Results 13,821-13,840 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1104, 1152 and 1158 together. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was introduced as an emergency measure for qualifying employees and self employed people who lost their employment as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic. To date expenditure on PUP is approximately €8.3 billion. The requirement for emergency measures is diminishing as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Rent supplement continues to play a key role in supporting families and individuals in private rented accommodation, with the scheme supporting 17,711 active recipients at the end of June 2021. 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 accommodation...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (27 Jul 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. In March of last year,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (27 Jul 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 also asked in its Terms of Reference to examine the issue of retirement ages in employment contracts that are set below the State Pension qualifying age, and how to further...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Since 2013, 11 Job Clubs did not enter into a new contract and 4 of these Job Clubs made enquiries to my Department in respect of redundancy. Claims for enhanced redundancy are a matter for employers. The Job Club contracts are contracts for service, and they are negotiated and agreed separately with each contracting body. The contracting body as per the terms of the contract is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance for people aged between 16 and 66 with a disability that is expected to last for at least one year and who satisfy the medical condition, means test and are habitually resident in Ireland. The number of persons who had their DA stopped in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to the end of June 2021 is outlined in the table below: ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance for people aged between 16 and 66 with a disability which is expected to last for at least one year and who satisfy the medical condition, means test and are habitually resident in Ireland. The Department does not collate data in a format that would enable definitive reporting on the reason DA payments are stopped. Details in respect of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I refer the Deputy to my previous responses to the following PQs - 27904/21 of 25 May 2021; 29016/21 of 27 May 2021; and 31424/21 and 30818/21 of 15 June 2021 - and confirm that there is no change to the position on this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Department is not aware of any delays for Jobseekers Payment for self-employed pre-school and primary teachers. Almost all pre-school and primary teachers are employees and currently there are 9,858 applications for Jobseekers Allowance and Jobseekers Benefit awarded and in payment. There are 953 cases currently with the Department's Deciding Officers for decision and these will be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) is a key policy initiative under Pillar 2 of the National Recovery Programme, launched by Government on the 1st June 2021. It is also a central measure of the Government's new national employment services strategy, Pathways to Work 2021-2025. This sets out the national framework for activation and employment supports to assist persons, whose...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) is a key policy initiative under Pillar 2 of the National Recovery Programme, launched by Government on the 1st June 2021. It is also a central measure of the Government's new national employment services strategy; Pathways to Work 2021-2025. This sets out the national framework for activation and employment supports to assist persons, whose...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Public Services Card (PSC) is proof that a person has authenticated their identity through the SAFE registration process. My Department does not automatically renew PSCs. This is because a new photograph of the person is required for the renewed card. My Department is compiling figures on the number of PSCs that have expired and have not been replaced this year and these figures will...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Communications (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a dedicated mailbox for each of the main schemes whereby Teachtaí Dála can raise specific queries for their constituents directly with the relevant scheme area. These mailboxes are monitored every day and have been operating efficiently and effectively to provide quick responses on queries raised. With the onset of COVID-19, the imposition of social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: EmployAbility is a specialised employment support service dedicated to improving employment outcomes for job seekers that have a physical or mental disability. To access the service clients must be referred through Intreo, the Public Employment Service. In practice, any individual may approach an Employability service provider who will be happy to discuss the service with them and if...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The free travel scheme permits free travel on most CIE public transport services, Luas and a range of services offered by some 80 private operators countrywide for those eligible under the scheme. The scheme is available to all people aged over 66 and those under age 66 on qualified payments, who are living legally and permanently in the State. At the end of June, there were 1,002,682...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Increases for a Qualified Child (IQCs) are paid as child-related supplements to most weekly social welfare payments in recognition of the need for greater incomes among benefit-dependent households with dependent children. There have been no changes to the arrangements in relation to children aged 18 to 22. An IQC is payable in respect of qualified children until age 18 on all schemes where...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The Government has provided €53.5m for the scheme in 2021 which operates from June to September. The allowance is payable for eligible children between the ages of 4 and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Civil Registration Service (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The phone line and email referred to by the Deputy are maintained by the Health Services Executive which operates the civil registration service. I have been informed that the HSE are dealing with a large backlog of applications for certificates and registrations and that this is affecting the operation of their phone line and email service. I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Civil Registration Service (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The HSE is responsible for the registration of birth and deaths. The Deputy will be aware of the significant impact of the recent cyber-attack on its ICT systems. I understand from the HSE that the registration services have been particularly affected in the Dublin area where the electronic transfer of birth data from maternity hospitals to the registration services has not been fully...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (27 Jul 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated annual cost to the Exchequer in 2022 of a waiver of waiting days for Jobseeker's Allowance would be approximately €10 million and for Jobseeker's Benefit would be approximately €22.4 million. The estimated annual cost for Illness Benefit and Occupational Injury Benefit (combined figure) is approximately €25 million (excluding additional ICT and staffing...