Results 6,561-6,580 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Voluntary Sector (22 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Community and Voluntary Energy Support Scheme (CVESS), administered by Pobal on behalf of my Department, is providing once-off support to incorporated organisations and registered charities within the community and voluntary sector which fall outside the parameters of other energy support schemes being delivered by Government.  While Phase One of the CVESS closed on 2nd December,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Flexible Work Practices (22 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Our Rural Future, the Government's rural development policy for 2021-2025, places a clear emphasis on the transformative effect that remote working can have for rural communities. It also prioritises the revitalisation of rural towns and villages and recognises the importance of addressing the issue of vacant buildings in this regard. A key deliverable under Our Rural Future was the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Civil Service (22 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is committed to building workforce capability through encouraging and supporting staff development. One way the department supports staff is through the Refund of Fees scheme that provides financial support and special leave arrangements for staff studying for a recognised academic or professional qualification in their own time. Whilst my department holds records of those...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. I am pleased to say that as part of the cost-of-living measures, we are going to extend the hot school meals programme to all DEIS primary schools and all special needs schools. We are actively working on expanding it. It is so important that young children avail of a hot school meal, particularly in the middle of the day. We all know the benefits of that. It helps...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Person Concerned applied for Benefit Payment for 65-Year-Olds(BP65) on the 24/05/2022. This application was refused on the basis that the qualifying conditions attached to the scheme were not satisfied. The Person Concerned appealed the decision on 3/6/22, stating that they had not been employed or self-employed since December 2017. The Appeals Officer concluded that the Person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under Government Accounting rules, a Department incurring overspends on subheads must seek sanction for virement from the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDPDR). My Department provides very detailed financial data by subhead and division of subheads to DPENDPDR for the Exchequer returns and at end of each month. The Department also provides a timely response to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (21 Mar 2023)

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 €412 million in 2023. 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: State Pensions (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Currently all applicants for the State Pension (Contributory) (SPC) have their entitlement assessed under two separate criteria, the Yearly Average (YA) method and the interim Total Contributions Approach, receiving a payment based on which method is most beneficial to the person. The YA method has been in place since the introduction of the contributory pension in 1961. The YA method...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: State Pension (Contributory) is a payment which you may qualify for at 66 years of age if you have enough Irish social insurance contributions. This pension is based on your social insurance (PRSI) contributions. Modified contributions can be combined with full-rate contributions and credits to give an entitlement to a mixed insurance pro rata State pension (contributory). In order to be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (21 Mar 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. In order to qualify, applicants must show that they are habitually resident in the State, that their means are less than the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Mar 2023)

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. I confirm that my Department received an application for Carer's Allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 22 February...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Mar 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 22...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Mar 2023)

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. An application for Carer's Allowance (CA) was received from the person concerned on 23 September 2022. Carer's Allowance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Occupational Injuries Benefit is an income support provided by my Department to those injured at work or travelling to and from work, or who contracted a prescribed disease at work. Covid-19 does not constitute a prescribed disease or illness as set out in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 as it does not meet the criteria laid down in the Act. Section 87 (2) of the Act states that a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (21 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. The person concerned can apply for Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) if they wish to undertake some work. PCB extends the Illness Benefit (IB) and IP schemes to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The EmployAbility Service provides support to people with disabilities to secure and maintain paid employment in the open labour market. Contracts for EmployAbility service providers are agreed on an annual basis to ensure that adequate funding is available for the level of service required by the Department. Any approved expenditure incurred by the service provider is then claimed from the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: On Budget Day last September, I announced the largest Social Protection package in the history of the state. A package that has seen the Government spend more than €2.1 billion on Social Protection measures, including over €880 million in order to provide for a €12 increase to the weekly rate of social welfare payments that came into effect from January 2023. This...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In general, medical or health related benefits fall within the remit of the Department of Health and the HSE. However, my Department administers the Treatment Benefit scheme which provides dental, optical, and medical appliances benefits to insured workers, the self-employed and retired people who have the required number of PRSI contributions. These treatments are also available to their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Fuel allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments and persons aged over 70 towards the cost of their winter heating needs. From January 2023, for applicants aged 70 and over, there is a new means test limit of €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple; the capital disregard threshold has been increased from...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Mar 2023)

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 €412 million in 2023. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household. In the case of applicants in receipt of the Living Alone Increase (LAI), the...