Results 7,021-7,040 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (14 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention. Carer’s Benefit is payable for up to a maximum of 104 weeks to a carer in respect of a care recipient. To qualify, the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions, employment conditions, show that they are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (14 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments (ANPs) to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. Supports from my Department however are not intended to cover circumstances where another Government Department/Agency has a primary responsibility. My Department received an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP)...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (14 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: An interim decision was made and the person concerned was awarded State Pension (contributory) at the current weekly rate of €238.50 from 23 December 2022. A copy of their UK insurance record was recently received in my Department from the Department of Work and Pensions. The rate of their State Pension (Contributory) was reviewed and increased to €260.10. The person concerned...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (14 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, the new National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027,was launched last November. The Strategy was developed in collaboration with Comhairle na Tuaithe and is a collaborative cross-Government, stakeholder-led strategy. It reflects the views of stakeholders, the public and the whole of Government and it sets the stage to strengthen and support the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Parking Provision (14 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Last April, I launched the Community Centres Investment Fund (CCIF), to support community groups with the upgrade and refurbishment of existing community centres. Outdoor amenities or improvements were not eligible for funding under the fund. The Government is aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and I was delighted to secure €20 million in funding...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Greenways Provision (14 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development of new outdoor recreational infrastructure and for the maintenance and promotion of existing infrastructure. In February 2020, Louth County Council was approved funding of €200,000 under ORIS to develop and enhance the Boyne Greenway. To date no funding has been drawn down on this project. ...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (14 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has responsibility for the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) 2018 – 2023 that provides funding to tackle poverty and social exclusion at a local level through local engagement and partnerships between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations and public sector agencies. SICAP is managed at a local level by 33 Local Community Development...

Nursing Home Charges and Disability Allowance Payments: Statements (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Given the complex historical basis of the DPMA and the disability allowance, I welcome the opportunity to set out the context of this matter for the House. Over the full period of some 70 years, there have been different allowances and legislative provisions governing these schemes and it is important that they be understood clearly. For more than 40 years, the DPMA constituted a weekly...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: This is a demand-led scheme, as the Deputy knows. We spent €58 million on it last year. There is a budget for this year and if the scheme requires more money, that is not a problem. We will provide it. The additional needs payment, through the community welfare service, is the State's safety net for people who get into difficulty. I have been in politics for 20 years and have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. I ask her to give me the details. I am not familiar with district heating systems, to be honest. If she gives me the information, I am happy to have a look at it. I do not know the details. If she gives me-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: If the Deputy writes to me on that specific issue, I will be happy to follow it up.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for this question. The purpose of an additional needs payment is to assist with essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. In 2022, over 97,000 additional needs payments were issued at a total value of over €58 million. More than €66 million has been provided for additional needs...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: In 2022, 26,021 disability allowance claims were registered with my Department, with 13,817 claims awarded and a total of 5,637 appeals. Domiciliary care allowance claims registered stood at 10,524, with 7,872 claims awarded and 2,084 appeals. There were 22,841 claims registered for carer's allowance, with 14,921 claims awarded and 3,521 appeals. During 2022, the Department continued to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: Each scheme has multiple conditionality such as medical, caring, means and residency. A key criteria is that the applicant satisfies the medical-related conditionality. To assess this, the Department employs its own team of more than 30 doctors who have a mix of skills and specialties and who are specially trained to assess the impact of a medical condition on a person's capacity to work or...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputies. I hear the concerns they raise. I had one case in my constituency office of a child who had been diagnosed from birth with a particular disorder but the medical evidence did not stack up and they did not get the disability allowance. They were moving from domiciliary care to disability care but they did not get it. They did not provide the information. I told them...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: There are a number of ways this can be done, which I explained previously. People can call into the social welfare Intreo office, pick up the telephone and ring us or apply online. If someone needs a member of staff, we will go out to his or her house. Those are all options. As I said, it is working because the number of claims waiting to be processed is down. There are two weeks in hand...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Pensions (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The Government acknowledges the important contribution carers provide and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the current State pension system gives significant recognition to those whose work history includes an extended period of time outside the paid workplace, often to raise families or provide another full-time caring role. PRSI credits, homemaking...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Pensions (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: As part of the State pension reforms, I am committed to providing the pension for long-term carers and hope to have it in place by 2024. As the Deputy knows, we are doing much work to support carers, which is absolutely correct because they really do great work. There is no doubt about that. My officials are looking at the legislation we need to change. That is being written as we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Pensions (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: We will use any of the information we have in the Department on domiciliary care allowance, carer’s support grant or carer's allowance. We are trying to make sure people who have genuinely been caring for more than 20 years get the benefit of this. It is important that they get this pension. They have cared all their lives and find that when they come to pension age, because of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (9 Feb 2023)

Heather Humphreys: The CWOs, as we all know, deal with people in a humane and responsive way. There are a number of ways in which people can make applications. They can call into any social welfare or Intreo office. They can pick up the phone and ring us. They can apply online or, where they need it, they can even arrange for a member of staff to meet them in their home. There are many options available to...