Results 6,481-6,500 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. The processing target for the Disability Allowance (DA) scheme is to award 75% of applications within 10 weeks. The average number of weeks to award a DA claim in February 2023 was 10 weeks. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Disability Awareness Support Scheme provides a contribution towards the cost of disability awareness training for private sector employers. Employers can claim 90% of the eligible training costs in the first year, and 80% in subsequent years. Three businesses received the grant in 2022 and the value of the grants issued was €14,531. It is important to note that the grant is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Policies (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Registration of stillbirths by parents in Ireland is voluntary. Currently, the birth of a stillborn child may be registered where the child has a gestational age of 24 weeks or more or weighs 500 grammes or more. Recommendations from the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive are that, in line with current clinical practice, the criteria for a stillborn child should be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (28 Mar 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 Code (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the customer’s own resources, and which...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Fuel Allowance is a means tested payment to assist pensioners and other long-term social welfare dependent householders with their winter heating costs. The payment is a contribution towards heating costs and is paid over the winter season at the weekly rate of €33.00 or, if preferred, by way of two instalments. Only one Fuel Allowance is payable per household. Those who qualify for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Jobseeker's Benefit is a payment for people between 18 and 66 years of age who become fully or partly unemployed and have paid enough pay-related social insurance (PRSI) contributions. A person must be unemployed for at least 4 in 7 consecutive days to be eligible for the payment and they must satisfy the other qualifying scheme conditions. The duration of payment for Jobseeker’s...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Department operates a range of means-tested social assistance payments. Social welfare legislation provides that 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 includes income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. All claim decisions taken by the Department’s Deciding Officers and Designated Persons are appealable to the Chief Appeals Officer. In any year about 85% of all...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Carer’s Allowance is primarily aimed at carers on low incomes who look after people in need of full-time care and attention. The two principal conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are that full time care and attention is required and being provided, and that the applied means test is satisfied. The application of the means test ensures that the limited resources...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Maternity Benefit is a statutory payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. The fundamental qualification criteria for Maternity Benefit are that a woman must be in insurable employment and entitled to statutory maternity leave or be in insurable self-employment. The applicant must also satisfy certain PRSI contribution...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: All contracts awarded with a value over €25,000 are published by the Department and can be accessed on our website: www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/48366f-department-of- employment-affairs-and-social-protection-policy-on-pro/#what -we-purchase None of the companies referred to by the Deputy has received such a contract. The second company referred to has received three payments...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Official Travel (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy will be answered in the PQ reply from the Department of Rural and Community Development, there has been no cost to date for the trip to the Department of Social Protection.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under current eligibility conditions, an individual must have 520 full-rate paid contributions in order to qualify for standard State Pension (contributory). The person concerned will reach 66 years of age in 2033. Pension entitlement can only be assessed on the basis of the eligibility conditions applicable on the date an individual reaches pension age. Factors such as an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, decided to disallow the appeal of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (28 Mar 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: State Pensions (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Pension entitlement can only be assessed on the basis of the eligibility conditions applicable on the date an individual reaches State Pension age. Currently, a person who has 2080 paid or credited contributions, or who has in excess of 520 contributions with a yearly average of 48 or more contributions since they entered the social insurance system, would qualify for the full rate State...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In April 2012, the number of paid contributions required to qualify for a state pension (contributory) increased from 260 to 520. This change was announced well in advance of its introduction. In 1993, "Developing the National Pension System - Final Report of the National Pensions Board” was published and recommended that the number of paid contributions required to qualify for a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. A claim for IP was received from the person concerned on 15 February 2023. In order to establish their eligibility, two forms were sent to them on 10 March 2023. On...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned has been awarded invalidity pension with effect from 16 February 2023. Payment will issue to her nominated bank account on 30 March 2023. Any arrears due from 16 February 2023 to 29 March 2023 (less any overlapping social welfare payment) will issue in due course. The person was notified of this decision on 22 March 2023. I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.