Results 16,901-16,920 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. In common with other jobseeker payments, such as jobseeker's benefit and allowance, the fundamental condition for receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, is that the person is available to work but cannot do so because suitable work is not available to them. Persons claiming the PUP will have been in employment immediately before...

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

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. It is important to say we are offering to people who want to take up the offer training and measures to help them get back to work or retrain to go to a new job and they can take it up on a voluntary basis. Some people may want to look at new careers and it is important that we give them all the support we can to help them to get back to work in due course. It is fair...

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

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy. What we are doing is helping people to get back to work and we are giving them all the supports. In the July stimulus package, there was considerable investment in back to education and back to training, apprenticeships and measures to help people to get back to work. If there are specific issues, I am happy to look at them. The purpose is to allow people to reskill...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment, or PUP as it is known, is payable at four different rates depending on an individual's prior earnings. It is payable at €203 per week which is the same rate as the maximum personal rate of jobseekers, at €250, €300 and €350. The maximum €350 rate is aligned with the two adult household rate payable on jobseekers schemes....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Deputy will be aware of how critically important it is to ensure that the State Pension system provides adequate support to pensioners and that it continues to do that over the long term. The Pensions Commission was established to examine sustainability and eligibility issues with the State Pension and the Social Insurance Fund, in fulfillment of our Programme for Government commitment....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: In the first instance I would say that there is an onus on employers, including childcare providers, to make arrangements to accommodate workers who may have underlying conditions that place them at a high risk of infection. The Return to Work Safely Protocol, agreed with ICTU and IBEC, provides that if an at-risk or vulnerable worker cannot work from home and must be in the workplace,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (3 Dec 2020)

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 important component of policies to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: A recipient of a State Pension payment can claim an increase in their pension in respect of a Qualified Adult. A Qualified Adult is the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the pensioner who is being wholly or mainly maintained by that pensioner. For the State Pension (non-contributory), both members of a couple are subject to a means test to determine whether any pension, including an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Parental Leave (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Parent’s Leave and Benefit will be extended from 2 weeks for each parent to 5 weeks as announced in Budget 2021 and agreed by all Government Ministers. This measure will cost an estimated €28.6 million in 2021 and will support up to 39,000 parents. This extension will be made available retrospectively to parents in respect of children born or adopted since 1st November 2019...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department has continued to provide services to our customers, including the new pandemic unemployment payment, throughout the pandemic. We have, at all times, followed public health advice and the Return to Work Safely Protocol. While we have kept our Intreo centres open we have implemented restricted opening hours strict sanitation protocols and encouraged our clients, as far as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Enterprise Support Grant (ESG) is available to eligible self-employed recipients who close their Pandemic Unemployment Payment, or PUP, and who are re-starting their business. A once-off grant of up to €1,000 is available under this measure to assist with costs associated with re-starting their business. Costs could include safety measures including the purchase of equipment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Programme for Government “Our Shared Future” sets out how the planned increase in the State pension age next year will be deferred and it will remain at 66 years pending the report of the Commission on Pensions. The Government confirmed as part of its Budget 2021 measures that the required amendment to primary legislation (the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005) will...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The total number of payments issued under the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme up to week ending Friday, 27th November 2020 is over 13,158,000 at a total value of €4.3 billion. 352,000 payments were issued to the value of €104 million in the week ending Friday, 27th November 2020.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Government approved the establishment of the Commission on Pensions earlier this month, in fulfilment of a Programme for Government commitment. The Commission will examine sustainability and eligibility issues in respect of State pension arrangements and will outline options for the Government to address issues such as qualifying age, contribution rates, total contributions and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Student Grant Scheme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is responsible for the policy around the conditionality of the SUSI grant. The decision on eligibility for a grant is a matter for SUSI to determine, based on a student’s income from all sources. My Department has ongoing engagement with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: JobPath Programme (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: On the 22 October I announced the extension of referrals to the JobPath service for a further twelve months until the end of 2021. This was announced in conjunction with similar commitments to ensure contracts for the Local Employment Services, Job Clubs and EmployAbility would also be extended into 2021. I also announced that my Department was expanding its own capacity with the allocation...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Poverty (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Addressing child poverty requires a whole of Government approach as recognised in "Better Options - Brighter Futures" and in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion and income support for families is one key element of this. Increases for a Qualified Child (IQCs) are paid as supplements to most weekly social welfare payments in recognition of the need for greater income support among...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: In the week ending 28th November 2020, some 352,078 people received a Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The headline numbers, along with other breakdowns such as county or sector, are published each week by my Department at .

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Inspections (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: My Department’s inspectorate are divided among eight divisions across the country. Inspectors can and do work across county boundaries and as such the number of investigations/review/ inspections carried out by county since the start of public health restrictions is not available in my Department. My Department has recorded the number of inspections cleared by Social Welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Domestic Violence Policy (3 Dec 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The programme for government includes a commitment to investigate provision of paid leave and social protection to victims of domestic violence. The provision of statutory leave is not a matter for my Department. Family leave, force majeure leave and other similar provisions under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 fall under the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I...