Results 13,061-13,080 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The fuel allowance is a payment under the National Fuel Scheme to help with the cost of heating a home during the winter months. It is paid to people who are in receipt of certain qualifying social welfare payments and who also satisfy certain other conditions.   Carer's allowance (CA) is not a qualifying payment for receipt of fuel allowance. However, carers may qualify for the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Last week, I was pleased to announce that a 100% Christmas Bonus will once again be paid this year to recipients of long-term social welfare payments. The Bonus will be paid in early December to over 1.4 million people, including pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and the long-term unemployed, in recognition of their long-term dependence on their social welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 over a full fuel season) from October to April, to 365,000 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Offices (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The provision of office space for the Department is a matter for the Office of Public Works which has responsibility for procurement, purchase and rent of office space for Government Departments. The amount spent on the procurement, purchase and rent of office equipment in each of the past ten years and to 18th October in 2021 is detailed below: 2011 2012 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Offices (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has more than 160 offices, including Intreo Centres and HQ buildings.  Some of our staff also operate from HSE buildings.  Additionally there are almost 60 branch offices providing social welfare services.  All of our offices are in use by the Department, though from time to time offices will be closed for regular maintenance, refitting to suit...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's benefit (CARB) is a PRSI based 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. There are a number of conditions that must be satisfied in order to qualify for CARB, including employment conditions and certain PRSI contribution conditions. Under the provisions of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned is currently in receipt of a Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) payment which was awarded from 20/09/2021.  According to the records of my Department, an application for the backdating of this claim has not previously been received from the person concerned.  On 13/10/2021 the person concerned contacted the Maynooth Branch Office by phone to enquire about...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Registration of Births (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I have asked the General Register Office to enquire with the HSE the current time taken to register a birth. The table below sets out the processing times to complete the registration process in each county. These processing times are based on registrations completed in the month of September and prior to the re-opening of Civil Registration Offices from 1st...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department is now at an advanced stage in its first phase of a two-phase procurement of new employment services. The new service is not a privatisation of Government services. These services have been outsourced by the State since the mid-1990s.  Instead, it is a shift to competitive procurement as required by good governance and the State's legal obligations.   The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Department completed the Poverty Impact Assessment of age related rates of jobseekers for young people aged 18-24 years and it was published in July 2021 on the Governments website. A copy of the report was provided to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development, and the Islands at that time. In September 2021, the rate of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reviews (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Government established a Child Maintenance Review Group to examine certain issues in relation to child maintenance in Ireland.  The Group is chaired by former Circuit Court Judge Catherine Murphy and includes legal, policy and academic professionals as well as officials from my Department and the Department of Justice. The Group's Terms of Reference are to consider and make...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The following tables provide the total number of qualified fuel allowance recipients in October 2019, October 2020 and September 2021. The numbers are broken down by scheme name and payment type, weekly or by way of lump sum, as requested by the Deputy. Slight variances occur across total scheme qualified recipients from month to month, year on year, in line with normal scheme fluctuations. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: For the purposes of disability allowance (DA),  means are calculated in accordance with Part 2 of the Schedule 3 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended. Where a DA claimant is in receipt of rental income for a second property, means are assessed based on the capital value of the property rather than income from the letting. Any outstanding mortgage...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Parents Leave and Benefit is currently available to all eligible parents of children born or adopted from 1st November 2019 and must be used within the first two years of the child’s life or adoption. This leave can be taken in either consecutive weeks or in one-week blocks in order to provide the family with full flexibility. Provision was made in Budget 2022 to increase the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. Permanently incapable of work is defined as an incapacity for work of such a nature that the likelihood is that the claimant will be incapable of work for life...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Closed-Circuit Television Systems (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will be aware that the roll out of community CCTV schemes across the country has benefitted many communities, helping people to feel safer in their local areas. It is a priority of mine to ensure that community groups continue to be supported in their valued contributions to managing their local CCTV schemes whilst ensuring sufficient, proportionate oversight of statutory data...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the administration and management of An Garda Síochána, including the stationing of Gardaí and their allocation to Garda units. The number of Gardaí assigned to Rathcoole Garda Station each year from 2010 to September 2021 is set out in the table below, which...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I can inform the Deputy that pension restoration has taken place on an annual phased basis commencing in 2016, with the final restoration for a relatively small final group of pensioners due on 1stDecember 2021. This payment will complete the restoration of all pension reductions for retired members of An Garda Síochána.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible, under Section 33 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005 (as amended), for the deployment of An Garda Síochána throughout the State. The Commissioner is also responsible, under Section 26 of the Act, for the management and administration of Garda business, including the recruitment and training of Garda...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (19 Oct 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will be aware that the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including the distribution of resources between the various Garda units. As Minister I have no direct role in these matters, and cannot comment on them. I am advised by the Garda authorities that the purchase and allocation of vehicles by An...