Results 7,541-7,560 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions Payments (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The total amounts spent on State Pension payments in 2017 and the number of recipients of each payment is detailed in the following table: Pension Type Amount (€000) Recipient numbers State Pension (Contributory) 4,915,853 394,378 State Pension (Non-Contributory) 994,740 95,140 State Pension (Transition) 159 55 Widows’/Widowers’/Surviving Civil Partners...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Process (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2017 including the provision set out in section 5 has passed the Second Stage, which was concluded on 4October 2017. It is expected that the Bill will progress to Committee Stage in the coming months. I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Labour Activation Measures (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The primary goal of my Department’s activation services is to move people from unemployment to full-time and sustained employment. All jobseekers are required to engage with the Department’s activation service irrespective of whether the service is provided by the Department’s own case officers or those advisors employed by external contractors such as the JobPath...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Labour Activation Programmes Data (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department provides a range of activation supports catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. These supports include the JobPath service. The JobPath service is designed to support people who are long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. This service is delivered by two...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department's administration expenditure is split between Vote (means tested schemes) and Social Insurance Fund (non-means tested schemes). Details of the total administration expenditure for 2016 and 2017 are outlined in the following table. These costs also include services provided for and charged to my Department by other Departments and Agencies. Administration Category 2016 2017...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: Firstly, the new interim Total Contributions Approach to determining the level of payment, including the introduction of the new HomeCaring credit, for recipients of the State Pension (contributory) affected by the 2012 rate band changes was agreed by the Government in January. Instructions for legislation to give effect to this change are currently being set out. When drafted, the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: A policy to introduce the Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to the State Pension contributory (SPC) calculation was adopted by Government in the National Pensions Framework in 2010, as was the decision to base the entitlements of all new pensioners on this approach from around 2020. The Government announced in January 2018 that those affected by the 2012 rate band changes will also have...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Deputy is referring to a commitment in the Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023 which was published on 28 February 2018 that a consultation paper be published on an appropriate rate-setting/funding approach for the Social Insurance Fund by the end of Quarter 4 2018. The consultation paper will be informed by the Roadmap and in particular by the findings of the Actuarial Review of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Expenditure (1 May 2018)

Regina Doherty: The level of income provided to pensioners in the form of the State pension is currently decided through the annual budget process. The Roadmap for Pensions Reform commits the Government to examine and develop proposals this year. In order to protect the adequacy into the future the Government intends to examine and develop proposals to set a formal benchmark target of 34% of average...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Applications (26 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned is in receipt of a reduced rate of state pension (contributory) of €238.50 which is their correct entitlement based on the contribution record held by my Department. This weekly entitlement is greater than the highest rate of entitlement payable on state pension (non - contributory) and therefore the most financially beneficial to the person concerned. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Payments (26 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: My Department provides a number of income supports to lone parents once their entitlement to the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) ceases. These include the Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment (JST) payment where the youngest child is aged 7-13 years and the Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) payment which may be paid to lone parents where the youngest child is aged 14 or over. The Family...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (26 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Back to Education Allowance Scheme (BTEA), operated by my Department, is designed to support second-chance education. It enables eligible persons to pursue approved education courses and to continue to receive income support for the duration of a course of study, subject to meeting certain conditions. The BTEA is not intended to be an alternative form of funding for people entering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Benefit Eligibility (26 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children up to their 18th birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Child Benefit is currently paid to almost 628,000 families in respect of over 1.2 million children, with an estimated...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Administration (26 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: A cheque was received as repayment towards an outstanding debt from a representative of the person concerned and was lodged to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) debt recovery system on 24 April 2018. A receipt issued to the person concerned informing them a refund of €104.40 was due as they had exceeded the amount owed by this amount. An EFT Payment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (26 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: A policy to introduce the Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pensions calculation was adopted by the then Government in the National Pensions Framework in 2010, as was the decision to base the entitlements of all new pensioners on this approach from 2020. On the 23rd January earlier this year, the Government agreed to allow pensioners affected by the 2012 changes in rate bands to have...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payment Applications (26 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: Rent supplement for the person concerned has issued up to date and no arrears are due. The person concerned missed a rent payment in June 2017 as their primary payment was suspended. However, the person concerned subsequently received two months payments in July. . To date no new ENP application has been received by the Department in relation to rent arrears/insufficient funds. If the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (26 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an oral hearing of the appeal of the person concerned took place on 15 February 2018 and that the Appeals Officer is now considering the appeal in the light of all of the evidence submitted, including that adduced at the oral hearing. It is expected that a decision will issue to the person concerned within the next week. The Social...

Topical Issue Debate: Social Welfare Offices (25 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: I am at pains to conclude because I am not sure what allegations the Deputy is actually making. In the first instance, he tried to claim that I am misleading people; and now he is saying that it is not me but the Intreo staff.

Topical Issue Debate: Social Welfare Offices (25 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: Let us be really clear. The services were never closed. The office was not fit for staff to work in and it had to be closed down, but the service continues. Moreover, that was on a temporary basis. We have no intention of closing down the service. The insinuation at the beginning of Deputy Breathnach's second speech-----

Topical Issue Debate: Social Welfare Offices (25 Apr 2018)

Regina Doherty: -----is that this is closing the service by stealth. I ask him to take that off the record of this House, because he has absolutely no basis in fact to make that statement. We were exceptionally clear when we made our first statement. We were removed from this building only because it was not safe to be in, either for the clients or my staff. We told Deputy Breathnach at the time that we...