12 months; with the addition of recipients of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Person Concerned benefit exhausted on Jobseekers Benefit and a claim for Jobseekers Allowance was registered on 22/02/2023. They voluntarily withdrew their application in an email to the Social Welfare Inspector on the 13th of April 2023 and stated that they felt under pressure to obtain all the requested documents. Subsequently the Deciding Officer closed the application. They...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned is in receipt of an Increase for a qualified adult on their State Pension (contributory). An increase for a qualified adult is a means-tested payment, payable to a claimant whose spouse, civil partner or cohabitant is being wholly or mainly maintained by them, and where that qualified adult’s personal means from any source does not exceed a means test income...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Media (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested is not readily available. My Department is in the process of working with agencies to collect and collate the data in question and will revert with a reply directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Equality Issues (16 May 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Social Protection (DSP) and its Public Bodies and Agencies are committed to meeting its obligations for reasonable accommodation under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015. In its most recent survey the percentage of employees in the Department who declared a disability was 6.37% of the workforce (i.e. 437 employees of the 6,860 staffing), exceeding with civil and public...