Results 981-1,000 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 915 and 1000 together. Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. As the Deputy is aware, on 22nd January, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the entitlement of an unmarried...

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

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 17 September 2017. The state pension (contributory) was awarded from their 66th birthday. It is currently paid at the weekly rate of €249.30. Based on the records of my department, the person concerned has 1,510 reckonable paid and credited contributions from their date of entry into insurable employment in 1969 up to the tax year prior to...

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

Heather Humphreys: My Department has made significant progress on the implementation of our Programme for Government commitments. In the last Budget, I introduced a €2.3 billion Social Protection package. For the second year in a row, it was the largest in the history of the State – protecting the most vulnerable in the State – carers, people with disabilities and pensioners. The Government...

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

Heather Humphreys: An officer of my Department contacted the person concerned and issued an application form for the Household Benefits Package to the home address. To date, there is no record of a Household Benefits Package application form having been received by the Department from the person concerned. The person concerned can apply online at MyWelfare.ie for the Household Benefits Package if they have a...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 919 and 939 together. The Household Benefits Package comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. The Department of Social Protection will spend approximately €294 million this year on the Household Benefits Package for over 523,000 customers. People over the age of 70 receive the Household Benefits Package, with one...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 920, 932 and 1031 together. The Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 which was signed into law by the President in July sets out the legislative framework for the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit scheme. Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit will be made available to fully unemployed persons who have a strong and recent attachment to the labour...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (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 25 April...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (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. My Department routinely reviews claims to ensure ongoing entitlement. Following your inquiry...

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

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, there are different statutory bodies in place that make determinations on the employment status of a person for the purposes of PRSI, tax, and employment rights. My Department makes decisions in relation to PRSI, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners makes decisions in relation to tax and the WRC determines employment status as a preliminary issue when...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund as at 31 December 2020 found that even without any economic shocks to the economy or change to policy, the long-term sustainability of the Fund will face significant challenges. In the absence of any action to tackle the shortfalls, the excess of expenditure over income of the Fund will increase significantly over the medium to long term with...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Household Benefits Package comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. The Department of Social Protection will spend approximately €294 million this year on the Household Benefits Package for over 523,000 customers. People over the age of 70 receive the Household Benefits Package, with one package provided per household. The package is also...

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 23 July...

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

Heather Humphreys: Retained fire-fighters who are otherwise unemployed are entitled to a jobseeker’s payment in respect of days that they are engaged in fire-fighting or training, subject to the usual qualification conditions. They are also required to satisfy the statutory conditions for the receipt of a jobseeker’s payment of being available for and genuinely seeking full-time work. To qualify...

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

Heather Humphreys: Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16,17 and 18, if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. Child Benefit was paid to 652,000 families in respect of 1.2 million children at a cost of €2.4 billion in 2023....

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

Heather Humphreys: The Department does not rely on test cases to determine the employment status of all workers in a sector. Employment status decisions are made on a case by case basis, following investigation into the actual circumstances of the person's engagement, and by applying the tests or criteria as set out in the Code of Practice on Determining Employment Status. I trust this clarifies matters for the...

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

Heather Humphreys: Jobseekers Benefit may be transferred to another EEA member state for up to 13 weeks (78 days), if the Person Concerned is looking for work there. The Person Concerned must, before leaving, have been registered as an unemployed Jobseeker with the Department Of Social Protection for at least 4 weeks. The person concerned must complete a U2 form (formerly E 303) - "the authorization to export...

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

Heather Humphreys: Jobseekers Benefit may be transferred to another EEA member state for up to 13 weeks (78 days), if the person concerned is looking for work there. The Person Concerned must, before leaving, have been registered as an unemployed Jobseeker with the Department Of Social Protection for at least 4 weeks. The person concerned must complete a U2 form (formerly E 303) - "the authorization to export...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (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 medical assessment, means test and habitual residency conditions. Following a change in the person's circumstances, my Department received supporting...

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 Benefits (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The data requested by the Deputy for both Disability Allowance and Invalidity Pension is shown in the below tables: Table 1 : Disability Allowance Month No. of Applications Registered No. of Applications Rejected No of Applications Awarded Jul-23 2375 1337 1465 Aug-23 2440 1288 1350 Sep-23 2440 1534 1625 Oct-23 2566 1302 1535 Nov-23 2907 ...