Results 1,141-1,160 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Programmes (9 Sep 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department's CLÁR scheme is a targeted investment programme that provides funding for small scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas. This scheme has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Under the 2023 scheme I approved over €13 million for 303 projects. The areas originally selected for inclusion in the programme in 2001 were those which suffered the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Community Employment (CE) is a labour market activation programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and others with an opportunity to engage in useful work experience and training opportunities within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. It helps to break the cycle of unemployment and improve a person’s chances of returning to the active labour...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1224 and 1226 together. The Back to Education Allowance provides income support for jobseekers and others in receipt of certain social welfare payments who pursue full time courses of education at further and higher level. The focus of the scheme is to assist people to improve their qualifications and as a result improve their access to sustainable employment....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: In general, where a person owns another property, which is not their primary residence, and the second property is leased or rented, a means assessment will be conducted using the capital value of the second property. The property must be capable of being sold, let or put to profitable use before a capital value assessment is applied. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1227 and 1228 together. The estimated cost in order to increase the maximum weekly rate of each social protection payment to match the MESL are set out in the table below. The total cost is €1,898 million annually. These costings are based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2024, and is subject to change in light of emerging trends and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (23 Jul 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 2,600 schools and organisations, covering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (23 Jul 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. Following a review of their continued entitlement to a Disability Allowance payment, the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's Benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention. To qualify, the Carer must satisfy PRSI conditions; employment conditions; show that they are providing full-time care and attention; and show that the care recipient requires full-time care and attention....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Firstly, let me reiterate that I value and acknowledge the important services that the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities (NAS) provides to adults with disabilities across the country. As you will be aware, NAS is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It is funded to provide services on behalf of the Citizens Information Board (CIB). CIB, in turn, is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's allowance (CA) 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. An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 22 April 2024. The Deciding Officer requested additional...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As previously outlined to the Deputy, at present the State Pension (Contributory) can be calculated under two different methods known as the Total Contributions Approach (TCA) and the Yearly Average (YA) approach. The elements which make up each method are set out in legislation. Since April 2019 all new State Pension (Contributory) applications are assessed under all possible rate...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (23 Jul 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. Based on records from 2023the processing time information for Disability Allowance is as follows: Average Processing Time= 16.1...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (23 Jul 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 17...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (23 Jul 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. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Firstly, let me reiterate that I value and acknowledge the important services that the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities (NAS) provides to adults with disabilities across the country. As you will be aware, NAS is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It is funded to provide services on behalf of the Citizens Information Board (CIB). CIB, in turn, is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Matters related to foster caring, including any criteria relating to work and specific financial supports, are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and Tusla. The State Pension (Contributory) is funded from the Social Insurance Fund through the contributions paid by workers. The rate of payment reflects the number of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies. My department provides assistance to eligible households in the immediate aftermath of emergency weather events under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme. The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, administered by my department through the local Community Welfare Service, was activated to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (23 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The number of persons with last held occupation in farming and with a Jobseeker's Allowance or Jobseeker's Benefit claim commencing in calendar years 2014 to mid 2024, as requested by the Deputy, is shown in the tabular statement. These previous occupational categories are based on self-reported information at the time a person's jobseeker application and includes Farmers, Landowners and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (23 Jul 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 18th April...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (23 Jul 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. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, disallowed the...