Results 15,721-15,740 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1172 to 1174, inclusive, together. In parallel with the Intreo service, the Department's contracted public employment services, including JobPath and the Local Employment Services, resumed new referrals on 8th March 2021. Resuming referrals reflects the importance of continuing to engage with the long term unemployed and other cohorts to ensure they do not...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes Data (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: As of end March 2021, there were 2,434 people in receipt of the new benefit payment for 65 year olds. The majority of these transitioned to the new payment for over 65s without the need to make a new application. Any applications and decisions for this new payment are recorded under the Jobseeker's Benefit IT system, with awarded claims then recording the appropriate administrative code...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Local Employment Service (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Local Employment Services (LES) provide a one-to-one employment assistance and advice service primarily for the long-term unemployed. The number of persons who commenced engagement, that is the total number of new registrations who attended, with the local employment service in each of the years 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021 is displayed in the table below. It should be noted that, due...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds, provided under the Jobseekers Benefit scheme, has been introduced in line with the Programme for Government commitment, to address the position of people who are required to or choose to retire at age 65 before the pension age of 66. This new benefit payment is designed to bridge the gap for people who retire from employment or self-employment at 65...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Appointments to State Boards (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Appointments for State Board positions, including those State Boards under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection, are managed directly by the State Boards Section at the Public Appointments Service (PAS). Each individual State Board under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection will necessitate particular requirements in terms of knowledge, skills and experience of its...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Farm assist is a means-tested income support scheme for farmers. To qualify for the payment, a customer must be a farmer, farming land in the State, aged between 18 and 66 and satisfy a means test. The annual farm assist review is a necessary part of the normal review process for all these customers and a standardised review form is used for this purpose. The means test for farm assist...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Work Placement Programmes (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The programme referred to was a work placement programme delivered by FÁS which started in June 2009. The programme provided up to nine months work experience for unemployed people who were in receipt of a qualifying payment from the department. There were two streams in the programme, Stream 1 was for graduates and Stream 2 was for unemployed people generally, with places reserved...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS) was introduced on 1st October 2018 and was open to applications from that date. YESS targets at young jobseekers aged between 18 and 24 who are long-term unemployed or who face barriers to employment. The scheme aims to provide jobseekers with the opportunity to learn basic work and social skills in a supportive environment while on a work...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: JobsPlus is a subsidy paid to employers who recruit long-term unemployed people for new positions in their workplace. Employers can avail of JobsPlus when filling new positions or positions that arise as a consequence of natural turnover and they can receive a subsidy of €7,500 or €10,000 per employee. The value of the grant is dependent on the age of the new employee and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: My Department published a Request for Tender (RfT) on eTenders and OJEU for a Publications Dispatch Service in July 2019. A contract was awarded to Rehab Logistics Ltd under Article 20 of DIRECTIVE 2014/24/EU on public procurement, which used reserved tendering procedures for companies that promote the integration of disadvantaged persons. The work involved is primarily related to, but not...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Back to Education Allowance Scheme (BTEA) is designed to support second chance education. It enables eligible persons to pursue education and to continue to receive income support for the duration of a course of study. There were 7,300 students in the 2019/2020 academic year pursuing education while supported with a weekly BTEA allowance. There are currently approximately 6,400 students...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The Department's HR unit, in dealing with individual illness-related cases, consult with the Office of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the medical reports and advice are considered in addition to all other relevant information pertaining to each case. The person concerned retired from the Civil Service in October 2001 on the grounds of ill health. An application for reinstatement to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Every year, the Department carries out a range of social impact assessments on the welfare measures contained in the Budget, using the ESRI’s SWITCH tax-benefit microsimulation model. The Social Impact Assessment is an evidence-based methodology which estimates the likely distributive effects of policies on household incomes, families and poverty. This informs decision-making leading...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned has been provisionally awarded a widow(er)'s & surviving civil partner's contributory pension, with effect from 09/04/2021. Letters, including a short questionnaire requesting bank account details for the person concerned; and a request for their original marriage certificate have issued on 12/03/2021 and 13/03/2021. In light of the pandemic, if the letters...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below, and refers to students in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in the last calendar week of the month. It should be noted that these figures are based on a combination of self-certified information provided by the claimants and checks performed against administrative files from the HEA, and should therefore be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: The assessment of a person’s capital is just one element of the means test for One-Parent Family Payment (OFP), and other social assistance payments. Calculating the amount of capital that a person can have and still qualify for an OFP payment is complex and the value of a person’s capital for this purpose depends on a range of factors. For the purposes of OFP, capital (which...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payment (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Departmental records reflect that an application for an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) has not been received from the person concerned. My officials have advised that an ENP pack was issued by post on 15/04/2021. On receipt of a completed application form and any relevant supporting documentation, the application will be assessed and a decision will issue to the person concerned. I trust...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: JobPath provides employment assistance and advice to the long-term unemployed on behalf of my Department. On 22 October 2020, I announced an extension of referrals to the JobPath service for a further twelve months until the end of 2021. There will be a run out period for the contract after new referrals have ceased. At that time I also announced similar extensions to the Local...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Allowance (21 Apr 2021)

Heather Humphreys: Following a review of the entitlement of the person concerned, it was found that she had a decrease in her means from 3 February 2021. Based on the information provided to my Department, a maximum rate of disability allowance (DA) was awarded from that date. A letter issued to the person concerned informing them of this on 13 April 2021. Their first payment at maximum rate will be made on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Support Payments (21 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. A recipient of full rate CA is entitled to claim an Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) at the following rates: - A...