Results 7,641-7,660 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (14 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: In June of this year, I launched the 2022 Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS), again prioritising projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings back into use and promote residential occupancy in town centres. In recognition of the urgent need to transform and regenerate town centres I introduced a new Building Acquisition Measure (BAM) under the 2022 Scheme to support local...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (14 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: LEADER is a key programme within Our Rural Future, and the Expression of Interest stage to select the Groups to deliver the next LEADER programme is now open. As is the case with the current LEADER programme, the sub regional areas for the new LEADER programme will correspond with county boundaries. This alignment will help to ensure coherence of LEADER funding with other initiatives and...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Social Media (14 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The amount spent by my Department on advertising on social media in 2021 is detailed in the table below. Platform Campaign Total Amount Twitter Promotion of Government's Rural Development Policy - Our Rural Future €4,798.52 No such expenditure has been incurred to date in 2022.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I do not propose to accept the amendment but I get what the Senator is saying. People coming from abroad are not excluded from applying for carer's allowance if they meet the habitual residency condition. It applies across the board. It is a requirement for eligibility for means-tested social assistance payments and child benefits. It is aimed at restricting access to such payments by...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: It all depends on the various different cases when it comes to the habitual residency clause because some people may have lived in the country before or they may have been out only a short time and be back. I would say to people to submit an application. The best thing that anybody can do is just apply.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I do not propose to accept the amendment. The carer's allowance is a qualifying payment for access to both the back to education allowance and the back to work enterprise allowance. The back to education allowance is a second-chance educational opportunity scheme. It supports certain social welfare recipients to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: To clarify, we give credits for home caring periods. In the new pension proposals, anyone who cares long-term, which is more than 20 years, will be taken into account as credits for the person's contributory pension. We have it for the short term and for the long term as well.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: If the Senator does not press the amendment, I will agree to do this report. Fuel allowance is paid to social welfare recipients such as pensioners, people with disabilities, lone parents and long-term unemployed people in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on their social welfare payment for all or most of their income. People on long-term payments are unlikely to have...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I will speak to amendments Nos. 5, 6 and 12, which have been grouped together. The Department partly funds the excellent, detailed work of the Vincentian MESL Research Centre and has used this research as a key input into consideration of budget options in recent years. I value the insights this research provides. The Vincentian MESL Research Centre at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I do not propose to accept this amendment. I would like to make the general point that legislation is not the appropriate place for seeking reports. I accept, however, that this is an opportunity for the Senator to raise these matters and discuss them with me. I have made the point about including in primary legislation, particularly legislation as complex as the Social Welfare Acts,...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As I said earlier, assessing the household means, in other words, the means of the entire household, is the best way of targeting income supports where they are most needed. I am doing a full review of it. We are happy to look at it on an individualised basis as well and can certainly do that when we are doing the review. We are, as I said, open to looking at it and seeing how we can...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Senator. As she knows, I have already committed to initiating a wide-ranging review of means testing in the Department next year. I take on board her point about somebody with a disability who wants to bring somebody in to live with them. We can consider those things.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Senator. I do not propose to accept this amendment because I am already addressing the two issues she is requesting a report on. As the Senator is aware, the report of the child maintenance review group was published on 16 November. The Government established that group in 2020 to examine several issues regarding child maintenance in Ireland. The terms of reference were to...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I do not propose to accept the amendment. The €12 increase to the weekly rate of social welfare payments from January 2023 supports recipients across all weekly schemes, including pensioners and those of working age. It also includes a proportionate increase for adult dependants which means that the basic increase for a two-adult household will be between €20 and €22.80...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I do not propose to accept this amendment. The jobseeker’s transitional payment can be paid until a lone parent’s youngest child turns 14. The big thing about that payment is that people do not have to be looking for work. To extend eligibility for the payment until the youngest child turns 18 would be contrary to the Government’s policy goal of tackling long-term...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: They actually can take up part-time work if they wish, as I understand it.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I can understand that some people might have childcare issues and want to be home when their children come home from school and so forth. It is about trying to strike the balance. In fairness to the staff in the Intreo office in the job activation sections they take a practical approach to this. It is a tight labour market at the moment. If we can find that balance where we can allow...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Senators for raising this issue. Everything they have said here is perfectly true. If someone who is a class A contributor comes into this House, they suddenly have nothing. The number of years they spend here will have an impact on their contributory pension, which they may have paid for before they came into the House from whatever form of employment they may have been in. I...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 383 and 415 together. The Department of Social Protection provides income supports through a mixture of contributory payments (which are based on a person's social insurance record) and means-tested social assistance payments. The State Pension (Non-contributory) is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 384, 385 and 386 together. The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations benefitting 260,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an...