Results 7,221-7,240 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: That is fair enough. We will look at that. We want to look at it when we look at the pension reforms too. We need to look at how we can support people who are no longer physically fit to work because of the very nature of their jobs. How do we deal with somebody on a building site - we have used this example before - who has a long history of contributions but is not the right age? It is...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: The Deputy need not worry; I will put steel in it. I have just received a note. I will give the committee the bit of information on it. Any proposals for change to partial capacity benefit will be considered also in the wider straw man proposals. We are happy to look at these things when we go through all this. I cannot promise we will be able to solve them all but we will certainly take...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: After 12 months on illness benefit, I understand a person can go to partial capacity benefit and then work unrestricted, so that could in some way facilitate the phased return to work. To give an update on where we are, under the occupational injuries benefit scheme, my Department provides supports to those who contract an occupational disease at work. At the moment, Covid-19 does not...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I will get an up-to-date figure. There is no problem in doing so.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I do not mean to do that.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I will come back to the committee with the statistics.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, DCA finishes at age 16 and then, as Deputy Ó Cuív has said, many people move onto disability allowance. By the way, Ms Tracy McGinnis is now an Irish citizen. She got her citizenship late last year and I was delighted to see that. I do not want to talk about specific cases. I will put it this way. People who have children on the disability...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: It will cover it as well.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: There still could be ones who do not get either.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: There is a good bit of work to do on that so that we can get into the detail. The intention is that people who genuinely cared for somebody for more than 20 years, which is a long time, who gave up work and who were not able to work because of that will get credits for that so that they will be able to have their entitlements to the contributory pension. That is the plan. When that is...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: It will be part of the wider review but I have changed it. The carer's allowance is one of the most generous means tests in the system and I have increased it to more than €750 for the singles. It has gone up to €350 per week for single carers and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse or partner. The capital disregard was increased from €20,000 to...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I am very aware of the issue of epilepsy. We are looking at it. I take the points that were made. I have a close family friend who has epilepsy and cannot drive. It is not easy. We are looking at that and I am happy to engage with the committee on it. On the fuel allowance, I was delighted to get the agreement for the over-70s and the increase in the means test. As we all know, when...
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: If there is any particular case Deputy Ó Cuív wants to give me a note about, I will look at it.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: Okay, I will follow it up.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: After his death-----
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: If Deputy Ó Cuív gives me the details of the case, I will be happy to follow up on it because in cases like that we want to help people.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: I will be looking at that myself.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: Page 66 of the briefing shows us that-----
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: It is doing well now but I am told that if one looks back over the last 15 years it shows more red figures than black ones, outlining the fact that the Social Insurance Fund has been in deficit for far longer than it has been in surplus. In fact the Exchequer has supported the fund to the tune of more than €10 billion since 2007. That is why it is critical to keep it under close review.
- Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023) Heather Humphreys: We will go back a bit further.