Results 9,101-9,120 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Eligibility (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week from October to April, to some 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. In order to be eligible for fuel allowance, a person must...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Qualification for Dental Benefit is based on satisfying certain PRSI conditions, which vary with age. For a person over 25 years, they must have paid 260 PRSI contributions at either Class A, E, H, P or S since first starting work, and also have 39 contributions paid or credited in the tax year on which the claim is based, the governing contribution year (GCY). For someone aged 66 or over,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: SOLAS Training and Education Programmes (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: All customers in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment, including those currently engaged with the activation services provided directly by the Intreo Service or on behalf of my Department by contracted providers are eligible to apply for a place on the further educational and training courses funded and co-ordinated by SOLAS. In addition, they may also apply for the Back to Education...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Maintenance Payments (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: My Department operates a range of means tested social assistance payments. Social welfare legislation provides that the means test for these schemes takes account of the income and assets of the person and a spouse/partner, if applicable. Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned (other than the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Overpayments (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: My Department is obliged to recover all debt owed to it as quickly as possible and within the relevant legislation and guidelines governing the recovery of debt. The person concerned has an outstanding Carer’s Benefit debt and proposals on its recovery have been made to her. Previously the person concerned was repaying this debt by weekly direct debit payments for the agreed amount of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Mortgage Interest Supplement Scheme (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The purpose of the mortgage interest supplement scheme was to provide short-term support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence due to temporary unemployment or loss of earnings. The scheme was discontinued to new entrants from 1st January 2014. Customers availing of this support prior to 1st...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Severe Weather Events Response (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: On foot of advice received, and in the interest of customer and staff safety, all Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection offices closed on 16thOctober 2017. Staff and customers were advised of this using all available channels, including internal email, media and the Department’s website and Twitter account. Customers who had appointments scheduled on that day were...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Severe Weather Events Response (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: First of all, I would like to acknowledge the sad circumstances that gives context to this question and would like to offer my deepest condolences to the family concerned. I understand this question is being asked of all Government Departments and each Minister will reply on behalf of their Department in relation to their own employees. On foot of advice received and in the interest of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Applications (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The fuel allowance is a payment of €22.50 per week from October to April, to some 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. In order to be eligible for fuel allowance, a person must be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Data (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the table. The Deputy may be aware the strategic policy direction of my Department is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of being a short-term income support following the nationwide roll-out of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme. This measure, aligned with the overall improvement in the economy, has significantly...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Data (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the table. Recipients of Family Income Supplement by county yearly at end December 2008 to 2016 and end October 2017 County October 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Carlow 960 984 920 859 744 584 502 509 445 476 Cavan 1,264 1,267 1,234 1,153 965 710 615 584 520 530 Clare 1,261 1,313 1,280 1,181 1,028 763 736 711 670...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Data (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 36,200 recipients for which the Government has provided €253 million for in 2017. The Deputy may be aware the strategic policy direction of the Department is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of being a short-term income support following the nationwide...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Community Employment (CE) and Tús and the Back to Education Allowance are part of my Department’s range of programmes and schemes catering for unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. The purpose of all of these schemes is to improve someone’s opportunities of returning to the labour market or getting a job for the first time. Schemes like CE...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 31 October 2017, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed, including those working part time and those at risk of becoming long-term unemployed, to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. In the case of part-time employed customers there will be a focus on options or opportunities to increase the level of employment either in their current role or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Data Protection (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The routing of SMS text messages generated by my Department and submitted to the Vodafone Ireland network follows the same path that any SMS text might follow. From the outset, I should say that details of how all mobile phone service providers route their texts to destination addresses, in-state or internationally, is not information that my Department has or is responsible for. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Operation (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Following the publication, earlier this year, of my Department’s Report - An Analysis of the Community Employment Programme -the Government approved a number of changes to the terms and conditions of participation on CE. At the time of publication, it was also signalled that a review of the rules governing the participation of older people on schemes would take place and I expect this...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payments (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: According to the records of the Department, the person concerned has not submitted an application for financial assistance with funeral expenses. The Designated Person will contact the person concerned and provide the necessary application forms for completion. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Services Programme (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 480 and 481 together. As the Deputy is aware, CSP funding for the Inishowen tourism service was withdrawn from Inishowen Tourism Society Limited on 30 June 2017. Officials from my Department and Pobal engaged with Inishowen Development Partnership Limited, which has an unblemished record in administering state funding in the Inishowen area, to consider...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Bereavement Grant (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: In recent Budgets my Department has protected primary social welfare rates. Abolishing the bereavement grant provided a significant annual saving and allowed my Department to protect other core social welfare payments such as the State pension. Any decision to reinstate the Bereavement Grant would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations. It is worth...