Results 1,441-1,460 of 5,587 for speaker:Kevin Humphreys

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Obesity Levels (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: I thank the Senator. While this undoubtedly is an important issue, as indicated within the body of the original reply, the guidelines give power to local government regarding new developments. The Senator highlighted this point in respect of section 5 of these guidelines. There is a specific problem regarding existing businesses that would be within 500 m and I acknowledge the Senator...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Obesity Levels (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: There must be a much stronger emphasis on parental skills in this regard. I believe this to be one of the major challenges Irish society will face in the coming years but the Senator has a fantastic track record in highlighting this issue. I again thank her for raising it.

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Labour Activation Measures (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: We are certainly moving in the right direction. Five years ago the rate of unemployment was 15.2%. It is now below 9% and moving in the right direction. It was natural that there would be a concentration on assisting those in receipt of benefits to get back into employment. The distribution of what was a scarce resource was prioritised, I believe correctly. Now, as we move from recession...

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Labour Activation Measures (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: I thank the Senator. There is nothing more important than having a role model within the household of somebody going out to work. The Senator mentioned the year 1934 and the question to the then Minister, Mr. Lemass, but we should look back and learn from what happened in the 1990s. During the previous recession there was a group of persons who lost their jobs and did not have an...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Expenditure (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 61,000 people for which the Government has provided approximately €267 million for 2016. Recent analysis shows that increasing the current rent limits by 5% would result in a full year cost in excess of €15 million; a 10% increase would carry a cost of almost...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Services Programme (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 82 and 117 together. The community services programme (CSP) is one of a number of programmes and schemes operated by the Department. It provides financial support to community companies that provide revenue generating services of a social inclusion nature. Many of these companies are also funded from other sources and generate revenue from the public use of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: School Meals Programme (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to schools and organisations at a cost of €39 million in 2015. An additional €3 million was allocated to the programme as part of Budget 2016, bringing the allocation to €42 million in 2016. There are two schemes operated under the school meals programme. The first scheme is the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The purpose of Community Employment (CE) is to enhance employability and mobility by providing work experience and training within communities. The person in question was informed by Departmental staff that she only had eligibility for one year’s participation on CE at present under the standard eligibility criteria (i.e. she did not have sufficient qualifying time for the three-year...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 101 together. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies and the Office of Public Works has responsibility for capital flood relief activities. However, the Department of Social Protection has an important role to play in assisting households in the immediate aftermath of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Services Programme (26 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The company referred to by the Deputy is supported by the Community Services Programme. Following a full examination of its operations in 2013, a number of concerns were raised relating to the outputs being achieved by the company when compared with similar operations nationally. The company was informed that the Department could not sustain the level of financial support should the level...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (21 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 61,000 people, for which the Government has provided approximately €267 million for 2016. Properties are being secured under the scheme with over 20,100 rent supplement tenancies awarded during 2015, of which 790 were in the Kerry area. There are currently approximately...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Civil Registration Legislation (21 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: Staffing and resolution of industrial relations issues in the Civil Registration Service are a matter for the HSE. However, I am concerned about the matter and my officials, while not directly involved in the dispute, have made the HSE aware of these concerns. I understand that discussions are ongoing and that good progress has been made and it should be possible to commence further sections...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Services Programme (21 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The company referred to by the Deputy is supported by the Community Services Programme. Following a full examination of its operations in 2013, a number of concerns were raised relating to the outputs being achieved by the company, when compared with similar operations nationally. They were informed that the Department could not sustain the level of financial support should the level of...

Confidence in Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (20 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The Deputy gets a lot wrong.

Confidence in Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection: Motion [Private Members] (19 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The Deputy should stop talking nonsense.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (19 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The Training Support Grant (TSG) is designed to fund quick access to short-term training where this cannot be provided by a state provider within a reasonable time or where an intervention is identified that can support individual jobseekers to access work opportunities. This scheme is not designed to provide general or more structured training for jobseekers. Access to the scheme is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Data (19 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: There are 71 Community Employment (CE) Schemes with 1,479 places in Galway, and 37 CE schemes with 849 places in Mayo as at 14 January 2015. The average annual cost of a CE place for one year, including income support and all other costs such as training fees, material costs and Supervision is approximately €15,000. The average annual payment value for jobseeker's allowance (JA) for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Direct Provision Data (19 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: The direct provision allowance is a non-statutory payment administered by the Department of Social Protection on behalf of the Department of Justice and Equality to persons in the Direct Provision system. The Government has provided €3.6 million for direct provision allowance in 2016. The Government has recently approved an increase in the weekly direct provision allowance payment in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Operation (19 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: This Department has become aware in recent times of increases in insurance premiums for CE schemes. The main reasons cited for this is an increase in claims frequency over recent years by such schemes. The Department has been in consultation with the main insurers and brokers about the proposed increase and to seek to limit the incidence of future claims. The Department recommends that...

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Kevin Humphreys: You are one yourself.