Results 6,621-6,640 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 854, 855 and 857 together. The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. The number of people currently with direct eligibility is approx. 1,056,984. Obviously, this number changes regularly. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2023 is €95 million. The...

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

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable to a parent/ guardian in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability or condition and requires ongoing additional care and attention substantially in excess of that normally required by a child of the same age and the child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for a at least 12 months. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 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. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an invalidity pension appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 18 January 2023. It is a...

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

Heather Humphreys: My Department has not issued any letters to its customers requesting them to switch their payment method from cash collection at a post office to payment by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) into their account in a financial institution. My Department provides two main payment options for its customers: payment in cast at post offices or payment directly into customer accounts by Electronic...

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

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance 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 Habitual Residency conditions. Disability Allowance and Blind Pension have been designed to support recipients pursuing...

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

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP), formerly Family Income Supplement, 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 have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them and be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment. The average...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) is the unique reference number for transactions between individuals and Government Departments and other public service bodies. A person may need a PPSN for a number of reasons. For the period, 1st January to 31st December 2022, an overall total of 305,889 Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) have been issued by my Department. Of this overall...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Irish Sign Language (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Sign Language Interpreting Service (SLIS), funded and supported by the Citizens Information Board (CIB), a statutory body under the aegis of my Department, provides a range of Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreting services to individuals and organisations, including: - The Irish Remote Interpreting Service which provides a live video-link to an ISL interpreter; - A 24/7 emergency service...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Revised Estimate for each year sets out the planned expenditure in each sub-head for that year. The Department of Rural and Community Development operates over 20 sub-head areas each year, reflecting the range of schemes and supports in place for both rural development and community development. Where, during the course of the year, actual expenditure demands within a sub-head differ to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Our Rural Future, the national rural development policy, recognises the importance of community safety in rural areas, and contains a number of measures to this end including the introduction of the Policing and Community Safety Bill to redefine the functions of An Garda Síochána to include community safety. However, in terms of funding schemes neither the Town and Village Renewal...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Road Projects (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that the LIS is funded into the future.  The Scheme was reintroduced by my Department in 2017 following a number of years with no dedicated funding.  I am...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Road Projects (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that the LIS is funded into the future.  The Scheme was reintroduced by my Department in 2017 following a number of years with no dedicated funding.  I am...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Road Projects (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities. As part of Our Rural Future, the Government is committed to ensuring that the LIS is funded into the future.  The Scheme was reintroduced by my Department in 2017 following a number of years with no dedicated funding.  I am...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department was allocated a gross budget of €389 million for 2022, of which €195 million was current and €194 million was capital. However, €10.5 million was repurposed from capital to current to provide supports to assist the response to the Ukraine crisis, effectively reducing the capital budget to €183.5 million, which was supplemented by a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Animal Welfare (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has policy and legislative responsibility for dog control.  I published the consultation report on ‘A review of measures relating to the control of dogs in Ireland’ last year.   This report followed a public consultation to which over 1,000 responses were received.  As a result of this review, the Department intends to more actively promote a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Sustainable Development Goals (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a significant and ambitious framework. A whole-of-Government approach to its implementation has been taken in Ireland. Ireland’s Second National Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Development Goals, 2022 – 2024 was published in October 2022. The Plan was developed by the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Community centres are the cornerstone of community life in towns, villages and parishes across the country. Since my appointment as Minister for Rural and Community Development, I have placed a key focus on the development of these important facilities.  In 2022, I launched the new Community Centres Investment Fund and there was huge demand for the scheme with over 1,000...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department's mission is to support vibrant and sustainable communities across this country, and in doing so to deliver on a wide range of strategic interventions, funding programmes and policies to support urban and rural communities. Funding for meals-on-wheels community groups may be available, subject to meeting eligibility criteria, through various funding strands managed by my...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Employment Schemes (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, Tús is an active labour market programme designed to provide long term unemployed people with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities. In relation to the pay issue raised by the Deputy, the matter is currently the subject of a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) conciliation process as you will appreciate, while this process...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a range of supports which are available to Men's Sheds, depending on the works being completed. Last November, I was delighted to announce funding of €800,000 to support Men’s Sheds throughout the country. The initiative will see grants of up to €2,000 provided to over 400 Men’s Sheds nationwide to assist them with running costs such as...