Results 12,461-12,480 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a comprehensive set of income supports for carers. These include Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance, and the Carer's Support Grant. Through these schemes over 135,000 carers are supported by regular income payments. Spending in 2021 on these payments is expected to be approximately €1.5 billion. There are a number of basic...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is available for employees and self-employed people who have lost employment and satisfy the scheme's statutory conditions. Expenditure on PUP since its introduction last March 2020 has now exceeded €8.9 billion. To satisfy the eligibility conditions for PUP, a person cannot be engaged in insurable employment. This applies to both...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Applications for Exceptional Needs Payments are made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) Scheme administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service in my Department. The purpose of the Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) scheme is to assist people with essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure that a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Applications for Exceptional Needs Payments are made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) Scheme administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service in my Department. The purpose of the Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) scheme is to assist people with essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure that a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The system of social assistance supports provides payments based on an income need. The means test plays a critical role in determining whether or not an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency – such as disability, unemployment or caring. This ensures that the recipient has a verifiable income need and that resources are targeted to those who need them most....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Pensions Commission was established, inter alia, to develop options for Government to consider in addressing the sustainability of the State pension system and the social insurance fund. The Commission has completed this work and its report was published on the 7th October 2021. The Commission’s Report has unambiguously established that the current State Pension system is not...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Data on all November recipients of the State Pension Contributory (SPC) are set out in the table below. It should be noted that the figures here refer to the rate of payment only. It is not currently possible to disaggregate the payment rates according to the contribution bands mentioned by the Deputy. It is estimated that 100,000 people in receipt of SPC at below the maximum rate retired...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned has been awarded a fuel allowance at the weekly rate of €33.00 effective from the 29th October 2021, in addition to her widow's contributory pension. The person concerned will receive her first payment of the allowance, together with arrears, at her chosen Post Office on Friday 10th December 2021, and weekly thereafter. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 376, 377 and 380 together. The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) is a key policy initiative under the Government's new national employment services strategy; Pathways to Work 2021-2025. WPEP is a funded work placement scheme to provide work experience opportunities for up to 10,000 jobseekers who are unemployed for more than six months,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 378 and 379 together. The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) is a key policy initiative under the Government's new national employment services strategy; Pathways to Work 2021-2025. WPEP is a funded work placement scheme to provide work experience opportunities for up to 10,000 jobseekers who are unemployed for more than six months, including time...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Disability allowance (DA) is a means tested scheme and the way means are assessed is laid down in social welfare legislation. In summary, any income, with some exceptions, belonging to the person is assessable as means for DA purposes. The person in question was disallowed DA on 8 July 2019 as they failed to provide sufficient information in order for a Deciding Officer to determine...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: 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 them. The programme is an important component of policies to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The SAFE registration process, which involves the authentication of a person's identity in a face-to-face interview, results in the issuing of a Public Services Card (PSC), which can be used as proof of identity when accessing public services. At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, my Department temporarily suspended the SAFE registration process and the centralised online appointment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Civil Registration Act 2004 places an obligation on parents to register the birth of their child. A child can be registered in person at any of the HSE's civil registration offices throughout the country. Following completion of the birth registration, the Department of Social Protection automatically allocates a personal public service number to the child no earlier than the day after...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Post Office Network (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: This Government continues to be committed to maintaining the post office network and for An Post to remain in a position to provide a high quality postal service and maintain a nationwide customer-focused network of post offices in the community. My Department’s support for An Post is equally apparent. We are in the process of renewing the contract for cash payment services with the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Covid-19 Pandemic (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a suite of income supports for those who are unable to work due to an illness or disability. It is important to note that entitlement to these supports is generally not contingent on the nature of the illness or disability but on the extent to which a particular illness or disability impairs or restricts a person’s capacity to work. This Department spent a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Vacant Properties (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The revitalisation of vacant properties is being addressed by a number of initiatives delivered by my Department in line with the commitments contained inOur Rural Futureand as part of the Government's Housing for All .In April, I announced investment of €81 million for 25 landmark projects under Category 1 of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. These projects will combat...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Cycling Facilities (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 707 and 708 together. The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme provides funding for the development of new outdoor recreational infrastructure and for the maintenance and promotion of existing infrastructure. Louth County Council were approved funding of €200,000 under the Scheme for the development and enhancement of the Boyne Greenway. Earlier...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Protected Disclosures (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that my Department has not received any protected disclosures since its establishment in 2017. The agencies under the remit of my Department are independent legal entities responsible for managing their own corporate affairs in compliance with their statutory obligations.

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Social Enterprise Sector (7 Dec 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Social enterprises are businesses that work primarily to improve the lives of people. Their core objective is to achieve a social, societal, or environmental impact. Like any other business, they pursue their objectives by trading in goods and services on an ongoing basis. However, surpluses generated are re-invested into achieving their core social objectives. My Department has...