Results 16,881-16,900 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Personal Public Service Numbers (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: That was a bugbear of mine. My number was changed to the same as my husband's with a "w" on the end of it. That is quite some time ago. I got another PPS number a good number of years ago. I do not know if there are many cases where people have not got the new PPS number. I imagine they are few and far between but I will check it out to make sure people are aware they got one in their...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Carer's Benefit (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. Carer's benefit is a payment of up to two years' duration made to people who may be required to leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a person in need of full-time care. Under the provisions of the legislation, to be eligible to claim carer's benefit, a claimant must have paid PRSI contributions in classes A, B, C, D, E or H. Self-employed...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Personal Public Service Numbers (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 11 together. The SAFE registration process, which involves the authentication of a person's identity in a face-to-face interview, is the normal method of processing an application for a personal public service number, PPSN. At the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, my Department temporarily suspended the SAFE registration process....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I understand the average is €838 per person who sustains a job through JobPath. The Deputy asked whether a payment is received if a person is referred for a second or third time. I believe it is the case but I do not want to give the Deputy an incorrect answer. I will clarify the matter for her. JobPath is just one part of the jigsaw. We are also expanding the capacity of other...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The total number of people engaged in JobPath is more than 280,000, giving a total cost per client of €873, delivering 12 months of employment service since engagement. This cost compares favourably with the cost of the Intreo and local employment services and provides value for money for taxpayers. I want to be clear on that. The maximum number of times a person can be referred...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: We are obviously engaging with people. People referred to the employment services are the long-term unemployed who have difficulty in getting work. They are referred to the services so they can get the help they need to identify suitable jobs. We do not actually provide them with jobs but we provide them with the assistance they need. We continue to engage with them regularly to try to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Acting Chairman and the Deputy. Internationally and in Ireland, research consistently indicates that the provision of a personal advisory case management service to unemployed jobseekers is an effective method of supporting jobseekers to secure and sustain employment. JobPath is simply a mechanism through which this support is provided. It provides long term unemployed...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Carer's Support Grant (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: It is important to say that if those people who are caring and working lost their job due to the pandemic, they are entitled to get other payments such as the pandemic unemployment payment or the enhanced illness benefit if they are off sick. I know that many carers have sought the abolition of the means test. Removing the means test for carer's allowance would in effect create a new...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Allowance (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: In budget 2019, it was announced that research would be commissioned into the cost of disability as a first step in reaching an in-depth understanding of this complex issue. While the issue has been considered before by Departments, and research has been undertaken in the past on the cost of disability in Ireland, many of the conceptual issues remain unresolved and the empirical analysis is...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Allowance (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Indecon report will look at all the issues that have been raised and I hope and expect that it will address them. My Department is doing much to help people with disabilities. This year alone, we spent more than €4.7 billion across various payments, such as disability allowance, invalidity pension, carer's allowance, partial capacity benefit and blind pension, and that is to name...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Allowance (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: As I said, Indecon is working on the report at the minute and I expect it to come to me shortly. We will have to look at the report and we will act on the recommendations in it. The priority and the focus of the Department of Social Protection is to ensure that there is an income safety net for people so that they do not fall below the income safety net. As I said to Deputy Lowry on the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. I confirm that we have changed the rules. I have instructed my officials that no person should be referred to JobPath on more than two occasions, and practical steps are under way in my Department to implement that instruction. JobPath provides advice to people. It helps them to look at how they can apply for jobs. It prepares them and tries to identify jobs that suit...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: To be clear, the JobPath scheme has been reviewed on a number of occasions. The OECD review showed that, overall, those who participate in JobPath have better employment outcomes and earnings than those who are not supported by JobPath. The total cost of JobPath services to date is €247.7 million. That is since 2015. The total number of people engaged to date is more than 280,000,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I am very sorry. I know the Deputy wants to but she cannot. Question No. 4 is in the name of Deputy Michael Lowry.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Carer's Support Grant (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The main income supports to carers provided by my Department are carer’s allowance, carer’s benefit and the carer’s support grant. Combined spending on the above payments to carers in 2020 is expected to exceed €1.3 billion. The carer’s support grant is an annual payment of €1,700 for each care...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Carer's Support Grant (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will understand that one of the key roles of my Department is that of income support. We are charged with identifying where a person has an income support need and providing that income support. Carer's benefit is a non-means-tested payment for up to two years. It is available to people who meet the specified social insurance contribution requirements. In addition, a person can...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Payment of the pandemic unemployment payment, or PUP, as it is known, has proved to be an extremely effective tool in responding to the economic impact of Covid-19 and in cushioning hundreds of thousands of individuals and families from sudden income shocks. Expenditure on the scheme has amounted to over €4.3 billion since its introduction in March. The scheme will remain in place...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The issue of tax is a matter for the Department of Finance. We all know that if we earn over a certain amount of money, we are all liable to pay tax. As I understand it, that is the rule across the board. It is important to say we have paid out a considerable amount of money to support people through the pandemic unemployment payment. This week, we issued €130 million in arrears...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: It has always been the case that if people earn over a certain income in any given tax year, they are liable for tax. That has always been the case and it is the case for the pandemic unemployment payment in the same way as for any other payment people receive. We have supported people. We have processed 1.5 million claims since last March and we have issued 13 million payments to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Research consistently indicates that the provision of personal case-managed employment services to jobseekers is an effective method of supporting jobseekers to secure and sustain employment, while reducing welfare costs and enhancing social value to a society. In October, I announced that my Department agreed an extension with both JobPath contractors, as well as extending the contracts of...