Results 12,661-12,680 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I am very aware of the importance of employment in supporting individuals, society and the economy. My Department is committed to assisting all prepare for and secure employment. I also understand that the path to employment is not the same for everyone and that additional help is required for those facing additional challenges including those in minority communities. This is a key...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Cybersecurity Policy (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is a major user of Information Technology for the provision of customer services. The MyWelfare platform provides customers with easy access to a range of social welfare services including applying for benefits such as family payments and out-of-work payments, updating personal details, viewing payment and contribution history, and checking eligibility for schemes such as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Nov 2021)

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, to 369,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €300 million in 2021. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is primarily responsible for the provision of income supports to individuals. The PUP payment was the main income support introduced for those impacted by Covid-19 which was payable to eligible workers irrespective of the sector from which they lost their employment. PUP, similar to other social welfare supports, is not paid on a sectoral basis. In terms of analysis,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (25 Nov 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 Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy is included in the following table. Note that the numbers refer to people who were in receipt of payment for Parent's Benefit. County Pre-April 2021 Post-April 2021 Carlow 272 363 Cavan 440 563 Clare 584 816 Cork ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 - 2025 aims to reduce the number of people in consistent poverty in Ireland to 2% or less, and to position Ireland within the top five countries in the EU under a number of leading social inclusion measures. The Roadmap includes a specific goal to protect the incomes of older people through the delivery of the commitment to benchmark State pension...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) was launched last July 2021 as 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 training and a quality work experience to unemployed person who have been unemployed for more that six months, which includes time spent on the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Age-related reduced rates for people on Jobseekers Allowance were introduced in 2009 in line with other jurisdictions, to address the issue of high youth unemployment. Young jobseekers who take part in employment, education and training programmes receive a higher rate of payment. There are a number of circumstances where reduced rates do not apply including if a young person is in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Pensions Commission was established in November 2020 to examine the sustainability of the State Pension system and the Social Insurance Fund, in fulfilment of a Programme for Government commitment. The Commission was an independent body comprised of knowledgeable and experienced academics, pension experts, members of civil society and representatives of workers and employers. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reports (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department commissioned Indecon International Consultants to carry out research into the cost of disability in Ireland. The Programme for Government commits the Government to use this research into the cost of disability to individuals and families to properly inform the direction of future policy. This matter is significantly wider than the income support system which is why a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Community Welfare Service in my department delivers the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is the safety net within the overall social welfare system. This scheme provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. The discretionary element of Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) is a major...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Domestic Violence (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Responsibility for the development and provision of services to support victims of domestic violence is a cross government body of work involving Department of Justice, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and associated agencies. The co-ordination of the services addressing the needs of these...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Domestic Violence (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Responsibility for the development and provision of services to support victims of domestic violence is a cross government body of work involving Department of Justice, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and associated agencies. The co-ordination of the services addressing the needs of these...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Currently, all persons wishing to obtain details of their social insurance contributions can do so by request to the Client Eligibility Services section in my Department. The details are provided by way of a contribution history statement which is a summary of the person's social insurance history in Ireland. There are several ways in which a person can request their contribution...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The second phase in the procuring of new employment services is currently under preparation. In phase two, the Regional Employment Services model will be rolled out throughout the rest of the State; that is a further nineteen counties. The first phase of the procurement is concerned with seven counties. The Department is currently reflecting on feedback from Phase One and amending the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Energy Prices (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of supports, energy efficiency awareness initiatives, and investment in programmes to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock. In light of ESRI research and the commitment to ensure that the carbon tax is progressive, the Government has committed to very significant...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: It is estimated that over €4 billion will be spent on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in 2021. The 2022 allocation for PUP is €75 million and is based upon Government Decisions made to date.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: General Register Office (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I can inform the Deputy that an application for recognition of a foreign divorce was submitted to the General Register Office (GRO) in respect of one of the parties to the proposed marriage. Where a person is granted a divorce abroad this must be examined to determine if it is entitled to recognition under Irish law. If the divorce is entitled to recognition then the person is deemed to be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Nov 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a payment for people with an injury, disease or disability that has continued, or may be expected to continue, for at least one year and, as a result of this disability, the person is ‘substantially restricted’ in undertaking work that would otherwise be suitable. At the end of September 2021 there were 154,563 persons in receipt of Disability...