Results 8,081-8,100 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Income Inequality (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Deputy is incorrect. The data in the report refers to the period 2004 to 2014. The Deputy cannot say that my programmes are not working when they bear no relation to the data referred to in the ESRI report. Let us be clear about that. I thank the Deputy for his tokenistic compliment. The Ability programme is a pilot project. I am not sure how Sinn Féin does things but we do...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Income Inequality (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: To correct the record, the 132,000 people who are registered as having disabilities this year do not live in consistent poverty. According to the ESRI report, the poverty rate increased from 22.4% to 26.3% but, thankfully, it is far from 100%. In order to assist people with disabilities, the Department manages a range of income supports. The two to which I referred earlier are pilot...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Income Inequality (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: Yes, I would like to do that. My intentions and what I can do depend on the budgets allocated to me for next year. It is something that I think would be worthwhile. It was one of the recommendations made in the Joint Committee on Social Protection's report on lone parents. It is only fair that we give back the full disregard and I will try to increase the qualified child increases as much...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Child Maintenance Payments (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: I can confirm that I have received the proposals in question regarding the establishment of a child maintenance service. The establishment of a service to assist lone parents to seek child maintenance payments would be a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, because the Family Law Acts, which place a legal obligation on parents to maintain their children, are...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Income Inequality (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 39 together. The research report, Poverty Dynamics of Social Risk Groups in the EU, produced by the ESRI and funded by my Department, analyses the significance of different systems of welfare regimes and their effectiveness in protecting vulnerable groups in 11 EU countries, including Ireland, over the ten-year period from 2004 to 2014. It showed...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Priority Questions: Income Inequality (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: While I am loath to contradict the Deputy, I have no choice on this occasion. Of the two programmes I am specifically referring to, one was only launched in 2017 and the pilot programme for the second was only completed a number of weeks ago, having run for 12 months during 2017. Neither of those programmes are reflected in the data we have shown. One is the Ability programme, which is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Visual Artist's Workspace Scheme (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: Periods of unemployment can be a typical feature of their professions for writers and artists. They can go through fallow periods while, for example, they are building up their work and trying to establish themselves. A pilot initiative targeted at self-employed visual artists and writers was launched in June 2017. These professions can qualify for a jobseeker’s payment when they are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Rights (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42, 53 and 57 together. Bogus self-employment arises where an employer wrongly treats a worker as an independent contractor in order to avoid tax and social insurance contributions. There are robust arrangements in place for dealing with complaints of bogus self-employment. Social welfare inspectors inspect a wide range of businesses, as part of their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance Payments (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: The people referred to by the Deputy were public servants who were employed in a permanent and pensionable capacity and who were determined to be paying the wrong class of PRSI. In the first case, the person concerned was made permanent and formally admitted to the superannuation scheme by her employer on 1 September 2006. In 2013, following a request by the employer for an insurability...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Economic and Social Research Institute (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: The research report referred to is “Poverty Dynamics of Social Risk Groups in the EU” produced by the ESRI, funded by my Department and published last month. It analysed the significance of different systems of welfare regimes and their effectiveness in protecting vulnerable groups in eleven EU countries, including Ireland, over a 10 year period. That ten year period was from...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobsPlus Scheme (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: The JobsPlus scheme, since its introduction in 2013, has provided a direct monthly financial incentive to employers who recruit employees who are long term on the live register and those transitioning into employment. My Department pays the incentive to employers monthly in arrears over a two-year period. It provides employers with two levels of payment, €7,500 and €10,000,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: I can assure the Deputy that prompt processing of claims is a priority for me. Scheme areas are monitored and reviewed to ensure customers are responded to and claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. As part of its programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology, have been...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizen Information Services (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is a statutory body established by the Oireachtas. In addition to its own statutory responsibilities in relation to information and advocacy service provision, it has statutory responsibility for the countrywide networks of Citizens Information Services (CIS) and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS). The decision to restructure the governance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Legislation (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot comment on issues relating to particular pension schemes. However, generally speaking, trustees of pension schemes have duties and responsibilities under the Pensions Act, under trust law, and under other relevant legislation. They must administer the trust in accordance with the law and the terms of the trust deed and rules. The provisions of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 74 together. It is not mandatory for any resident in Ireland to have a Public Services Card. However it has always been necessary for people using high value or personalised public services to prove their identity. In order to ensure services are provided to the right person and to support efficient service delivery, a growing number of public service...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: As the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is a service that supports people who are long-term unemployed to obtain and sustain paid employment. The service was launched in 2015 on a ‘rolling basis’ with referral numbers gradually increasing over time. There are two phases to the service. During the first phase, of 12 months duration, a personal advisor (PA) provides practical...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Tús Programme (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: Tús is one of a range of supports provided by my Department to cater for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. It provides part-time temporary work in local communities, as a stepping-stone back to employment. However, it is important to note that these placements are not full-time sustainable jobs and are designed to break the cycle of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Dormant Accounts Fund (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: The DAF is managed through a series of annual action plans. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) is the lead Department for one of the 2016 Dormant Accounts Action Plan measures which provided €0.5m for training and supports for family carers at the end of their full-time caring role. The 2016 DAF Action Plan for carers has now been fully implemented....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance Yield (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: The Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance fund (SIF) as at 31 December, 2015, which I published in October 2017, was carried out by independent consultants, KPMG. This is a review required by legislation. It examines the projected income and expenditure of the SIF over the course of the 55 year period from 2016 to 2071. The review found that the fund currently has a modest surplus of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (20 Feb 2018)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 63, 75 and 86 together. 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, the Government agreed to a proposal that will...