Results 6,921-6,940 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Benefit Payments (20 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The jobseeker’s schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. The 2018 Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure this year on the jobseeker’s schemes of €2.17 billion. The current weekly maximum personal rate of jobseekers benefit is €198. Where a claimant has average weekly...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times (20 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The information (where available) requested by the Deputy is detailed in the following tabular statement. Average Weeks to Award May 2018 State Pension Contributory 6 State Pension Non-Contributory 13 Jobseeker's Benefit 1 Jobseeker's Allowance 2 Maternity Benefit 6 Disability Allowance 13 Illness Benefit 1 Invalidity Pension 7 Carer's Allowance 15 Domiciliary Care Allowance 10...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (20 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence including that adduced at the oral hearing, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility (20 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Qualification for dental benefit is based on satisfying certain PRSI conditions, which vary depending on the age of the person concerned. In this case, the person concerned would need to have paid 260 PRSI contributions at Class A, E, H, P or S, since first starting work, and also have at least 39 qualifying contributions paid at the correct rate, or credited, in the relevant tax year/s on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (20 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Funding (20 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: Under the programme my Department provides funding for local sponsoring organisations to provide training, upskilling and educational opportunities for jobseekers and other vulnerable groups in the community. This funding is granted under an annually renewable legal agreement/contract between the sponsoring organisation and the Department. Article 3 of the agreement/contract states...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Data (20 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The following are the numbers of Carer’s Allowance applications made in 2017 (‘registered’), the number of claims awarded in the year (‘awarded’), and the number of applications rejected in the year (‘rejected’). Note that some of the awarded and rejected outcomes are in respect of claims registered prior to 2017, and that the same claim may...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (20 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The following are the numbers of Carer’s Allowance applications made in 2017 (‘registered’), the number of claims awarded in the year (‘awarded’), and the number of applications rejected in the year (‘rejected’). Note that some of the awarded and rejected outcomes are in respect of claims registered prior to 2017, and that the same claim may...

Topical Issue Debate: Early Bird Breakfast Clubs (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: It is obvious how emotionally engaged Deputy Dessie Ellis is on this matter. I do not mean to be patronising, but it is really lovely to see. I am not refusing anybody's help. The first thing my Department does is give money for food, which we gladly give. We already know and appreciate the impact it has and that will not change. The second thing we do is provide money through community...

Topical Issue Debate: Early Bird Breakfast Clubs (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: I thank the Deputy for raising this Topical Issue. I also acknowledge that Deputy Noel Rock has been in discussions with me on this issue for more than a month. To give the Deputy some background, my Department is providing funding for school meals in more than 1,580 schools and other organisations. The programme, which supports more than 248,000 children, will cost approximately...

Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: If the Deputy has an issue with the numbers, which clearly he does, I suggest he takes that up with the IGEES-----

Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: -----which is the independent authority which came up with the scoping issue.

Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: I cannot answer the Deputy's question as to how often the committee has met, because I do not know. However, I will find out for the Deputy. As for meeting CE supervisors, I do so when I visit CE schemes nationally and, on a more official level, my Department meets and communicates with them on a weekly basis. The best thing for me to do is write to the chairman of the committee to find...

Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week, paid for the duration of the fuel season from October to April. Over 364,000 low income households will benefit from this allowance at an estimated cost of €227 million in 2018. The purpose of the payment is to assist these households with their energy costs and it was never intended to meet those costs in full. My...

Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: I agree with the Deputy that the vast majority of households experiencing fuel poverty do so because they are unable to keep their houses warm. As such, income supports are only part of the answer. In many cases, in fact, they are not even a big part of the answer. The best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term is to improve the energy efficiency of houses through proper building and...

Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: That is why I am waiting on it.

Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The fuel allowance this year will amount to €227 million while €237 million has been provided for electricity and gas payments. Further millions have been provided under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme and the exceptional needs payment scheme. The problem here is that heat is going straight up the chimney. The real way to future-proof people living in consistent...

Other Questions: Zero-hour Contracts (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 completed Committee Stage in the Dáil on 17 May and is back for Report Stage next Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bill includes a provision to prohibit zero-hour contracts except in cases of genuine casual work, emergency cover or short-term relief work for the employer. It is worth recalling that the University of Limerick study,...

Other Questions: Zero-hour Contracts (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: All of the issues the Deputy has just outlined will not be legal when we pass the new Bill because of all of the other sections of the Bill, not because of permitting casualised work in certain exceptional circumstances. It is because of the banded hours and the look-back period that will be introduced, as well a whole range of measures within the Bill that will prohibit what the Deputy has...

Other Questions: Zero-hour Contracts (19 Jun 2018)

Regina Doherty: I thank the Deputy. The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 does not make rules for any one company that the Deputy is here to make representations about today. It is to make sure we have a fair and balanced approach for workers and their employers in every single company in the country. The benefit that casual employees will see when we pass the Bill is that, if they are on an...