Results 1,461-1,480 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Overpayments of social welfare assistance and benefit payments arise as a consequence of decisions made under the relevant sections of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 (as amended). Customers who have been overpaid social welfare have a liability to refund the overpayment as they have been in receipt of a payment to which they were not entitled. The customers referred to by the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department’s Intreo Employment Services team works with jobseekers to identify supports and interventions to assist them to become job ready. This includes support with accessing training. The Community Welfare Service has no function in this area. Safe Pass is a mandatory safety awareness training programme for construction workers. The Safe Pass programme is operated and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. Following the expansion of the programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The position is unchanged with regard to Question No. 209 of 30 May 2024. No further projections are available at this time. This Social Insurance Fund forecast is prepared annually for the Stability Programme Update and is produced on a no policy change basis. This means that potential future measures, such as increases to the rate of payment for social protection schemes were not taken...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Government acknowledges the valuable role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy. The main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 340 and 341 together. Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. The extension of child benefit to 18 year olds was one of my key priorities in Budget 2024...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year cost of increasing the annual Carer's Support Grant by €650 to €2.500 is €102.1 million. This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2024, and is subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year cost of increasing Domiciliary Care Allowance by €10 to €350 per month is €7.6 million. This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2024, and is subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The Programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. Following the expansion of the Programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 345 and 346 together. My Department does not hold data on persons in receipt of a medical card and is therefore unable to provide a costing for the extension of Fuel Allowance or Household Benefits to this cohort. The detail requested by the Deputy in relation to the remining cohorts is not readily available. My Department is in the process of collating the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: It is important to note that the State Pension age was never 65 years of age. The State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Non-Contributory) were never paid at 65 years of age. Reducing the State Pension age to 65 years would increase pension related expenditure significantly. My Department does not have a detailed actuarial analysis of this option. However, a high-level estimate of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year cost of increasing all weekly social welfare payments to €350 per week is €6,976.9 million. This includes a proportionate increase for Qualified Adults. These costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year cost of increasing all weekly social welfare payments to €300 per week is €2,798.3 million. This includes a proportionate increase for Qualified Adult. These costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients. Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Partial Capacity,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a number of income supports for those unable to work due to illness or disability. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means tested social assistance schemes. The main long term disability payment supports are Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension. Disability Allowance and Blind...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Maternity Benefit its payable for 26 weeks and Paternity Benefit is payable for two weeks. Currently seven weeks of Parent's Benefit is available for each eligible parent but, as a result of measures in Budget 2024, this will increase to nine weeks per parent from next month. Maternity Benefit, Parent's Benefit and Paternity Benefit are paid at €274 per week. The estimated full...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 352 and 353 together. Maternity Benefit is a payment for employed women who are on Maternity Leave from work, and and self-employed women, who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It is currently paid for twenty-six weeks at the weekly rate of €274 per week. Any decision to extend the period of Maternity Leave for employees is a matter for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 354 and 355 together. Parents Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed people who are on Parents Leave from work who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It is currently paid for seven weeks and has been extended to nine weeks from the first of August 2024 at €274 per week. Any decision to extend the period of Parents Leave for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As you will be aware, the Citizens Information Service (CIS) comprises of eight independent companies that are funded by the Citizens Information Board (CIB). CIB, in turn, is funded by my Department. As I have stated previously, I deeply value the important and essential work carried out by employees of the CIS, in providing people with free, quality and independent information, advice...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: State pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, legally and habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a state pension contributory, or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. In order for their entitlement to state pension non-contributory to be examined, it is necessary for the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Jul 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Free Travel scheme is available to people over 66 years and to people under 66 years who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments or satisfy other criteria, as outlined below. For a person under 66 years of age, they may be entitled to Free Travel if they are living permanently in the State and they: are getting Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Carer's Allowance or...