Results 7,681-7,700 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. I have asked the Chief Appeals Officer to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.

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

Heather Humphreys: My Department has acted very quickly to deliver the Disability Support Grant and other budget measures within an exceptionally short timeframe. Wherever possible, budget measures that are usually implemented in the January to March period of the year following a Budget announcement, have been brought forward and implemented within a period of weeks. While this early issue of payments was...

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

Heather Humphreys: In response to the ongoing cost of living pressures, I announced on Budget Day that my Department will spend approximately €1.2 billion on social welfare measures to help individuals and families through this difficult period. This included a range of double payments and lump sum payments that were targeted at those who are most vulnerable including older people, families, carers and...

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

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that the department received an application for disability allowance (DA) from the person concerned on 03 August 2022. On 03 September 2022, this person was requested to supply supporting documentation required by the deciding officer in order to make a decision on eligibility. Based on the evidence supplied in support of this person’s application, this application for...

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

Heather Humphreys: Budget 2023 has been designed to assist people with cost-of-living increases through a mix of lump sum payments, increases to weekly payment rates and an expansion of the Fuel Allowance scheme. The measures include the provision of a one-off €500 payment to recipients of the Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and the Carer's Support Grant. Partial...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 416 and 422 together. Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department can make Additional Needs Payments (ANPs) to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Irish labour market has experienced a robust recovery post-COVID. According to the latest estimates from the CSO’s Labour Force Survey (Q3, 2022), the number of people in employment is now above 2.55 million, the highest level in the history of the State, while the unemployment rate for November 2022 stood at 4.4 percent, below pre-pandemic levels. The table below provides an...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 418, 419 and 420 together. Jobseeker's Benefit (JB) is a payment for people between 18 and 66 years of age who become fully or partly unemployed and have paid enough pay-related social insurance (PRSI) contributions. If you don't qualify for JB, or if your entitlement to JB has expired, you may qualify for Jobseeker's Allowance (JA). This is a means-tested...

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

Heather Humphreys: My Department understands the many pressures faced by customers and always seeks to ensure that claims are processed quickly and efficiently. Processing times for new applications vary across schemes, depending on the differing qualification criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of illness-related schemes, can take...

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

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable to a parent /guardian in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability and requires continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of that normally required by children of the same age and the child must be likely to require full time care and attention for at least 12 months. Eligibility for...

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

Heather Humphreys: Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. The person concerned has been awarded IP from 20 October 2022 and first payment will issue on 22 December 2022 by their chosen payment method. Arrears of payment due will...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: There are currently 14 (WTE 13.3) Community Welfare Officers based in County Tipperary: Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) are physically on site daily in over 50 Intreo Centres across the country where they are available to be seen without an appointment, 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday including at the Clonmel and Thurles Intreo Centres. In addition to meeting citizens in Intreo Centres,...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Community Welfare Service (CWS) is committed to providing a quality service to all citizens, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. In general, most Additional Needs Payment (ANP) applications are processed within four weeks. If an application is urgent, every effort is made to ensure the person receives a payment on...

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

Heather Humphreys: The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of my Department which are relevant to this question are the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Authority. The details requested by the Deputy are set out for each body below: Citizens Information Board The Citizens Information Board (CIB), under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection, is the statutory body responsible for...

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

Heather Humphreys: I was pleased to announce on Budget Day that a 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid this year benefitting 1.3 million people in receipt of long-term social welfare payments. The Bonus includes payments to pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and long-term unemployed people in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on their social welfare payment for all, or...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds, provided under the Jobseeker's Benefit schemes, is available to address the position of people who are required to or who choose to retire at age 65 before the pension age of 66. In the case of person who has ceased their usual self-employment but continues to be a self-employed contributor by virtue of their rental income, the benefit payment may be paid...

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

Heather Humphreys: Jobseeker’s Transition Payment (JST) is a form of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) that aims to support lone parents into the workforce while they have young children. Administratively, JST is a subset of JA, and JST recipients are therefore not readily distinguishable from other JA recipients. As the Deputy may be aware, the ESRI examined the impact of changes to the One Parent...

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

Heather Humphreys: 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 €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household. The criteria for Fuel Allowance are framed in order to direct the limited...

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

Heather Humphreys: Since 27 June 2020, my Department has made a number of changes to the Social Protection system. In Budget 2021, while the country was still widely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, I secured a social protection package which included: 1. Qualified Child Increase (a) Increase the weekly rate of the Qualified Child Increase for children aged 12 and over by €5 per week,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (13 Dec 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) are physically on site daily in over 50 Intreo Centres across the country where they are available to be seen without an appointment, during business hours, Monday to Friday. In addition to meeting citizens in Intreo Centres, Branch Offices and DSP offices, CWOs can facilitate an appointment within a short time of a person requiring such a meeting, at a...