Results 9,301-9,320 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that the above named person applied for disability allowance (DA) on 22 June 2022. The processing time for individual DA claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim. The application was referred to a Social Welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: According to the records of my Department, the person concerned reached pension age on 14 August 2022. Their application for State pension (contributory) was received on 26 April 2022. The person concerned has been awarded State Pension (contributory) from their 66th birthday at the maximum rate. They were notified of the decision in writing on 23 September 2022. I hope this clarifies the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Occupational Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (S.I No. 295 of 2022) amended the principal disclosure-related regulations made under the Pensions Act 1990, namely, S.I. No. 301 of 2006 in order to take account of the Government decision of January 2019 that requirements of the IORP II Directive would apply to all relevant pension arrangements by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: An Exceptional Needs Payment has been awarded to the person concerned and a payment for €150 will be available for collection at his local Post Office on Wednesday, 28/09/2022. A letter advising the person of the award has issued to his home address. I trust this clarifies the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The rent supplement scheme provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The scheme provided support to 10,423 recipients as at the end of August 2022. Since the introduction of the Housing Assistance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Sep 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 4 August 2022. The application was referred to a local...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 295, 296 and 309 together. Diet supplement, administered under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, is payable to qualifying persons, in receipt of the supplement prior to February 2014, who have been prescribed a special diet because of a specified medical condition. There are currently approximately 1,320 people in receipt of diet supplement. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Poverty (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, which is supporting over 370,000 households in 2022, at an estimated cost of €366 million. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 298 and 300 together. The delivery of crucial community welfare services to meet the challenges and the needs of citizens across the country remains a priority for me and my Department.  It is important that the Community Welfare Service (CWS) remains an accessible, flexible, and responsive service to meet the varied needs of vulnerable people,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department recently completed a significant expansion of employment services across the State. This includes the provision of a State-wide intensive employment service for those furthest from the labour market - the new Intreo Partners Local Area Employment Service (IPLAES). This new service will for the first time cover all of County Wicklow. In a competition run in accordance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Poverty (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Fuel allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments towards the cost of their heating needs. The main eligibility conditions that apply to the fuel allowance scheme are that a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, must satisfy a means test and must either be living alone or with other qualifying persons. The threshold for the fuel...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 303 and 325 together. 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 understand that under the procedures adopted by the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) in relation to a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Covid-19 does not constitute a prescribed disease or illness as set out in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 as it does not meet the criteria laid down in the Act. Section 87 (2) of the Act states that a disease or injury shall be prescribed for the purposes of this section in relation to any insured persons, where the Minister is satisfied that— (a) it ought to be treated,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As part of my Department’s commitment to ensuring that claimants are receiving their full and correct entitlements, ongoing reviews of all means tested payments are carried out. In the case of an increase for qualified adult (IQA) on SPC, the primary claimant is contacted by my Department to notify them that their continuing entitlement to the means tested IQA payment is being...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Social welfare legislation provides that, for social assistance schemes such as the State Pension (Non-Contributory), all income and capital (such as savings, investments and property other than the family home) belonging to the claimant and his or her spouse/partner/cohabitant, where applicable, are assessable for means assessment purposes. The system of social assistance supports...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Ability Programme, introduced in June 2018, was a three-year pre-activation programme for young people with disabilities, managed by my department. The funding for the programme amounted to around €16 million and was provided jointly under the European Union’s ESF 2014-2020 Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning Operational Programme and the Irish Exchequer. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Widow’s Pension (contributory) is a weekly social insurance payment to those covered by social insurance whose spouse or civil partner has died. Illness Benefit is the main income support provided to those who cannot work due to illness of any kind and who are covered by social insurance. If a customer is getting a reduced rate of Widow’s Pension, they may also get a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I confirm that an application from the person concerned for disability allowance (DA) was received by the Department on 01 April 2022. The person concerned has been awarded DA with effect from 06 April 2022 until the Tuesday after his death 06 September 2022. Arrears of payment from 06 April 2022 to 06 September 2022 less any necessary adjustment was issued on 22 September 2022 which will...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly payment in respect of a child with a severe disability who requires care and attention substantially in excess of that normally required by a child of the same age without their disability. The child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 consecutive months. The person concerned has been awarded DCA and backdated 6...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Parental Leave (27 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Under the Parent's Leave and Benefit Act 2019 (as amended), working parents are entitled to seven weeks of paid Parent's Leave for each relevant parent, to be taken in the first two years after the birth or adoptive placement of a child. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has policy and legislative responsibility for Parent's Leave with my Department...