Results 61-80 of 1,032,329 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Ciarán Cuffe OR speaker:Chris Andrews OR speaker:Joe Flaherty OR speaker:Johnny Mythen) in 'Committee meetings'

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Support Services (24 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I launched the work and access programme in the Hodson Bay Hotel. It was very encouraging to see the number of people working in the hotel who had taken up the scheme. It has made a difference to many people's lives. It is a great scheme. I commend the employers who have engaged actively with it, the Hodson Bay Hotel being a prime example. An income disregard of €165 per week...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Support Services (24 Sep 2024)

Denis Naughten: However, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, sets the 50% rate under the scheme and it is that with which I have an issue.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (24 Sep 2024)

Social Welfare Eligibility

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (24 Sep 2024)

Violet-Anne Wynne: 7. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider the removal of the means test for the carer's allowance in budget 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37685/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (24 Sep 2024)

Violet-Anne Wynne: Will the Minister consider the abolition in the upcoming budget of the means test for carer's allowance?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (24 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The carer's allowance scheme is the main means by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. In 2024, expenditure on the scheme is estimated to be more than €1.1 billion. Since my appointment as Minister, I have made a number of significant improvements to the means test for carer's allowance. In June 2022, the income disregards were increased from...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Social Welfare Benefits

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Aindrias Moynihan: 18. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will increase the child benefit payment to assist families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37624/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Aindrias Moynihan: My question relates to the rate of child benefit payment per child and whether there is an opportunity to have it increased to support families who are under pressure. When the payment was first introduced, it was a useful step in tackling child poverty. Can the rate of child benefit be increased in the forthcoming budget?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Child benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. The extension of child benefit to 18-year-olds was one of my key priorities in budget 2024 and I am very pleased that we were able to bring that change in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Aindrias Moynihan: I acknowledge the huge step that was taken in allowing full-time students to hold on to child benefit. I had raised the issue with the Minister, as did many of my colleagues. It was a positive move that it was included in the budget. The one-off payments are just that. They are not ongoing over the years. When child benefit was originally introduced in the 1940s, it had a huge impact...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy Moynihan and acknowledge the support he and others gave me in increasing the age to the 19th birthday. That made a big difference. It brought a lot of children in, including some who were still in secondary school and were able to get that support. It is a much-needed support. It is a universal payment. Some people say it should be universal, while others say there should...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Aindrias Moynihan: I will focus on the particular group who do not qualify for the various social welfare payments such as child dependant payments. Child benefit is probably the only social welfare payment going into the house and it is a hugely significant part of the overall household budget. It has not been increased in many years from the €140 rate. If she were to make a change in that, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy is correct that there is a cohort in the middle that does not have any other supports and the child benefit payment is important. Some people have said to me that people with high incomes get the same payment, but I have met a lot more people in the middle income bracket than millionaires over the years. It is an important payment. It is €140 with a double payment last...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Social Welfare Benefits

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: 19. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection whether she intends to examine a cost of disability payment; if she intends to introduce reforms to the disability payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37678/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I will keep it short and sweet. We had a lot of discussion about the Green Paper and all that went with it. The Minister correctly identified that there were shortcomings in the approach outlined, however well intentioned. However, there is a cost to disability that has long been identified in various reports. We need to come back to how that can be addressed. How does the Minister now...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I published the Green Paper on Disability Reform in September last year. The Green Paper sought to reform my Department's system of disability payments to better target supports and better account for the cost of disability. The Green Paper was a consultation document. Feedback from the public consultation raised concerns about its proposals. In particular, people questioned whether it...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pension Provisions (24 Sep 2024)

Aindrias Moynihan: I thank the Minister. The modifications that were made were very beneficial, especially for people who are caring for children throughout much of their life. This situation arises for people who take on a caring role later in life, in their 40s, 50s and 60s. I would welcome an opportunity to review the scheme and include it in any of the next steps that will be taken. Is there any...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Pension Provisions (24 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy outlined a specific case where someone had retired and was going to look after his wife. There are situations where a person with fewer than 20 years of caring may be entitled to avail of home caring periods or the homemaker scheme, subject to existing qualification conditions. I do not think the person in the case the Deputy mentioned would qualify under that scheme. This...