Results 15,121-15,140 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Maternity Benefit is paid at a weekly flat rate of €245 for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution and other conditions. The rate of Maternity Benefit is in line with the rates of Paternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Parent’s Benefit. In 2020, the total cost of maternity benefit was €258...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Claimants with cohabiting partners are recognised within the social welfare system as having additional needs in cases where their cohabiting partner is financially dependent upon them. The payment of an Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) in addition to the personal rate of payment reflects these additional household needs. The IQA is payable in respect of a person who is wholly or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 376 and 377 together. The Blind Pension is one of a range of means-tested payments provided by the Department. It is paid to blind people and certain people with low vision, aged 18 and up to the age of 66 who are habitually resident in the State. At the end of April 2021 there were 1,069 persons in receipt of the Blind Pension. The means assessment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Blind pension is a residency based means tested payment paid to blind and visually impaired people between the age of 18 and 66 who are habitually resident in the State. There are currently 1,069 customers in receipt of blind pension. It is the policy of my Department that claims across social welfare schemes and programmes are reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure the continuing...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Invalidity Pension (IP) is a pension paid to people who are “permanently incapable of work” because of illness or disability. It is based on a claimant's social insurance contributions and medical conditions and is not means tested. Under legislative provisions set out in Section 118 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended, a person in receipt of or entitled to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Immigration Support Services (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Labour market activation policies delivered by the Public Employment Service (PES) of my Department are designed to assist people in finding employment. Public employment services are available to International protection applicants with permission from the Department of Justice to access the labour market. For a person in receipt of a jobseeker payment, activation is delivered through...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Social welfare legislation provides for the manner in which a person's means are assessed for social assistance schemes. In summary, any income or capital, with certain exceptions and disregards, belonging to the person and his / her spouse, partner or co-habitant is assessable for social welfare means testing purposes. Social welfare legislation provides for the disregard of certain...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reports (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 383, 414, 415 and 428 together. My Department has commissioned Indecon International Consultants to carry out research into the cost of disability. I understand that a final report is expected to be submitted to the Department shortly. I look forward to receiving this very important report which will provide a valuable input to inform policy direction in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approx. 996,000...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: In the July Jobs Stimulus the Government committed to a €200m investment in training, education, skill development, work placement schemes, recruitment subsidies and jobs search and assistance measures aimed to help those who have lost their jobs find a new one, retrain or develop new skills, in particular for emerging growth sectors. Included in this is provision for a funded work...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 387 to 396, inclusive, together. The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 397 to 406, inclusive, together. The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has proven to be a vital income support to workers, thousands of whom lost their jobs virtually overnight. Since the introduction of the scheme over 23.7 million payments have been made to over 850,000 people providing income support of some 7.6 billion to date. Within 3 weeks of inception (on 7 April 2020) the scheme made payments to 507,000 people....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 408 and 409 together. In accordance with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) rules, civil servants on secondment maintain their terms and conditions of employment including salary during their period of secondment. Any additional payments made during that period are non-pensionable. With regard to the individual in question, prior to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Poverty Impact Assessment (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has completed a Poverty Impact Assessment on the reduced rates of jobseekers for young people, which I am currently considering. Given the impact of the pandemic on employment, one of my priorities is to assist people, including young people, in getting back to work as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. Under the July Jobs Stimulus, my Department, along with the Department...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Eligibility for disability allowance (DA) is conditional on satisfying the medical criteria, a means test and being habitually resident in the state. Where a person is married, in a civil partnership or co-habiting, the Department will assess the means of the person applying for a social assistance payment and the means of their partner when carrying out a means test. In order to qualify for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: There is a wide range of benefits available to people who make Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions. Entitlement to such benefits is dependent on the individual's social insurance contribution record, the class of social insurance paid as well as satisfying other qualification criteria relevant to the scheme being applied for. In general, self-employed people make PRSI...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. ENPs for goods and services should be based on the most reasonable price at which the article or service can be obtained by the customer. In order to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (25 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to...