Results 961-980 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Animal Welfare (18 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 861, 862, 863 and 864 together. My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 and the Control of Dogs Acts 1986 to 2014. As the Deputy will be aware, animal welfare and microchipping is under the remit of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). My Department is working with DAFM to co-ordinate...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Animal Welfare (18 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I recently announced a ban on XL Bully dogs in the interest of public safety following a number of recent horrific attacks. The ban will be implemented in the following 2 stages. From October 1st 2024, new regulations will prohibit the importing, breeding, selling and re-homing of XL Bully dogs. From February 1st 2025, it will be illegal to own an XL Bully dog without a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Social Enterprise Sector (18 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Social enterprises are businesses that work primarily to improve the lives of people, with any surpluses generated re-invested into achieving their core social objectives. They frequently work to support disadvantaged groups such as the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, and the Traveller community, or to address issues such as food poverty, social housing, or environmental...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Expenditure (18 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department operates a large number of both current and capital schemes aimed at supporting both rural development and community development throughout the country. Since 2022 Meath has been allocated approximately €25 million in funding through the various capital and current schemes operated by my Department, and I have been pleased to allocate in excess of €40 million to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Regeneration Projects (18 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns, villages and rural areas across Ireland. Calls for applications to the Fund are sought under two categories – Category 1 and Category 2. Category 1 relates to large scale ambitious capital projects with all necessary planning and other consents in...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (18 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is a strategic capital investment fund that is key to the delivery of Ireland's rural development policy, Our Rural Future 2021-2025. The Youghal Public Library project has been awarded funding of just over €4 million under the third Call for Category 1 proposals to the Fund in 2021. The project will renovate...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (18 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The CLÁR Programme provides funding for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas. Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has supported a wide range of measures with over €70 million being approved for almost 2,400 projects throughout rural Ireland. This funding is making a real difference in many of our smaller and more remote communities. The 2024...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Pregnancy loss is a tragedy and the difficulties that parents and families experience as a result cannot be over-stated. The Government recognises the need to support parents who find themselves in these tragic circumstances. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has policy and legislative responsibility for the various types of family leave such as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. Following the expansion of the programme in recent years, some 2,723 schools and organisations, covering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a suite of income supports for those unable to work due to illness or disability. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes. The primary disability related social assistance scheme is Disability Allowance, which is a means-tested payment for people with a specified...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: There is a range of supports provided by the Community Welfare Service (CWS) under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme. These supports can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, as well as single Additional Needs Payments (ANPs). The Department may make an ANP to help meet essential expenditure which an eligible person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a wide range of income and employment supports to assist jobseekers and employees with disabilities, and their employers. In autumn 2023, I announced a call for applications for a new employment focused programme to support the employment of people with disabilities. The programme is co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the Department of Social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions. I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned on 19...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 25th June...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's allowance 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. I can confirm that Carer’s Allowance was in payment to the person concerned from 14 January 2010. Once claims are in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help assist with funeral and burial expenses where there is an inability to pay these costs, in part or in full, by the family of the deceased person without causing hardship. According to the most recent records of the Department and with reference to previous Dáil...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 9 May 2019. An application for State Pension (contributory) was received in my department on 12 July 2022. Currently all applicants for state pension (contributory) have their entitlement assessed under two separate criteria, the yearly average (YA) method and the total contributions approach (TCA). Under the YA method all paid and credited...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) is a means-tested payment made to people who are unemployed and who do not qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker’s Benefit for the Self-Employed. Amongst other qualifying criteria, a person must be capable of and available for full-time work. According to the records of my Department, the person concerned was awarded JA on 16/10/2023. Their claim was...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Treatment Benefit is a PRSI-based scheme which provides free dental and optical services, and assistance towards the provision of audiological appliances and hair replacement products, to people who satisfy certain qualifying conditions, and to their dependent spouses/partners. In 2023, €44.7 million was paid in respect of over 1,073,000 treatments eligible under the Optical Benefit...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Treatment Benefit is a PRSI-based scheme which provides free dental and optical services, and assistance towards the provision of audiological appliances and hair replacement products, to people who satisfy certain qualifying conditions, and to their dependent spouses/partners. Opticians, Optometrists and Ophthalmologists who have a contract (panellist) with the Department provide products...