Results 15,221-15,240 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys
- Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: The treatments previously available under the Treatment Benefit schemes prior to 2010 and those currently available are detailed below. Dental Benefit Optical Benefit Medical Appliances Pre 2010 Currently Pre 2010 Currently Pre 2010 Currently Dental exam Yes ...
- Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: EU Data (19 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: As previously indicated to the Deputy, the procedural time-limits factsheet to which the Deputy refers, was removed from the e:Justice Portal for updating on foot of changes to the relevant legislation. That relevant legislation concerns the calculation of procedural time limits. This includes an outdated reference to the Interpretation Act 1937, which, although correct at the time the...
- Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Inquiry into the Death of Mr. Shane O'Farrell (19 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: I would like to start by offering my profound regret and sympathy to the family of the late Shane O'Farrell. His death was a huge tragedy and a huge loss for his family and for his community. As the Deputy will be aware, a retired Judge, Gerard Haughton, is currently conducting the scoping exercise into the tragic circumstances surrounding Shane O'Farrell's death. Judge Haughton...
- Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Offshore Islands (19 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: The construction of a new helipad referred to by the Deputy is a project being undertaken by Mayo County Council, with financial assistance from my Department. My Department provided funding for the purchase of land for this project in late 2020. I have been informed that Mayo County Council are working to finalise a detailed design and to prepare tender documents for the helipad's...
- Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Ferry Services (19 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: Ensuring that island communities have access to reliable transport services is a core objective of my Department. A subsidy is paid to attract operators to provide a service where it may not otherwise be viable for them to do so. While the subsidy will assist with operating costs and to establish a transport service, operators are encouraged to develop the service further. As is standard...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: There are arrangements across the EU, as I said, and there is a bilateral arrangement with the UK. Many cases would traditionally have been dealt with in terms of contributions. The convention on social security between Ireland and the UK, which was put in place in response to the UK leaving the EU post-Brexit, provides for situations where workers have moved between Ireland and the UK. We...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: Deputy Kerrane will acknowledge the fuel allowance was increased on 1 January up to €28 per week. That was an important step and it would have helped in some way to assist people in meeting their fuel bills. The living alone allowance for older people was also increased. The Deputy is aware an exception was made last year for the fuel allowance, given that it is for a particular...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: It is important to say also that a lot of supports are available through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to assist people, in particular older people, to carry out improvements to their houses, which includes insulation, and thereby reduce their heating costs. I take Deputy Stanton's point. The cost is not something that has been raised with me previously but I will certainly...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising this matter. Maternity benefit is a statutory payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. The fundamental qualification criteria for maternity benefit are that a woman must be in insurable employment and entitled to statutory maternity leave or be in insurable self-employment. The...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: I take on board what Deputy Kerrane says. We have been trying to improve the supports available to parents. We have extended parental leave from two weeks to five weeks. That has been welcomed. It is a good support and it is something I would like to see us extending further. I am aware of the habitual residence clause that is in place. It can sometimes have unintended consequences...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: I have heard that a number of people are having difficulty getting people back to work but I believe the majority want to go back to work. There is a support line for employers if they need assistance with difficulties they might face in getting staff. We want to help people retrain, reskill and find the jobs that are out there. Some will not go back to their old jobs so we want to help...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: Retail opened yesterday, so I expect those numbers will reduce considerably over the coming weeks. One of the last sectors to open will be hospitality and accommodation so there will be a lead-in time for those numbers to come down. There are a number of sectors but we are happy to work with them all and we will do that across the board. Many young people have been impacted by Covid in...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: There are a number of sectors which have been impacted more than others. The music sector, for example, has not had an opportunity since last March, which is over a year. It has been particularly impacted. We hope the accommodation services, hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation and all those facilities will come back but it is hard to say. I reassure the Deputy we will do everything to...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: I do not have those figures to hand. I will ask my officials. I do not know if they are available. There were a number of people in different sectors who closed their pandemic unemployment payment for the week of 11 May. We had the highest number of closures in the construction sector, with 3,107 that week. The previous week we had 3,729. There is a gradual reduction in that sector and...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fuel Poverty (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: The fuel allowance is a payment of €28 per week for 28 weeks, a total of €784 each year, from October to April, incorporating the coldest periods of the year. It goes to over 370,000 low-income households at an estimated cost of €300 million in 2021. The purpose of the payment is to provide a contribution towards the energy costs of a household; it is not intended to...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Pensions (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: In the two most recent budgets, while the primary rate of State pension payment did not change, a number of targeted measures aimed at older people mostly at risk of poverty were introduced. These included a €10 increase in the living alone allowance and increases in the rate of fuel allowance. In addition, legislation was passed to ensure that the State pension age remained at 66...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: State Pensions (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: As I have said, a possible approach to pensions indexation is under consideration. That uses what can be described as a smoothed earning system whereby the rate of pension would be linked, in the first instance, to a percentage of average earnings. In years when application of the benchmark rate is less than the rate of increases in prices, it would be linked to the rate of inflation. ...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: I will answer the first question and then come back to the Deputy on the second. The Deputy has two questions. The first question is on the number of people who have indicated their intention to withdraw from Covid-19 support payments. The pandemic unemployment payment has proven to be a vital income support to workers, thousands of whom lost their jobs virtually overnight. Since its...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: Sometimes there is an impression that people are not going back to work. As far as I am concerned, people want to go back to work. The quicker they can go back, the better. The sooner the restrictions are lifted, which is happening now, the better. There are many people who will only be too pleased to take up employment. The number of people in receipt of payments has come down. The...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (18 May 2021)
Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputies for raising these very important issues. The Government has not been found wanting in terms of supporting people during the pandemic. A sum of €7.6 billion has been spent on the PUP to date, with 23 million individual payments made and more than 850,000 people having received support. As regards the future of the PUP, I am working with my colleagues in...