Results 15,441-15,460 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Self-employed individuals have a range of income support options available to them depending on their circumstances. Those in self-employment can earn up to €960 over a rolling eight week period and retain their Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). Where a self-employed person exceeds this threshold they may apply for the Part Time Job Incentive for the self-employed scheme. This...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: A person claiming widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's contributory pension must provide evidence that they are the legal widow, widower or surviving civil partner. The original civil marriage certificate has already been provided by the person concerned. However, where the marriage took place outside the State, as in this case, the marriage licence must also be provided. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. All claim decisions taken by the Department’s Deciding Officers and Designated Persons are appealable to the Chief Appeals Officer. In any year about 85% of all...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The two main income supports provided by my Department for people who have lost employment and are unable to find full time work are Jobseeker's Benefit which is a payment based on a person’s social insurance contributions while in employment and Jobseeker's Allowance, a means tested assistance payment. In order to qualify for a Jobseeker’s payment a person must satisfy all of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Funding (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The 2020 allocations for non-governmental organisations in receipt of funding from this Department are as follows: 1. €80,000 for the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice 2. €255,000 for the Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed 3. €350,000 for Community Law and Mediation. In addition, the following amounts were allocated in 2020 to organisations which made...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: At the end of March the number of persons employed by my Department was 6,725 and the collective total salary (annualised) received by employees was €287,865,315.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Social Protection does not employ persons or engage any external consultants or firms to deal with public relations and, therefore, no expenditure has been incurred. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 548 and 549 together. My Department provides a range of employment supports for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. These supports include the JobPath service. The range of factors to be considered when applying a reduced rate of payment preclude me from making a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: To date the total amount paid to those providing the JobPath service is €259.6m. The yearly spend on JobPath is provided in the following table. Year Expenditure 2015 €1.2m 2016 €25.2m 2017 €57.4m 2018 €71.7m 2019 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 551 and 552 together. The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) scheme offers support for people who are long-term unemployed and who are interested in self-employment as a route to entering the labour market. The scheme plays a vital role in supporting the development of new enterprises for the long-term unemployed and is payable for up to a 24 month...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Pensions Commission was established in November 2020 to examine the sustainability of the State Pension system and the Social Insurance Fund, in fulfillment of a Programme for Government commitment. These issues are being considered from a perspective of fiscal and social sustainability, and intergenerational fairness. The Commission has held eleven meetings to date, as well as a public...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. Scheme April 2021 Widowe(er)’s Contributory Pension 123,422 Widow(er)’s Non-Contributory Pension 1,275

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Department does not collate statistics on the number of widows pension recipients who engage in employment/self-employment, as this is not necessary for the administration of the scheme. Accordingly, it is not possible to provide information on the value of tax revenue contributed by widows pension recipients. I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The age at which a pension is payable is currently 66 years. Applications for the state pension (contributory) should be submitted at least three months before the person reaches pension age. The person concerned will reach pension age later this year. I have arranged for a copy of their social insurance contribution record to issue to them, together with an application form for State...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will be aware that, in accordance with the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána. In addition, the allocation of Garda resources is a matter for the Commissioner, in light of identified operational demands. As Minister, I have no role in these matters. I am assured, however,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Traffic Accidents (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I have requested a report from the Garda authorities on the information requested by the Deputy. Unfortunately, this report was not available in time and I will write to the Deputy once the report is to hand.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is by law responsible for the management of An Garda Síochána, including personnel matters and deployment of resources. I am assured however that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities, to ensure their optimum use. Further, the Office of...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Road Traffic Offences (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will appreciate that road traffic legislation falls within the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Transport. The Deputy will be aware that section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1961, as amended, provides for an offence of driving without a driving licence. The penalty for this offence, upon summary conviction, is a fine not exceeding €2,000. Furthermore, section...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible, by law, for the management and administration of An Garda Síochána, including all operational matters. I, as Minister, have no direct role in these matters. I am informed by the Garda authorities that Garda Forensic Collision Investigators provide expert analysis of collision scenes to determine the root cause...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: An Garda Síochána (11 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2018, known as the Clancy Amendment, provides for penalties to be imposed on car owners who allow their vehicles to be used by an unaccompanied learner driver. The law provides for fines to be levied in such cases and gives Gardaí the power to seize their cars if being driven by unaccompanied learner drivers. The Garda...