Results 17,481-17,500 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

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

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 fuel allowance is a payment under the National Fuel Scheme to help with the cost of heating a home during the winter...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 866 and 867 together. 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 can confirm that the person concerned was in receipt of CA in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Fuel allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments towards the cost of their heating needs. The main eligibility conditions that apply to the fuel allowance scheme are that a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, must satisfy a means test and must either be living alone or with other qualifying persons. The fuel allowance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Department holds no record of an application for Fuel Allowance for the customer.It is advisable in this instance for the person concerned to consult the qualifying conditions for the payment which can be found under Fuel Allowance on www.gov.ie . I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Invalidity Pension (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 21 August 2020. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers were received in the Social Welfare...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 871 and 872 together. In the week ending 1st November 2020, some 174,049 people received a Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €300 or more. Of these, 122,193 people had earnings of over €400 per week, and received a payment of €350, while 51,856 people had earnings between €300 and €399 per week, and continued to receive a...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 873 and 875 together. Expenditure of €3,994 million was incurred on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) up to week ending Friday, 6th November 2020. Further expenditure of circa €1.1 billion could be incurred between now and end of year. Level 5 restrictions have given rise to an increase in the weekly numbers receiving PUP. A total of...

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

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy is provided for recipients of the pandemic unemployment payment (week ending 1st November 2020) in the tabular statement below. PUP amount €203 €250 €300 €350 Total Wage Bands € 0-50 ...

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

Heather Humphreys: Maternity benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions while on maternity leave from employment. To qualify for maternity benefit, a person must generally be in employment immediately before the first day of her maternity leave. The last day of insurable employment must be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The SAFE registration process, which my Department uses to authenticate a person's identity when they apply for a PPSN is a face-to-face process, carried out in PPSN Centres across the country. At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, my Department temporarily postponed the SAFE registration process. This decision was taken to comply with HSE and WHO guidelines in respect of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 24 April 2012. They applied for State pension (contributory) on 10 November 2011. For persons who reach pension age on or after 6 April 2012, social welfare legislation stipulates that a minimum of 520 full-rate paid contributions are required to qualify for State pension (contributory). Credits cannot be used to satisfy this condition. 520...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The public policy and social issues in relation to funding a sustainable and adequate State pension system are complex. The Programme for Government commits that a Commission on Pensions will be established to examine a range of issues including contributions, calculation methods, sustainability, eligibility and intergenerational fairness. I am pleased to announce that the Government...

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

Heather Humphreys: My Department is considered to be an essential service and will continue to provide customers with access to it's services, as appropriate, during the course of the current Level 5 restrictions. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring that all claims and applications for payment are processed in as timely a manner as possible. As part of my Department's obligations to ensure...

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

Heather Humphreys: Social Welfare Inspectors operate under a code of practice which sets out the manner in which they are required to deal with customers. They are required to carry out a range of inspections and reviews including desk-based assessments of customer claims, face-to-face interviews with customers, home visits, and audits of employers’ PRSI records. My Department also has a Customer...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Working Family Payment (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy is reported annually in my Department's Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services report which is published on . The most up to date information available is set out in the following tabular statement. Tabular statement The number of lone parent households and two parent family households availing of the working family payment at 25 December...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Jobseeker's Payments (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy will know, activation penalty rates can be imposed in circumstances where a Jobseeker has failed to engage without good cause in the activation process. A penalty rate can be applied followed by a nine week disqualification of a Jobseeker’s payment. The disqualification may only be imposed in circumstances where a person, who has already had his or her rate reduced by way...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that my Department has allocated a Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) to the individual referred to by the Deputy. A letter issued to the person concerned on 30th October 2020 with details of the PPSN. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 886 and 887 together. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment is available to PAYE employees who have lost their employment due to the pandemic, are not being paid by their employer and who satisfy the qualifying conditions of the scheme. A self-employed person must have suffered a reduction in their trading income to the extent that they are available for...

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

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 888 and 929 together. In order to address concerns expressed by self-employed people relating to the difficulties they face in resuming activity, the uncertainty of income streams given the ongoing economic disruption and the fact that in many cases work will be of an occasional or intermittent nature during the initial period of a return to work, the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Maintenance Payments (3 Nov 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Government has established a Child Maintenance Review Group to examine certain issues in relation to child maintenance in Ireland. The Group is being chaired by former Circuit Court Judge Catherine Murphy and includes legal, policy and academic professionals as well as officials from my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality. The Group is focusing on the current...