Results 1,381-1,400 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (10 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €382 million in 2024. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. Only one allowance is paid per household. The criteria for Fuel Allowance are framed in order to direct the limited...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Equal Opportunities Employment (10 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Please see below (in tabular format) the number and percentage of people with disabilities employed across DSP including bodies under the aegis of the Department in each of the years 2020 to 2023. All staff were employed on a full-time basis. - 2023 - Public Body Total number of employees Number of employees reporting a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Development Companies (10 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The LEADER Programme is a key intervention of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy. It supports a broad range of activities which aim to respond to the diversity of the local needs of our rural areas. The 2023 – 2027 LEADER programme is open in 27 of the 28...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (10 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The CLÁR programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas. I launched this year's programme in April with a total budget of €8.7 million. The measures being funded under CLÁR 2024 are: Measure 1: Developing Community Facilities and Amenities Measure 2: Mobility, Cancer Care, First...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Covid-19 Pandemic (10 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department manages European Union funding under the LEADER Programme, the PEACE Programme, and the European Social Fund. No elements of the PEACE Programme or the European Social Fund relate to funding in respect of Covid-19. In relation to the LEADER Programme, €20 million in funding was allocated in July 2021 through the European Union’s Recovery Instrument (EURI) fund...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Control of Dogs (10 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has policy responsibility for the Control of Dogs Acts and Local Authorities have responsibility for all operational matters, including enforcement. The Control of Dogs Acts set out a number of legal obligations that all dog owners must comply with. Government established a working group in early 2023 to examine the current issues surrounding dog control and to make...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Equal Opportunities Employment (10 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department places great emphasis on the promotion of the Department as an inclusive workplace, where all staff can flourish including staff with disabilities. The Department was delighted to take part in the Willing Able and Mentoring (WAM) Programme for 2023 / 2024 where two staff members with disabilities took part and have now taken up permanent roles in my Department as a direct...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Senator for raising the issue. Unfortunately, I will not be accepting the amendment. The PRSI rate increases for the next years are set out in the Bill and they are evenly spread among employees, employers and the self-employed. I am satisfied that they achieve a fair balance between addressing the long-term sustainability of the Social Insurance Fund without unduly impinging...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I will not be accepting this amendment. I have made the point on many occasions that it is bad practice to put the preparation of reports in primary legislation. We had a comprehensive actuarial review of the Social Insurance Fund and we also had the report from the Pensions Commission. The bottom line is that the Social Insurance Fund is not sustainable in the long term if we do not take...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: While I thank the Senators for their amendments relating to engagement with prescribed schemes, programmes or courses, I do not accept them. These sections replicate those in place for other jobseeker's schemes. They are exactly the same as what is in place already and we are going to apply them to the jobseeker's pay-related benefit. I do not intend to amend the proposed or existing...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Rather, it is about helping people. My Department is here to help people. It takes a common-sense approach. We are trying to help people to get back into the workforce. There are a lot of schemes. There is a requirement under jobseeker's benefit as it stands to be genuinely seeking work. That requirement is just being repeated for the jobseeker's pay-related benefit. We have 50,000...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: If people are going on work experience or are on a work placement programme, it is because they want to reskill and go into a different area. The rules around the jobseeker’s benefit are being transposed into the jobseeker’s pay-related benefit legislation. The conditions are the same. The aim is to help people to get back to work. If they cannot get another job in the area...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: This Bill replicates the existing requirements concerning our jobseeker’s payments. It does nothing more or less. The activation is a positive intervention in place to prevent jobseekers from drifting farther away from the labour market. It is widely used across the EU and OECD countries. It is essential that recipients of the pay-related benefit be supported through the activation...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Prescribed courses can vary. They can entail community employment and training through SOLAS. We are missing the point here. The point is that Intreo offices provide information on employment opportunities. It is when the long-term unemployed do not engage with or ignore the services of the Intreo offices – “engage” is the most important word here – that they...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Just because people are getting a higher rate of payment on the jobseeker’s pay-related benefit does not mean they should not continue to look for work. In fact, most people do go back to work between 12 and 14 weeks after losing a job. People naturally want to go back to work. We saw that during the Covid pandemic. What I am saying is that the rules and regulations we are applying...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: To be clear, there is no shift at all. What we are doing is replicating what we are doing already with regard to jobseeker's benefit and applying that to jobseeker's pay-related benefit. It is as simple as that. I cannot accept the amendment.

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I am not aware of any instances where a social welfare office sent somebody in on work experience. I do not understand. I am sorry, I genuinely do not understand. There are work placement programmes. There are all sorts of programmes when you engage in job activation, whether the community employment schemes or back to education. There are all sorts of different ways to get back into the...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I do not accept this amendment either. For people who may be better off on a payment based on household composition, the means-tested jobseeker's allowance will remain available to them. The nature of pay-related payment is that it is linked to the earnings from employment rather than the household composition. They have the option to go for the jobseeker's allowance instead. I am...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: To clarify the position for the Senator, those working part-time can continue receiving jobseeker's benefit. The nature of pay-related-----

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Means test rules in my Department are kept under regular review and I have introduced a number of significant changes in recent years including: Providing for higher income disregards. These disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, their income from work to the level of the income disregard, is not assessed in the means test....