Results 8,801-8,820 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Eligibility (5 Dec 2017)

Regina Doherty: The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week from October to April to 376,000 low income households to assist them with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household. Participants on Employment Support Schemes (ESS), can be paid fuel...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Appeals (5 Dec 2017)

Regina Doherty: Fuel allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments towards the cost of their heating needs. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household. Eligibility for fuel allowance is subject to a household means test and other qualifying conditions, such as household composition. With regard to means, a...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Business of Select Committee (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I wish to advise the committee that Deputy Bailey cannot attend and has been replaced by Deputy Fitzpatrick.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: We are talking about something we cannot talk about because it is gone, but I do not have a problem coming back. Three months is not a reasonable amount of time to have let the changes we are making now elapse to see what impact they will have. Most of the amendments tabled today are about compiling reports on one thing or another, and all they would do is make work for us, whereas the work...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: It is a question of how long is a piece of string. I cannot give a definitive answer because it entirely depends on the recovery of the economy. As there is more money to spend and more money is given to me, we will have more money to do the things that we want to do. As I said yesterday, if all we were doing this year was giving a €5 increase and that was it, the likelihood is it...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I will clarify again what I said last night and what I said at the committee last week. First, it is not a Government report. It is a Department paper with resolutions to fix the anomaly. That will be going to the next Cabinet sub-committee for discussion with the other people on that economics committee. If it is agreed there, which I have no doubt it will be, it will then go to the...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I am not sure. As new money is involved, I believe the memorandum will then have to go to the Cabinet. I do not think I could publish it before then. It would only be a number of days. There cannot be any more than seven days between those meetings.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Immediately. I hope I will be on the plinth at 1 p.m. that day telling the Deputy that I got the money and that we are fixing the issue.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: It is not a report that will be brought to Cabinet; it is a paper.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: It is not a report. We need to trawl through the more than 42,000 people to find out exactly where they were on the scale, how much money it will cost and what their circumstances were. The paper will set out exactly what the problem is and the preferred way or ways to fix it and how much it will cost. The reason I am confident it will be accepted is because everybody has said they want to...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: It is not the simplest way because it would cause me many other problems. I am sorry to interrupt the Deputy. If we had done that, it would cause many other problems. It would have fixed one anomaly but created a whole load of other anomalies. I am blue in the face saying this. Our fundamental aim, apart from fixing this, was to make sure we did not cause other problems for other people.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I hear what members of the committee are saying. The timeline has already been laid down. I have given a commitment that the paper with its resolutions and suggestions will go to the next Cabinet sub-committee meeting whenever that is in the next number of weeks. It will immediately go to Cabinet after that. If the Deputy wants to table and amendment proposing that I publish the paper...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: It is next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Why do I not come back to the committee on Report Stage?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Why do I not come back to the committee before Report Stage to tell it exactly the date of the next Cabinet sub-committee meeting? That might give assurances to people.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: If it helps, I can tell the Deputy they will not.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I absolutely am. From what the Deputy has said, I think he thinks it will be quite thick but it will not be. It will only be a number of pages. The resolutions and solutions will also probably only be a number of pages. It will be very small but there is a large amount of data that needs to be gone through to ensure there is accurate information in it. What will be brought to Cabinet is...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I do not agree with the Deputy. The old bereavement grant was an insurance-based scheme. Those who did not have their social contributions paid into the pot did not get anything out of it. The people the Deputy is talking about, who are exceptionally vulnerable and going to the social welfare offices or loan sharks, are not the people who would have received the €850 grant in many cases.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: We have not abandoned in any way the people the Deputy is talking about because in last year's budget, more than €5 million went specifically to helping people with burial allowances and funeral costs. The average payment was €3,800 per family who approached us. There is no cap on that. The Department did not have a budget of €5 million and it was not a case of...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Bill 2017: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I have them here.