Results 701-720 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Correspondence (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The customer incurred an overpayment of €173.33 while on Illness Benefit from the period 14th June 2022 to the 18th of June 2022. This debt was raised on 18th July 2022 and remains outstanding. A letter was issued to the customer on 18th July 2022 requesting repayment of the outstanding debt. The letter included a sentence referencing that Illness Benefit payments can issue to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Following on from the Pensions Commission's recommendations, a number of State pension reforms were enacted in the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023, which represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State pension system. Among these reforms was the introduction of a flexible State pension system for those turning 66 on or after the 1st January 2024. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: he Disability Allowance scheme is structured to encourage recipients to avail of opportunities to engage in either insurable employment or self-employment. For people in employment, an income disregard of €165 per week is applied with 50% of earnings between €165 and €375 also disregarded. Persons can currently earn up to €165 per week and keep their payment in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The staffing needs for all areas within my Department, including the Social Welfare Appeals Office and all areas involved in the processing of appeals, are continuously reviewed. This is to take account of workloads, management priorities and the ongoing need to respond to increasing demands in a wide range of services. I want to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Oct 2024)

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. I can confirm that my Department received correspondence dated 16 September 2024 from the Office of the Ombudsman stating...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2025 (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The €200 living alone allowance lump sum to be implemented in November 2024 will benefit approximately 250,000 social welfare recipients. An estimated breakdown of recipients by county requested by the Deputy is shown in the attached tabular statement. County Recipients Carlow 1% Cavan 2% Clare ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2025 (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16,17 and 18 if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. A double Child Benefit payment will issue to all recipients on November 5th and December 3rd 2024. It is estimated that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2025 (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16,17 and 18 if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. A double Child Benefit payment will issue to families on November 5th and December 3rd 2024. It is estimated that over...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2025 (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: A 100 cost of living lump sum payment for people getting a Child Support Payment (previously known as Increase for a Qualified Child ) will be paid for each qualified child in November 2024. The number of beneficiaries and the county breakdown is still subject to change depending as claims may open or close before the payment is made. However, at the end of July 2024, there were 339,135...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly in-work support which provides an income support for employees on low earnings with children. To qualify for Working Family Payment, the customer must be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment and have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them. Budget 2025 included an increase in the income...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2025 (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The October bonus and Christmas bonus will benefit approximately 1.38 million social welfare recipients. An estimated breakdown of recipients by county requested by the Deputy is shown in the attached tabular statement. County Recipients % Carlow 1% Cavan 2% Clare 3% Cork 11% ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2025 (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Hot School Meals Programme has grown from a small pilot project to a nationwide programme now approved in 2,200 primary schools nationwide. In April 2024, my Department contacted the remaining 1,000 primary schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy, who have not yet joined the Hot School Meals scheme, asking them if they wished to submit an expression of interest in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 335, 324 and 336 together. 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 €382 million in 2024. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household. As part of Budget...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As you will be aware, the Citizens Information Service (CIS) comprises of eight regional companies that are funded by the Citizens Information Board (CIB), the statutory body funded by my Department. As I have stated on many occasions, I absolutely acknowledge and value the important information, advice and advocacy services that the staff of the CIS provide right across the country. I...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: A breakdown of the annual expenditure on contracts is published on the at

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 341 and 340 together. At the end of August 2024, there were 133,683 recipients of the Carer's Support Grant. Of these, 95,565 were in receipt of Carer's Allowance, 3,774 were in receipt of Carer's Benefit and 55,946 were in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance. 28,441 individuals were in receipt of the Carer's Support Grant and Domiciliary Care...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: There are a number of reasonable scenarios that could be used when attempting to provide the cost estimate range of abolishing the Carer's Allowance means test. For this costing, data from the 2022 Census was used. In Census 2022, approximately 290,000 people over 19 years of age self-reported themselves as carers. Given the uncertainty about how many of these carers would meet the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Oct 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The costing was based on the 146,046 carees/care recipients as per data available to my department on 31/12/2023. A Carer’s Support Grant is paid in respect of each of these care recipients. Under the legislation that pertains to Carer’s Allowance these people, defined as relevant persons, have been deemed by the department as requiring and receiving full-time care and...