Results 6,401-6,420 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In response to Deputy Ring, regarding those aged under 70, I increased the threshold in the budget so that people can earn €200 on top of the contributory pension. People aged under 70 can earn up to €465 and still qualify for the fuel allowance. This Government did a lot in budget 2023 to assist people who need help with the cost of fuel. There was a budget package of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Moreover, there was a €12 increase in social welfare rates at the beginning of the year.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: They are working. People need the payments.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The working family payment is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees with children on lower earnings designed to prevent in-work poverty. It is a targeted measures that is directly linked to household income and, therefore, directly supports low-income working families. The average weekly payment made to families is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I do not have the figures for who should be applying. We can only encourage people to consider the working family payment. It is to help people who are working. We want to encourage people who go to work and support them in doing so. That is the purpose of the working family payment. The online application process replaced a very long paper application form. The removal of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Social Protection wants people to know about these schemes and take them up. They are in place to help people. As the Deputy knows, we have supported people. Budget 2023 included a social welfare package of almost €2.2 billion. There was a double weekly payment in October, a double child benefit payment in November and a Christmas bonus double payment in December....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Programmes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. The primary responsibility for the delivery of housing rests with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is taking new measures to put in place additional accommodation to mitigate the impact of the end of the eviction ban. Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make additional needs payments to help to meet essential...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputies Stanton and Ring. We are doing a full review of the means test at the minute. We will also look at the capital disregard, which has not been reviewed. I increased the means threshold for the fuel allowance only recently, that is, the amount of money someone can have in an account before it impacted on qualifying for that payment. We need to do a full review of it, as I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. As he is aware, the fuel allowance scheme is a means-tested payment to assist pensioners and other long-term social welfare dependent householders with their winter heating costs. The payment is made over the winter season from September to April at the weekly rate of €33 or, if preferred, by way of two lump-sum instalments, one in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The number of recipients of fuel allowance fluctuates as people join and exit the scheme and as their circumstances change. There was a significant drop in the number of recipients of long-term jobseeker's allowance from 2018 to 2019 and this is reflected in the number of this cohort who were also in receipt of fuel allowance. The number of long-term jobseeker's allowance recipients with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pensions Reform (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I am well aware of the cases raised by Deputies Smith and Stanton. One goes to one's accountant, especially if one is a self-employed farmer, and thinks one is getting advice, but sometimes one is not getting great advice because some of those who did not have to pay tax that year did not pay their PRSI. That is exactly what happened. When one reaches retirement age and discovers there are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The State non-contributory pension is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for the State contributory pension or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. People in receipt of the pension are notified of their obligation to inform my Department of any relevant changes in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: An individual who has capital amounting to €40,000, or €80,000 for a couple, and no other income or means will receive the maximum rate of the State non-contributory pension. I take the Deputy's point. One could have a single person living on nothing who could manage to survive on very little. I would say it could be the clippings of the tin, which would be very little. They...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pensions Reform (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Currently, all applicants for the contributory State pension have their entitlement assessed under the yearly average method and the interim total contributions approach, receiving the payment that is most beneficial to them. The yearly average method has been in place since the introduction of the contributory pension in 1961 and calculates the average number of social insurance...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pensions Reform (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Yes. We will move to a total contributions approach because it is a fairer approach. It means you get back what you paid in. It will be over a ten-year period so it will be gradual. We do not want to disenfranchise some people. When you change things, there are always those who are better off and those who are perhaps not as well off but we will do it very gradually, over a ten-year...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy said, when people commence employment they can avail of an income disregard of €165 per week. I increased it to that amount in budget 2023. In addition, 50% of earnings between €165 and €375 are also disregarded for the purpose of the means test. The partial capacity benefit allows people who are in receipt of invalidity pension or illness benefit to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I take on board what the Deputy says about the need to advertise the reasonable accommodation fund more. It is available. I put an additional €1 million into it. It means employers can get support for specialised equipment to refurbish offices to make them accessible for people with disabilities. The Deputy is also correct that we also need to ensure people are aware of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Yes.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy is right about me giving her straight answers. She likes specifics. We will publish the straw man by mid-May. It is called a straw man because people will be able to make submissions, we will engage with them and the stakeholders, and it is open to change. The outcome of public consultation will influence the final reform proposals. The cost-of-disability issue is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: No.