Results 10,561-10,580 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: Currently, self-employed social insurance contributors, including men and women farmers, can qualify for a wide range of benefits, including the State Pension (Contributory) and Maternity/Paternity Benefit. Since 2014, following amendments to the relevant provisions of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 to transpose EU Directive 2010/41/EU on the application of equal treatment...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 507 and 536 together. A number of studies in recent years have considered the indexation of various categories of social protection payments. Following publication of the Roadmap for Pensions Reform in 2018, which included a recommendation to benchmark and index State Pension rates, my Department undertook a consultation process in 2019 with interested...

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

Heather Humphreys: In February 2021, I introduced the "Benefit Payment for 65 year olds" in line with the Programme for Government commitment, to provide a benefit payment for people who are aged 65 and who are required to retire, or who chose to retire, without a requirement to sign on, engage in activation measures or be available for and genuinely seeking work. This new payment was designed specifically to...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 509 and 510 together. The Government is committed to providing emergency support to meet the immediate needs of those fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. My Department is working alongside other relevant departments in facilitating full access to the labour market for those arriving from Ukraine, as guaranteed under the EU’s Temporary...

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

Heather Humphreys: 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 of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in...

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

Heather Humphreys: In general, for applications to the illness & disability schemes which require assessment of capacity for work, all efforts are made by my medical review and assessment service, to provide decisions based on submitted information from the customer and medical reports by her/his general practitioner. In cases where medical opinion cannot be established based on the general...

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

Heather Humphreys: The 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 already includes a comprehensive range of measures including PRSI Credits, Homemaker's Disregards and HomeCaring Periods to recognise caring periods outside of paid employment in the calculation of a pension...

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

Heather Humphreys: In 2022 spending on Illness, Disability and Carers will be an estimated €4.9 billion. This represents 21.1% of my Department’s total expenditure for the year. Since 2015 there has been a significant increase in the number of people supported under these schemes:- - The number of people claiming Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit has increased by 42% and the...

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

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned was disallowed Disability Allowance from 26 September 2018, as their means were higher than the statutory limit. Upon request, a Departmental review was undertaken in October 2018 and the decision was upheld. The person in question appealed the decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO). The appeal was disallowed by an Appeals Officer on 27 February...

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

Heather Humphreys: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the person concerned submitted additional information to the Appeals Office on 19 April 2022 following correspondence from that Office stating that their partial capacity benefit appeal would not be accepted because it was received outside the statutory 21 days time period. Following consideration of this additional information a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (17 May 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that my Department has allocated a Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) to the person referred to by the Deputy. A letter issued to him on 12th May 2022 providing him with his PPSN. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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

Heather Humphreys: Employment rights matters including maternity leave provisions come within the remit of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. My Department provides support to women, through the maternity benefit scheme, where they are on maternity leave from their employment and where they satisfy the social insurance contribution and any other scheme specific...

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

Heather Humphreys: Spouses who are actively engaged in a commercial partnership, including the operation of a farm, are treated as individual self-employed contributors in the social welfare code. In these cases both spouses are liable to pay PRSI (Class S) contributions which may entitle them to certain benefits such as the State Pension. Provision also exists for people to have their partnership...

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

Heather Humphreys: Under European Union regulations, the insurance records of other Member States can be combined to satisfy the 520-contribution condition and give entitlement to a proportional or pro rata pension. The rate of entitlement is based on the proportion of Irish full-rate social insurance contributions to the person’s total combined Irish and EU social insurance contributions. The...

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

Heather Humphreys: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that where appropriate in-person assessments resumed since the 21/03/2022. Cases are being scheduled on the basis of clinical priority since this date. It should be noted that, as was the case pre-pandemic, the scheduling of in-person assessment centres depends on the number of individual cases ready for scheduling in that location. Plans are in place to...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 522 and 525 together. The following means test based schemes are assessed in terms of operational performance: - State Pension (Non-Contributory) - Jobseeker's Allowance - One-Parent Family Payment - Supplementary Welfare Allowance Total - Carer's Allowance - Disability Allowance and - Household Benefits. The following schemes which are based on PRSI...

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

Heather Humphreys: The State Pension (Contributory) is a PRSI-based pension, financed by contributions made by current workers and their employers, and paid to pensioners, at a rate based upon their PRSI record when working. A person is required to have a minimum of 520 paid reckonable PRSI contributions in order to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory). As the actuarial value of the State Pension is...

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

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. I am advised by the Chief Appeals Officer that in 2021, 24,820 appeals were registered and 23,929 were finalised. Of those finalised, 16,567 were decided by Appeals...

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

Heather Humphreys: I introduced the Benefit Payment for 65 Year olds last year under the Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Benefit Self Employed social insurance schemes to bridge the gap for people who retire at 65 but do not qualify for State Pension until they are aged 66. There are currently approximately 4,700 people receiving this support. A key feature of the payment is that recipients do not have...