Results 8,901-8,920 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 40, 44, 45 and 48 together. The current rate bands applying to the State pension contributory were introduced from September 2012, replacing previous rates introduced in 2000. The rate bands prior to 2000 were less generous, and the improved rate bands introduced in 2000 were a feature of the economic and political environment at that time. The economic...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Data Protection (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The Single Customer View (SCV) was developed to enable sharing of Public Service Identity data (called PSI) in accordance with Sections 262 (5) and 262 (6) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. In addition, the system facilitates the sharing of this PSI data for control purposes in accordance with Section 261 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. Only bodies specified in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The objective of the activation process is to provide a professional employment service to help unemployed jobseekers secure and sustain suitable employment and by so doing achieve financial self-sufficiency. This function is carried out by appropriately trained case officers in my Department who provide a personalised supportive collaborative service tailored to meet the individual...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: There are two State pensions. Firstly, the State pension non-contributory is a means-tested pension funded from taxation. Secondly, the State pension contributory, which is not means-tested, is paid from the Social Insurance Fund. Accordingly, it is important to ensure those qualifying for that pension have made a sustained contribution to the Social Insurance Fund over their working...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Foster Care Policy (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The home-makers scheme makes qualification for a higher rate of State pension (contributory) easier for those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties. The scheme, which was introduced in 1994, allows up to 20 years spent caring for children under 12 years of age (or caring for incapacitated people over that age) to be disregarded in the calculation of the yearly average...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 53, 66 and 76 together. The current rate bands applying to the State pension contributory were introduced from September 2012, replacing previous rates introduced in 2000. The rate bands prior to 2000 were less generous, and the improved rate bands introduced in 2000 were a feature of the economic and political environment at that time. The economic...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizen Information Services (29 Nov 2017)

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).In February of this year, the Board of CIB...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payment Eligibility (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 67 together. Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The ENP scheme is demand led and provides assistance to those with...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The Department’s approach to developing the working family payment was guided by two principles. First, that it should ensure that work pays, and second, that it should have a positive effect on reducing child poverty. To advance the commitment contained in the Programme for Partnership Government, the Department established an internal working group and an Inter-Departmental Group...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS) 2017 to 2021 was launched in July, 2017. It sets out to secure an Irish society in which people with disabilities enjoy equal rights and opportunities to participate in social and cultural life, can take up work if they want to, and have choice and control over how they live their lives. The Strategy sets out 114 actions under a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Non-Contributory) (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 59, 64 and 71 together. Spending on State pensions has increased rapidly in recent decades. This year, the cost is €7.3 billion. This is estimated to increase by €1 billion every five years due to the increased number of pensioners. These projections mean that there are considerable sustainability and affordability challenges in the years...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Delays (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Significant efforts and resources have been devoted to reforming the appeal process in recent years. As a result, appeal processing times improved between 2011 and 2016 from 52.5 weeks for an oral hearing in 2011 to 24.1 weeks in 2016 and from 25.1 weeks for a summary decision in 2011 to 17.6 weeks in 2016. I understand from the Chief Appeals Officer that there has been a slight increase in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Maintenance Payments (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Matters relating to maintenance are for the Department of Justice and Equality and for the Family Courts.The Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976 provides that spouses/civil partners and unmarried parents are required to maintain each other according to their means and needs. Parents, whether married or not, are responsible for the maintenance of their dependent children....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: With JobPath the department has procured additional resources to enable it to provide a high quality case managed employment support service to people who are long term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed. The JobPath service was designed to augment and complement the Department’s existing employment service capacity, including that provided by LES.Prior...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 68 together. The farm assist scheme was introduced in 1999 to provide income support for low income farmers. It replaced the former smallholders’ unemployment assistance payment. In line with the then existing arrangements for unemployment assistance (including smallholders) and pre-retirement allowance, the income of farm assist recipients...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Live Register Data (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The official measure of unemployment is sourced from the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS). The most recent data show that unemployment has fallen from a peak of 15% in 2012 to 6.2% by mid-2017. Numbers at work have increased from 1.836 million in Q2 2012 to 2.063 million in Q2 2017, an increase of 227,000 persons. Within the South East region, which includes Wexford, unemployment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Review (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: My Department’s Report - An Analysis of the Community Employment Programmewas published in April this year. Following the publication my Department undertook nationwide consultation workshops with key Community Employment (CE) scheme stakeholders during May and early June. The consultation was very positive and following the workshops new changes to CE conditions were implemented from...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The General Scheme of the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2017, which was published in May, contained a number of key measures to respond to the ongoing difficulties in defined benefit schemes and to increase protections for members. The proposals provide for -i) the introduction of a time limit for submitting funding proposals and for the annual preparation and submission of actuarial...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions Reform (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 provided for the necessary amendments to increase the State pension age in line with the National Pensions Framework. It provided for an increase in the age for qualification for the State Pension from 66 years to 67 years from 2021, and a further increase to 68 years from 2028. It also discontinued the State Pension (transition) for new claimants with...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: My Department is drafting what will be a Governmental five year pensions reform plan and I can confirm the Government’s intention to publish and commence the implementation of this reform plan in the near future. The objective of this reform plan will be to provide for a fit for purpose pension system for the coming decades. Perhaps the most fundamental reform contained within the...