Results 15,541-15,560 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Improvement Scheme (5 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: A total of €58 Million has been allocated under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) since it was reintroduced in 2017 and this funding has benefited over 10,000 landowners and residents across 2,400 road projects. An allocation of €577,810 was made to Kilkenny under the LIS in 2019 and 2020 combined, which allowed for improvement works to be undertaken on a total of 15 roads. The...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (5 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The move to remote working has the potential to transform rural Ireland. It will allow people to work from their own local communities, revitalise our town centres, reduce commuting times, lower transport emissions and most importantly, improve the quality of people's lives. As part of Our Rural Future, my Department will deliver a number of funding options to develop new facilities and to...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Legal Costs (5 May 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department was established on 19 July 2017. Since that date it has incurred expenditure in respect of legal fees of €2,655 in 2018, €1,855 in 2019 and €2,797 in 2020. In 2018, the Department was assigned a designated point of contact for the provision of legal advice through the Office of the Attorney General, and it is intended that this service provides for the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,557 schools and organisations benefitting 227,000 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is a statutory support provided for employees and the self- employed who have lost employment due to Covid-19. The PUP is a statutory scheme which provides that a person cannot be engaged in insurable employment and continue to avail of the support.  A special arrangement was introduced to allow the self-employed to engage in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Local Employment Service (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As part of the July jobs stimulus, the Government committed to increase the capacity of all elements of the Public Employment Service. The Department has allocated additional Intreo resources to enhance its own capacity and is now moving to expand external capacity. My Department shortly intends to issue a Request for Tender (RFT) to expand local employment type services into four...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 12 October 2020. An application for State pension (contributory) was received on 23 April 2021.  The pension entitlement of the person concerned will be examined by a Deciding Officer and they will be notified of the outcome. Determination of pension eligibility depends on the individual nature of an applicant’s circumstances. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Occupational Injuries Benefit (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: An Occupational Injury Benefit claim from the person concerned was received on the 26th February 2021. The application form from the person concerned did not include sufficient information to make a decision on the claim. As a result, a letter issued on the 12th March 2021 asking for further details required to process their claim. The letter was returned to the department and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Jobseekers currently engaged on a Community Employment (CE) scheme are not eligible for selection for the JobPath service. When a person completes a period of Community Employment they can avail of my Department's Intreo service for advice and assistance in gaining employment. Should they make a claim for a Jobseeker's payment after completing CE, they will become eligible for referral...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The JobPath service provides employment assistance and advice to customers referred to the service by my Department for a 52 week period. Should a customer secure employment during this engagement period the JobPath service also provides in-work support to these customers. However, should the customer subsequently lose their employment within their original 52 week engagement period they...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: At the onset of the pandemic, as part of the Department’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and public health restrictions,  activation appointments were largely suspended from March 2020.   Limited services were provided during the course of 2020 and early 2021, subject to the public health restrictions in place at any time....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Treatment Benefit Scheme (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Qualification for the Treatment Benefit Scheme is based on satisfying certain PRSI conditions.  In order to qualify a person needs to have at least 260 PRSI contributions paid at either Class A, E, H, P or S, since first starting work, and also have 39 contributions paid or credited in the relevant contribution year on which the claim is based.  The person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. I confirm that my Department received an application for CA from the person concerned in respect of her mother on 5...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered with that office on 8 April 2021. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department the case in question will be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment was introduced as an emergency measure to provide an income support to those who had lost their employment as a result of Covid. In order to ensure that the scheme was simple and accessible for the unprecedented number of applicants, a flat payment rate was introduced initially. This rate was the equivalent of the Jobseeker benefit rate for a two-person...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: International Protection (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: For reasons of maintaining full confidentiality, it is not my Department's practice to comment on whether an application for asylum or subsidiary protection has been made in the State. An applicant for such protection status, or their legal representative, should contact either the International Protection Office (IPO) or the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) directly, as...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Prison Inspections (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Section 32 of the Prisons Act 2007 provides that the Inspector of Prisons shall submit a report to me as Minister, not later than 31 March in any year or such later date as may be specified by me, on the performance of the Inspector’s functions during the previous year.  I can confirm that the Annual report from the Inspector of Prisons for 2020 was submitted...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Crime Prevention (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I can assure the Deputy that the criminal activity known as 'phishing' or 'smishing' is taken very seriously by my Department and is the subject of on-going engagement between An Garda Síochána and the banking and technology industries.  Preliminary data indicates an increase in this form of crime over recent years. I am aware that Gardaí have highlighted scams...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Citizenship Applications (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: An application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person referred to by the Deputy on 17 September 2019. This application is currently being processed with a view to establishing whether the applicant meets the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation and will be submitted to me for decision as expeditiously as possible....

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Death Certificates (29 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will be aware, coroners are statutory officers exercising quasi-judicial functions, in relation to which the coroner is independent. Neither I nor my Department have any function in the conduct of their business.  However, to be of assistance, officials from my Department made contact with the Coroner concerned, and have been assured that the Death...