Results 7,201-7,220 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I thank the Chairman and members for their invitation to attend the committee today to discuss the 2023 Revised Estimates for the Department of Social Protection. As we face into 2023, it is timely to recap on the challenges Ireland has faced over the past 12 months. We entered 2022 under Covid restrictions but, thankfully, then saw a significant easing of Covid-19 pressures on our...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. This is a matter he has raised with me on a number of occasions. To be fair, I made changes, as recommended by the committee, to the half-rate for carers in respect of the fuel means test. He will know that I increased the means test for the over-70s this year. I have committed to conduct a full review of all the means tests this year. I have asked my officials to...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: We have brought forward proposals on foot of the Pensions Commission's recommendations. I announced last September that I had brought a memorandum to Cabinet. As we know, the State pension age will remain at 66. Flexible access to the contributory State pension will be introduced from 1 January to allow people reaching 66 years of age to defer access and allow them to continue to...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: About 5% of adult Ukrainians who are here are aged over 66. Approximately 3,500 people are getting pensions. PPS numbers had been issued to 72,240 people as of the close of business on 22 January. Some 48% of them are adult women; 30% are people aged under 18; 22% are adult males; and, as I said, about 3,500 are adults aged over 66 who get a pension.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: Yes. They go straight onto it. The Deputy again mentioned the 65-year-olds. As I said to Deputy Kerrane, we will explore designing a scheme to modify the current benefit payment for 65-year-olds to provide a benefit payment for people who, following a long working life of 40 years or more, are not in a position to remain working in their early 60s. We are looking at how we can do...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: We are actually running an information campaign this week on the working family payment. We want people to be aware that they can avail of this very important support. We were able to give the lump sum payment before Christmas, which I know was very welcome. It means that people can work and get this payment. It is a very important support so we are committed to it. As I have said, we are...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I may be able to get the Deputy that figure now. May I come back to him on it? I just do not have it to hand immediately.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: Yes, 2023. I am sorry; I am losing track of the years. In the interim, 30 social welfare inspectors have been temporarily reassigned to assist with claims processing. The national contact phone line for the community welfare service provides information on the CWS and direct access to a community welfare officer, CWO, as necessary. The phone line receives approximately 7,000 calls in a...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: The total expenditure this year-----
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: Yes, that is what is------
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: Regarding public employment services, the contracts for JobPath provided for a two-phase approach that entailed client referrals for a number of years followed immediately by a run-off period of two years to facilitate existing clients to complete their engagement with the service. The extension provision in JobPath contracts was agreed and activated in August 2019 with the result that phase...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: We have had this debate before. We are dealing with those people who are most removed from the labour market. They get a lot of support. It is about engagement with them. We always review our schemes to see whether there are learnings from them. There are no plans at the minute to do that. I am more focused on making sure the new system beds in well. The bottom line is that the people...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I absolutely agree with the Chair that there is a cohort of people who have disabilities, which could be mild, and with a bit of extra help, there is no reason why they cannot take up employment and contribute - especially as we have a tight labour market at the minute. I made some changes in the budget so that a person could earn more. To try to support them, we increased the limit of what...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I hope that man says the same when he sees me. He is from Cavan.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: As the Minister of State has alluded to, we have, to be fair, made significant improvements to the CE schemes in recent years. We have got co-operation from the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to do that. People forget that it is not only a job activation scheme. CE schemes are also providing good supports and social services to the...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 includes a commitment to develop and consult on a straw man proposal for the restructuring of long-term disability payments. That is to simplify the system and to take account of the concerns expressed in the Make Work Pay report and the issues Members are raising today. The cost of disability research report was published by my Department in...