Results 11,761-11,780 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: On that matter, I am very restricted in what I can say on the local employment services, the tender for which is subject to a live procurement process. I have outlined very clearly today the Department's position on that and I have given all of the information I can give based on the fact that it is a live process. Perhaps, the committee could appreciate that.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Feb 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 these 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 Payments (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: At the end of January 2022, 623,640 families were in receipt of Child Benefit in respect of 1,202,173 children.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 483 and 484 together. The estimated cost of paying a once-off double payment of child benefit in March or September 2022 is €172 million. This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2022 and is subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of beneficiaries.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. In addition, my Department also provides a range of other payments, both cash and non-cash, on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary in nature. The Living Alone Increase (LAI) is one of those secondary payments. It is not a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 18 November 2021. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers were received in the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Social welfare legislation stipulates that a minimum of 520 full-rate paid contributions are required to qualify for standard State pension (contributory). Credits cannot be used to satisfy this condition. 520 full-rate contributions equate to 10 years of full-rate insurable employment. The person concerned reached pension age on 1 September 2021. They applied for State pension...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 488 to 491, inclusive, together. The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Headline weekly statistics on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) are published at gov.ie/dsp/statistics. Detailed weekly statistics, including county breakdowns by PUP rate, are published through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie. The statistics requested by the Deputy in respect of Dublin are set out in the table below. week People Estimated...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Rent supplement continues to play a key role in supporting families and individuals in private rented accommodation, with the scheme supporting 12,975 active recipients at the end of January 2022. The scheme provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The State Pension (Non-Contributory) Pension (SPNC) is a means-tested payment which takes into account income from employment and self-employment. The number of SPNC recipients at the end of 2020 was 95,465. Based on 2020 PRSI contribution data, 5,056 of these made at least one paid PRSI contribution in 2020 of which 23 made self-employed class contributions, 5,039 made non-self-employed...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: In Budget 2022, I was pleased to announce a number of reforms to the Fuel Allowance scheme including an increase in the weekly rate by €5 to €33, and a €20 increase in the weekly income means threshold with both measures implemented with effect from budget night. It is estimated that around 400,000 households will benefit from the Fuel Allowance payment in 2022. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Enhanced Illness Benefit (EIB) is a form of Illness Benefit that is payable to self-employed persons or an employee who is told to self-isolate or has been diagnosed with Covid-19. It is important to note that a person may have received Enhanced Illness Benefit on more than one occasion since the payment was introduced, and thus have more than one claim for Enhanced illness Benefit. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. In addition, my Department also provides a range of other payments, both cash and non-cash, on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary in nature. The Living Alone Increase (LAI) is one of those secondary payments. It is not a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department received an application for Illness Benefit from the person concerned on the 30th November 2021. In order to qualify for a payment under the terms of the Illness Benefit scheme, a person must have paid a prescribed number of reckonable PRSI contributions in the relevant tax years prior to their claim. The person concerned has been paying class S contributions, paid by those...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: When public health restrictions were introduced in 2020, people in receipt of Social Welfare payments were given the option of being paid into a bank account. This was an exceptional measure to help reduce the spread of the virus and ensure people could comply with social distancing guidelines. Due to the current easing of restrictions and following consultation with An Post and the Irish...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Household Benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. The package is generally available to people living in the State aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to some people under the age of 66, who are in receipt of certain welfare type...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides two payment options for its customers: payment in cash at post offices or payment directly into customer accounts by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). Last month, 72% of all Social Welfare payments were made by EFT and 27% were by cash collection at post offices. A small number of ad hoc payments were also made by cheque, which represented less than one per cent of all...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (15 Feb 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 Schemes (15 Feb 2022)

Heather Humphreys: The Farm Assist Scheme is a means tested support for farmers on low incomes who satisfy the scheme’s statutory conditions including a means test. The estimated expenditure for the scheme for 2022 is approximately €53.9 million. A commitment was made under the Programme for Government and in the 'Our Rural Future Rural Development Policy 2021-2025' to conduct a review of the...