Results 8,401-8,420 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has, as you will be aware, 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy is aware it is a core value of my Department to deal with all its customers in a professional and respectful manner. When corresponding with customers in the context of a medical review or appeal of a particular claim it is standard practice to include a pre-paid return envelope. In order to facilitate the efficient distribution of the returned correspondence the envelope has...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance is a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. The payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) is paid from late September to April. One of the conditions for receipt of fuel allowance is that a person must satisfy a means test. The fuel allowance means test is linked to the maximum rate of State pension (contributory). An...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 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. A new claim for IP was received from the person concerned on 10 November 2022. In order to establish medical suitability two forms were sent to him on 16 November 2022....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Nov 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 am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an email from the person concerned was received in that Office on 26 September 2022. As the communication did not...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Treatment Benefit Scheme provides dental, optical and aural services to insured workers, the self-employed, retired people and their dependant spouse/partner who have the required number of social insurance (PRSI) contributions. If a person is aged under 21, they may qualify if they have paid at least 39 contributions at any time. Between the age of 21 to 28, a person may qualify if they...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's Benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention. To qualify, the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions; employment conditions; show that they are providing full-time care and attention; and must show that the care recipient requires full-time care and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: A person in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance or signing for credited contributions is stating that they are capable of and actively seeking full time employment, which is incompatible with providing full time care and attention to a person in need of such care. Accordingly, a person in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Redundancy Payments (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Redundancy Payments Act 1967, as amended, provides for the making of payments by employers to employees in respect of statutory redundancy. It is an employer’s responsibility in the first instance to pay a redundancy payment to all eligible employees; should a redundancy situation arise. In the event that an employer is unable to pay the statutory redundancy lump sum due to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: In addition to her widow's contributory pension, payable at the weekly rate of €253.30, the person concerned has been awarded a living alone allowance at the weekly rate of €22.00 from the 22nd April 2022; fuel allowance at the weekly rate of €33.00 and the telephone support allowance at the weekly rate of €2.50 from the 21st October 2022. Payment will commence at...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Child Benefit is a universal 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 eighteenth birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Estimated expenditure on the scheme will be approximately €2.1 billion in 2022. In Budget 2023, I secured a significant Social Welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. To qualify for Working Family Payment the customer must have at least 1 qualified child who normally resides with them and be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment. Once WFP is awarded, the weekly rate of payment remains...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 451 and 467 together. As part of Budget 2023, the Social Protection budget 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 introduced include the provision of a one-off €500 Cost-of-Living payment, which...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make additional needs payments 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 cannot be met from the customer’s own resources, and which...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system on 20th September 2022. The measures, which were approved by Government, are in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations. The set of measures represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system. The reform measures include enhanced pension provision for long-term carers of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Applications for Exceptional Needs Payments (ENPs) are made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service in the Department. The purpose of the ENP is to assist people with essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which cannot be met from any other source and which a person could not reasonably be expected to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 17 October 2022. CA was awarded on 15 November 2022, with...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. An application for Carer’s Allowance (CA) was received from the person concerned on 13 October 2022. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability and requires ongoing continual or continuous care and attention substantially over and above the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and the child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 consecutive...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Nov 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. The person concerned was awarded full rate CA from 27 October 2022. Payment will issue to the person’s nominated...