Results 10,501-10,520 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Indecon report highlighted that the ‘Cost of Disability’ is significantly wider than the income support system and found that there is not a single typical ‘cost of disability’; rather there is a spectrum from low additional costs to extremely high extra costs of disability, depending on the individual circumstances of the person concerned. Additional costs of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The farm assist scheme is a means-tested statutory income support payment for farmers on low incomes. There are approximately 4,800 farm assist claims in payment at present. The Government has provided €53.9 million for the scheme for 2022. The Government made a commitment in the Programme for Government and in the Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 to review the means...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Ukraine War (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103, 110 and 137 together. My Department is doing all it can to assist people who are covered by the Temporary Protection Directive which allows those fleeing Ukraine to move through the EU and receive appropriate supports. My officials are at the Reception Facility at Dublin Airport helping people to apply for Personal Public Service Numbers to access key...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I was pleased to announce, that, as part of the Budget 2022 measures, the period of time in which both Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) and Carer’s Allowance (CA) are paid in circumstances where a child up to the age of 16, in respect of whom DCA or CA is being paid, is hospitalised on a full-time basis for an extended period has increased from 13 weeks to 26 weeks since January 2022...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: In 2018, the Government announced the new Interim Total Contributions Approach (also known as the Aggregated Contributions Method) for the calculation of State Pension (Contributory) payments. Since April 2019, all new State Pension (Contributory) applications are assessed under all possible payment rate calculation methods, including the Yearly Average and the Interim Total Contributions...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is currently undertaking a significant expansion of public employment services. In particular, specialised employment services for those farthest from the labour market - previously available in just twelve counties - will soon be available State-wide for the first time. In the first phase of this procurement, contracts for Intreo Partners - Local Area Employment Services...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Referrals to the JobPath service are due to cease in June this year and, following a comprehensive review of public employment services, new services are currently being procured, to be in place later this year. My Department previously undertook an evaluation of JobPath in partnership with the OECD. The 2019 OECD econometric evaluation of JobPath, published by my Department,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 150 together. The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from October to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist qualifying households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 111 and 147 together. I am very aware that, mainly due to external factors, the recent increase in consumer prices, especially the increase in fuel and other energy prices, has exceeded even the highest forecasts. The Government acted early and did not await a further budget cycle to address these challenges. To help mitigate the effects of these...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Government recognises the important role that family carers play in Irish society and is fully committed to supporting them through a range of supports and services. My Department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Artists' Remuneration (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme which the Government launched in April is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. It is important to stress that a payment under the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme is not a social protection or income support payment. Rather it is a payment in recognition of the valuable contribution...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department been engaged in the restructuring and procurement of externally contracted employment services since 2019. There has been extensive consultation with existing contractors and representative bodies including the Irish Local Development Network and trade union organisations. The Department is in receipt of legal advice requiring a competitive procurement for these services and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The accommodation needs of victims of domestic violence are met through a joined-up service delivery model provided by Tusla with the close involvement of the various housing authorities nationwide. Access to Rent Supplement can be provided on referral by Tusla or by prescribed Tusla-funded service providers. This provides victims of domestic violence with a fast track approval and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Pathways to Work 2021-2025, the Government’s national employment strategy, was published in July of last year. The aim of the strategy is two-fold: to support those who lost their jobs during the pandemic, and helping those who, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, already faced disadvantages in the labour market. One of the strategy’s five key strands is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Youth Unemployment (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, young people in the labour market (those under 25 years of age) can be particularly affected by labour market disruptions. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate for 2019 averaged approximately 12.5 percent. However, after the onset of the pandemic, the CSO’s ‘COVID-19 adjusted’ monthly youth...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: In March 2020, under the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 and subsequent regulations, the Government provided for entitlement to Illness Benefit for people who had been diagnosed with Covid-19 or who had been identified as a potential source of infection with Covid-19. The measures were designed to ensure that the people...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Housing is a key priority for this Government. This is demonstrated by the unprecedented commitment to build 300,000 new homes by 2030 under Housing for All Strategy. The Government also plans to retrofit 500,000 homes - an action which is increasingly important for householders and the economy at a time of rising energy costs. To achieve this, we need to attract thousands of new workers...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Offices (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Given the important and wide-ranging role my Department plays in the State, the delivery of excellent customer service is central to the Department’s mission of supporting and enabling individuals achieve their potential in Irish society. The Customer Service Strategy 2020-2022 sets out to develop and implement key actions to deliver enhanced customer service to the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Labour Market (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on the Irish labour market for much of the last two years. In April 2020, the COVID-19 adjusted unemployment rate – which included all those in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) – peaked at 31.5 percent. However, since the acceleration of the Government’s COVID-19...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I am very conscious of the high levels of poverty and deprivation experienced by lone parent families and that is why Budget 2022 included a number of measures of benefit to lone parents in receipt of a social welfare payment such as One-Parent Family Payment or Jobseeker's Transitional Payment. In the Budget I provided for a €5 per week increase in social welfare payment rates....