Results 81-100 of 4,756 for more speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Control of Dogs (9 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ..., I increased ‘on-the-spot’ fines for offences under the Control of Dogs Act, including trebling the fines for most serious offences from €100 to €300. Multiple fines can be issued where more than one offence occurs. In addition, I announced the establishment of a high level stakeholder group to consider and make recommendations to strengthen policy in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...(1st June 2023). Live with the person being looked after, or this person can be contacted quickly by a direct system of communication (i.e., a telephone or alarm). Not be employed / self-employed for more than 18.5 hours per week. Not be in receipt of, or entitled to receive Jobseeker’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Benefit or be signing for credited contributions....

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...to almost 1,800 projects. The 2023 Scheme placed particular emphasis on projects that bring economic and social vibrancy to town centres in line with Government policies, and which will encourage more people into town and village centres to work, shop and socialise. The Town and Village Renewal Scheme is administered through local authorities, who work closely with local communities...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways and blue ways throughout rural Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme in 2016, funding of over €113 million has supported more than 1,700 projects across the country. Under Measure 3 of the 2020 scheme, funding of €500,000 was approved for the Connemara Trails and Eurovelo Route project. The...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...that will be accessible through an online portal and facilitate the payment of savings at retirement. The legislation provides for the automatic enrolment of employees aged between 23 and 60 who earn more than €20,000 per year across all employments and who are not already paying into a pension scheme in respect of some or all of those employments. To encourage workers to...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: .... The evidence in the UK is that employers have improved schemes and membership has increased since the introduction of automatic enrolment rather than decreased, which is good. We want to see more pension coverage. Amendment No. 3 relates to occupational pensions. They do not come within the scope of this Bill or the functions of the authority, NAERSA, and it would not be...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...it is vital that participation and retention rates in auto-enrolment remain high. Having a mandatory participation period will help greatly with this. If somebody had given me the choice between more money in my pocket or a pension back when I started to work, I would have taken more money in my pocket and forgotten about the pension. However, when you get closer to the pension age, you...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...fund. Most work in this area, at an international level, has concentrated on a range of environmental, social and governance factors that influence where and how investment occurs with a view to a more positive outcome that might otherwise be achieved if these factors were ignored in favour of pure monetary outcomes. I reiterate that there is no universally agreed definition of the term....

Select Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...and conditions? There is arguably no such thing as a derivative investment that could be analysed to this level of detail in a timely manner. On that basis, I cannot accept the amendment. Furthermore, the definition of the types of munitions companies - cluster munitions and anti-personnel mines - is quite narrow. The proposed amendment still means that investment could be made in all...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I do not want to see anything invested in the armaments industry, no more than do any members of the committee. I must look at this context here, though, from the point of view of the contributions of the citizens of this country. These are contributions. Money, of course, goes into the NTMA. While that is garnered by taxation, the money in this case does not come from taxation. These...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...AE would result in the levelling down of existing pension arrangements, as I said before, what came to pass was that many employers decided to improve their existing pension plans by contributing more than the minimum contribution rates. They saw such an offering as a benefit to aid the recruitment and retention of employees. I believe, and I hope, the same result will happen here in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (1 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...these reforms, the 2023 Act introduced a ten-year phased transition from the Yearly Average method of calculation of State Pension (Contributory) to TCA as the sole method of calculation. TCA is a fairer and more transparent method for calculating the contributory pension and will remove the existing anomalies. The ten-year transitional arrangements are to avoid a ‘cliff...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Burial Grounds (1 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...currently in place regarding burials and burial grounds, namely Part III of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, as amended in Part VI of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1948 and more recently, the Local Government Acts, 1994 and 2001, and also in the Rules and Regulations for the Regulation of Burial Grounds 1888 and amendments thereto. Having regard to other priorities...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: General Register Office (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...their research request to the staff of the GRO. Staff have access to digitalized records and indexes within the Department's internal registration computer system which allowed them to provide a more accurate, faster and more complete search for the customer. This new system has improved the service that is offered by the research room and has been welcomed by users. To cater for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...at supporting disabled people into employment. The Reasonable Accommodation Fund provides financial support for people with disabilities and for employers to help make their workplaces more accessible. The Disability Awareness Support Scheme provides funding for disability awareness training for employees. I published a review of these schemes last autumn. It recommends...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...the provision of once-off Cost-of-Living lump sums, to recipients of Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and the Carer's Support Grant. Recipients who are in receipt of one (or more) of these payments qualified for the Cost-of-Living lump sums. Both Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are means tested social assistance schemes. They are subject to a medical...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...factors identified as impacting on the child's additional care needs. It should be noted that the impact of any specified disability/diagnosis on a child's level of additional care needs may become more apparent in later childhood, in some cases. A child who has a diagnosis of Classic PKU- Non Responsive to Kuvan (Phenylketonuria) or any other specified condition/disability may qualify...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Following clarification from the Deputy's office, more recent data for the years 2023 and 2024 is required. This information is not readily available. My Department is in the process of collating the data in question and will revert with a reply directly to the Deputy as soon as possible. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.