Results 17,581-17,600 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Living Alone Allowance (21 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: This gentleman applied for living alone allowance (LAA) on his disability allowance (DA) on 4 October 2019. The application was disallowed as he failed to supply information which was requested by this Department. The person concerned was informed of this decision on 28 November 2019 and also of his right to request a review or to appeal the decision to the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (21 Oct 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. I confirm that my Department received an application for CA from the person concerned on 16 September 2020. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme (21 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Rent supplement continues to play a key role in supporting families and individuals in private rented accommodation, with the scheme currently supporting 18,857 active recipients. The scheme provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Allowance (21 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: When a person is in receipt of disability allowance (DA) and their child is in full-time education, an increase for qualified child (IQC) will be paid up to 22 years of age or up to the end of the academic year in which he or she reaches 22. The person concerned was requested to submit confirmation of participation in full-time education in respect of his son....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (21 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 1 October 1994.  They applied for State pension (contributory) on 10 October 1997.  According to the records of my Department, the person had entered insurable employment after the age of 56.  They had a social insurance record of 156 contributions from self-employment for the tax years from 1991/92 to 1993/94 inclusive....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance (21 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) provides income support for jobseekers and certain others in receipt of social welfare payments who pursue courses of education at second or third level.  A person wishing to pursue a course of study under the BTEA scheme has to satisfy a number of conditions including being in receipt of a qualified social welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: LEADER Programmes (21 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 271 to 273, inclusive, together. The LEADER programme is co-funded by the European Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The current programming period concludes in December 2020.  Proposals for regulations for the post-2020 CAP were launched in June 2018 by the European Commission.  However, given the protracted nature of the...

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

Heather Humphreys: The temporary wage subsidy scheme was introduced by the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020. The scheme provided the payment of support to employers in respect of eligible employees where the employer’s business had experienced significant disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Eligible employees included those on full-time, part-time, temporary and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Direct Provision Payments (20 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Applicants for International Protection accommodated under the system of Direct Provision operated by the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) of the Department of Justice and Equality are provided with full board, accommodation and other services. My Department administers the daily expenses allowance (DEA) which is paid to protection applicants who live in the direct...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Gender Recognition (20 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: It is currently possible for children that are aged 16 or 17 years to obtain legal recognition of their preferred gender under section 12 of the Gender Recognition Act 2015. This involves parental consent and an application to the Circuit Family Court that is supported by the opinion of two medical practitioners. The current Programme for Government makes the following commitment in...

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

Heather Humphreys: Tús is a community work placement initiative which aims to provide short-term work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year, in order to break the cycle of unemployment and to improve a person’s chances of returning to the labour market. There are currently no plans to change the qualifying criteria regarding the duration of unemployment in order to avail...

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

Heather Humphreys: All Jobseekers’ applications are examined in the first instance to assess eligibility for Jobseeker’s Benefit (JB) with the option of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) should a customer not qualify for JB or qualify for JB at a lower rate. The person concerned submitted a Jobseeker’s application with effect from 30/9/2020. She did not qualify for JB on the basis that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (20 Oct 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. The Commission must be completely independent...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance (20 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly payment made in respect of a child with a severe disability who requires additional care and attention. It is payable to the person providing for the child's care at a rate of €309.50 per month. In addition, a Carers Support Grant of €1,700 is payable in respect of all children on DCA in June of each year. Detail on the claims...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance (20 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. The statistics required by the Deputy in relation to domiciliary care allowance appeals are set out in the attached table. Appeals which had a favourable outcome for the...

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

Heather Humphreys: Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approximately 750,000 people have applied for payment and in some cases, they have done so on a number of occasions as they moved in and out of employment. Consequently, there are over 1 million applications to be examined to determine if arrears are due. During the month of March, my Department received and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (20 Oct 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 19 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: Personal Public Service Numbers (20 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I can confirm that my Department has allocated Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) to the individuals referred to by the Deputy. Letters issued to the individuals concerned on 19 October 2020 with details of their PPSNs. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (20 Oct 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 19 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: Personal Public Service Numbers (20 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 393 and 419 together. 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...