Results 9,521-9,540 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,700 schools and organisations benefitting 260,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Following a competitive tendering process run my Department in accordance with EU procurement rules, 17 community and voluntary sector organisations were successful and were awarded contracts to provide the new Intreo Partners Local Employment Service (IPLAES). This replaces Local Employment Service and Job Club contracts. 16 of these contracts are now in place and the new service is being...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Matters related to foster caring are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and of Tusla. More widely, this Government acknowledges the important role that carers play and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the current State Pension (Contributory) system provides for a range of measures...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 373 to 375, inclusive, together. The key role of the Department of Social Protection is that of income support. The Department is charged with identifying where a person has an income support need and providing that income support, for example in the form for instance of a jobseeker’s payment, a disability allowance, or a carer's allowance. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As an essential service, staff in the Department of Social Protection continued, in 2021, to work both onsite and remotely to deliver services to our customers as part of temporary working arrangements put in place by local business areas. It is necessary for staff providing front line customer services to do so in-person at office locations. The number of staff who were working remotely...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The scheme operates from June to September each year. This year, the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment has been increased by €100 for the 2022 scheme year,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Illness Benefit is a social insurance scheme provided by my Department to those who cannot work due to illness and who have the required number of Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions. Illness Benefit is payable for a maximum two years, depending on continued eligibility. Additional payments for qualified children and qualified adults may also apply. The rate of Illness Benefit...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Illness Benefit is the primary income support payment for people who are covered by social insurance and who are unable to attend work due to illness of any type. Eligibility for Illness Benefit depends on the person’s PRSI contributions. People must have made the required number of PRSI contributions in Class A, E, H or P in order to be eligible for Illness Benefit. In general,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The delivery of crucial CWS to meet the challenges and the needs of vulnerable customers across the country remains a priority for my Department. The continued availability of locally based CWO is a cornerstone of the service. CWOs can facilitate emergency and in-person meetings in 51 Intreo Centres, including at Newbridge Intreo Centre which covers the Naas area, across business...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizens Information Services (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 381 and 382 together. The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is a statutory body tasked with providing information, advocacy and advice to citizens. These important services are delivered by the eight independent Regional Citizen Information Service (CIS) companies. The CIB provides funding to the eight CIS companies that operate a national network of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 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: Social Welfare Payments (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The National Fuel Scheme applies to persons in receipt of long-term Social Welfare payments who satisfy a means condition and who are living alone or who only with the persons who come within certain categories. Fuel Allowance is not payable where a claimant is in receipt of certain non-qualifying payments from the Department. Non-qualifying payments include Disablement Benefit, Illness...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Funding (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 385 and 398 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My officials have advised that an Exceptional Needs Payment has been awarded to the person concerned towards the cost of furniture, appliances and floor coverings for her new accommodation. A payment of €4,600 was available in the person's nominated bank account on 12/09/02022. I trust this clarifies the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Overpayments of social welfare assistance and benefit payments arise as a consequence of decisions made under the relevant sections of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 (as amended). Citizens who have been overpaid social welfare have a liability to refund the overpayment as they have been in receipt of a payment to which they were not entitled. Where an overpayment is raised,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Departmental records reflect there is no record of an application for Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) or an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) for the person concerned. It is open to the person concerned to submit an SWA application by completing form SWA 1 and including all relevant documents in support of her application. For convenience, an application form will be posted to the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 389 and 390 together. My Department has introduced an online service which allows people with verified MyGovID accounts to renew their Public Services Cards (PSCs) through the MyWelfare.ie service without having to attend an appointment in one of our offices. Clients are requested to submit a passport quality photograph which must be verified to ensure it...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. Supports provided under the SWA scheme can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 392 and 393 together. The Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. It’s important to note that the Community Welfare Service remains a flexible...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (14 Sep 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Farm Assist is a means-tested payment for low-income farmers. Amongst other qualifying conditions a person must be aged between 18 and 66 to qualify for the payment. The person concerned was in receipt of a Farm Assist payment from 07/10/2019 until 23/08/2022. As the person concerned turned age 66 on 24/08/2022, he was advised by officials in the Maynooth Branch Office to apply for a State...