Results 9,121-9,140 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

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

Regina Doherty: The person concerned was awarded a guardians payment (contributory) at the weekly rate of €176.00 with effect from 8 September 2017.Payment has commenced into the person’s nominated bank account. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Entitlement to State pension (contributory) is assessed on the basis of an applicant’s full social insurance record and the eligibility conditions applicable on the date they reach pension age. Therefore, it is not possible to predict a person’s state pension (contributory) entitlement. An individual’s eligibility is examined by a Deciding Officer on receipt of an...

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

Regina Doherty: The person concerned is in receipt of a jobseekers payment from the department and also works part time. If a person works part-time, their employer must pay them for the public holidays which they don’t work, as long as, they have worked at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks immediately before the week of the public holiday. If a person is paid for a public holiday (whether they work on...

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

Regina Doherty: The child benefit claim for the person concerned is currently under review. The claim has been referred to a social welfare inspector for investigation and the inspector’s report is still awaited in the Department. Once the report is received a decision will be made and communicated promptly to the person concerned. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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

Regina Doherty: The average waiting time in respect of child benefit applications is 3 weeks. The claim processing target for child benefit claims is 90% in four weeks. Claims are processed promptly, with the September 2017 output figures showing that 83% of claims were processed within four weeks. It is not possible to provide the requested information regarding County Louth as the relevant data is not...

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

Regina Doherty: In general, child benefit claims are processed at desk and without any requirement for an investigation by an inspector. However, claims requiring investigation to determine eligibility are sent to a social welfare inspector to have an investigation undertaken. Depending on the circumstances, such enquiries can take varying lengths of time. Accordingly, the Department has not set any...

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

Regina Doherty: According to the records of the Department, the person concerned has a social insurance record of 630 paid and credited contributions, covering the period from 1953 to 2001. The person is in receipt of a reduced rate state pension (contributory) based on an assessed yearly average of 13 contributions. The person concerned is in receipt of the correct rate of contributory pension based on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (14 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Entitlement to state pension (contributory) is assessed on the basis of an applicant’s full social insurance record and the eligibility conditions applicable on the date they reach pension age. According to the records of my Department, the person concerned has a social insurance record of 653 reckonable contributions and credits. They are in receipt of a reduced state pension...

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

Regina Doherty: According to the records of my Department, the person concerned was initially assessed with a total of 346 full-rate paid social insurance contributions for the period from October 1966 to December 2012. As this is less than the required 520 full-rate social insurance contributions, the qualifying conditions for state pension (contributory) were not met and the person concerned was notified,...

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

Regina Doherty: The jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker’s allowance schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. The 2017 Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure this year on the jobseekers’ schemes of €2.5 billion. It is accepted that periods of unemployment are a normal feature of the acting and...

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

Regina Doherty: I confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 4 August 2017. The matter was referred to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) on 13 November 2017 to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. Once the SWI has reported, a...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Further Revised) (9 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I thank the select committee for the invitation to attend. As members are aware, an allocation of €19.85 billion was provided for the Department this year. It represents 37% of gross current expenditure. Our expenditure to the end of September was €14.8 billion, which was very close to target for the year to that date. Each week approximately 1.35 million people -...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Further Revised) (9 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: It may be surprising, but it is testament to the 13 people concerned that every person involved with employment rights policy and legislation, the Low Pay Commission and the legislation relating to the national minimum wage was transferred. It was not the case that 100 staff were involved and that we had left 87 behind. The group was entirely responsible for this body of work and the 13...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Further Revised) (9 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: We have reached Committee Stage of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which I hope to take in the coming weeks. The budget Bill will be brought to the Cabinet next Tuesday and published either on Wednesday or Thursday. I know that is ambitious, but I hope to have it done and dusted in both Dáil and the Seanad before the Houses go into recess in December. I expect to...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Further Revised) (9 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Yes.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Further Revised) (9 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Yes. The schedule that we tentatively set out to put to the Business Committee yesterday allows us to come to the Dáil, go to the Seanad, come to the committee, go back to the Dáil and go back to the Seanad before the latter goes into recess on 20 December. It is obviously done with the co-operation of all the people responsible for having input into the Bill but I think we can do it.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Further Revised) (9 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: To be frank, it is not on my radar for the next couple of weeks because the schedule is so busy with other legislation. I was not told that a date had been set for it and, therefore, I have done no preparatory work personally - other than what I would have already done - regarding the legislation. I do not think the Government sets out to be obstructive with any legislation. We might want...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Further Revised) (9 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: That was always the intention. The heads of the Bill are as they were when the committee scrutinised them months ago. They were not included in the first draft and discussed on Second Stage because legal reflections still needed to be done regarding the impact on certain industries. Those deliberations have been finished and the amendments as they stood, in the main, will be the amendments...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Further Revised) (9 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The Deputy's first question was on the difference between budgets from different years. While it is only a small amount, €14 million, one would have to reflect on the huge savings that the Department has thankfully made because we have 200,000 people now working who were, for the last years, reliant on a weekly payment from the State. That is a significant amount of money and it has...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2017
Vote 37 - Employment Affairs and Social Protection (Further Revised) (9 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I beg the Deputy's pardon. I misunderstood. The new scheme was introduced in 2012 and it is probably more effective than what was there because it is much more flexible. It responds to participants' needs. The old system was probably a bit more clunky, although that is probably not the best word to describe it. The previous scheme was not as flexible as the new partial capacity system...