Results 1,561-1,580 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: Working Family Payment (WFP) is an income tested, in-work payment which provides additional financial support to employees on low earnings with children.  In order to qualify for WFP, an applicant or the applicant and a spouse, partner or cohabitant must be engaged in fulltime remunerative employment as an employee for not less than 38 hours per fortnight.  This...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Support Services (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: I have noted the correspondence referred to in the question. For the Deputy's information, I have set out below the supports available from my Department to support people with disabilities, including deaf people, to achieve their employment goals. In addition to providing income supports, my department provides a wide range of employment-related supports for both jobseekers with...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: Issues relating to maintenance are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, who has responsibility for the Family Law Acts, which govern maintenance requirements. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has no legal basis to pay maintenance in lieu of the other parent's responsibilities. If a person who was in receipt of maintenance that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension Eligibility (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The person concerned is currently in receipt of state pension contributory at a reduced rate.  I am advised that date my Department does not appear to have received an application for widow's/widower's & surviving civil partner's contributory pension from the person concerned.  Accordingly we have issued an application form to the person concerned, which...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1247, 1254 and 1272 together. The COVID 19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment was introduced in March 2020 as a time-limited emergency measure to meet the surge in unemployment which resulted from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. The conditions for receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment are that a person must of working age between...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Living Wage (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: As the Deputy will understand, I am not in a position to comment on any potential changes to specific policy issues which may be implemented by a new Government, until that Government is formed, and a finalised Programme for Government has been agreed.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Support Grant (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Government acknowledges the crucial role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role.  This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy. The main income supports to carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit and the Carer’s Support...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has experienced unprecedented demand for income supports including the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment and Jobseeker’s payments.  Delays can occur in some cases but please be assured staff are working on processing all applications as quickly as possible. The person concerned submitted an application for jobseeker's allowance from...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment Eligibility (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Working Family Payment is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children.  Working Family Payment is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependents and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment.  The estimated annual expenditure on Working Family Payment in 2019 is approximately...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Widow's Pension (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: There are a number of basic principles which underpin the Irish social insurance system.  Firstly, there is the contributory principle.  Under this principle there is a direct link between the PRSI contributions that a person has paid and entitlement to a varying range of benefits and pensions.  Where a person has sufficient PRSI contributions, then benefits and pensions may be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Applications (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1258 to 1260, inclusive, together. The main purpose of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. Under SWA, my Department can make a single Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure, which a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is an emergency payment of €350 per week introduced by the Government for a 12 week period and intended to compensate those workers whose employers cannot retain them on their payroll. The payment is also being made to people who are self-employed but whose trade has temporarily ceased. One of the eligibility criteria for the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1262 and 1276 together. Given the need to pay the Covid Pandemic Unemployment Payment as expeditiously as possible, Section 202 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 was used.  This section allows for the provision of payments in urgent cases by way of Supplementary Welfare Allowance. The Covid-19 pandemic and resultant...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, published by the Government on 1 May 2020 sets out a timetable for the phased reopening of society and the economy and envisages a series of steps which will lead to the resumption of various sectors of the economy.  Decisions around the future of the supports in place will continue to be monitored having regard to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Wage Subsidy Scheme (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, which is operated by Revenue, provides the payment of support to employers in respect of eligible employees where the employer’s business has experienced significant disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  As set out in the legislation underpinning the scheme, employers are required to record PRSI at Class J9 for each employee in respect of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: All customers making a claim for, or in receipt of, a jobseekers payment must satisfy the deciding officer that they fulfil the conditions for receipt of a payment under that scheme. The genuinely seeking work and availability requirements remain for all jobseekers and the deciding officer is obliged to take into account the individual circumstances of the customer and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) is an assessment, developed by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, of the minimum needed to live and partake in the social and economic norms of everyday life for various household types. The model produces a minimum income standard which is dependent on whether the household is, among other factors: (i)  in a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: My Department introduced a series of measures to maintain social welfare payments while assisting with social distancing measures designed to combat the spread of the Coronavirus.  Fortnightly payments were introduced to minimise the need for people to attend and queue in banks or post offices to collect payments, so helping people restrict their movements to essential activities...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is an emergency payment of €350 per week introduced by the Government for a 12 week period and intended to compensate those workers whose employers cannot retain them on their payroll. The payment is also being made to people who are self-employed but whose trade has temporarily ceased.  It is not a payment to compensate for a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Payments (20 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: As part of the Department’s response to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and in particular the social distancing measures introduced by Government all activation appointments were suspended from early March 2020.  The application of activation sanctions was temporarily suspended. There have been no Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance customers...