Results 17,801-17,820 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Discussion (7 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Chairman will be aware that there has been a ramping up of the campaign. I have heard on radio the call for businesses to get ready for Brexit, which I am sure the Chairman has heard too. In my previous role as Minister with responsibility for business, that Department had a massive campaign and held workshops. As part of those workshops, officials from the Department of Employment...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Discussion (7 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: We have all of the information on our website. I take the point that we need to reassure people that if they have worked in the UK and are now living in Ireland there are benefits they can get and they should make sure to check that out. I do not know if we ever do campaigns around that. I am not sure. Perhaps we have done in the past. We have general campaigns on what people are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Discussion (7 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the committee. I will see members again.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Registration of Deaths (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Part 5 of the Civil Registration Act 2004, as amended, provides the legal framework for the registration of deaths. Currently, the obligation to register a death rests with the relatives of the deceased, or in their absence, other persons specified in the Act. A death must be registered within three months of the date of death. Other than the obligation to register a death, there are no...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 492, 504 and 505 together. My Department’s Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) provides income support for jobseekers and certain others in receipt of social welfare payments who pursue full-time courses of education at second or third level. The main focus of the allowance is to assist qualifying applicants to improve their educational qualifications...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: Under the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 (No. 1), the Government, having regard to the manifest and grave risk to human life and public health posed by the spread of Covid-19, extended the Social Welfare Acts to provide for entitlement to illness benefit for persons who have been diagnosed with, or are a probable source of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Redundancy Payments Act 1967, as amended, provides for the making of payments by employers to employees in respect of redundancy. It is the employer’s responsibility to pay statutory redundancy payments to all eligible employees. In the event that an employer is unable to pay due to financial difficulties, an application for payment from the Social Insurance Fund may be submitted...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: As announced in the July Stimulus package, the enterprise support grant was extended to assist eligible self-employed, including sole traders, who exit the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment or jobseekers schemes after 18th May 2020 to re-start their business which was closed due to the impact of the pandemic. Funding of €12 million has been provided for this grant. Since the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment in respect of the person concerned has now been re-rated to a rate of €250 per week, based on their 2019 self-employed returns. Arrears due from 26/06/2020 will issue next week.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Fuel Allowance (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The fuel allowance is a payment of €24.50 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €686 each year) from October to April, to an average of 352,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €261.35 million in 2020. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table. Table 1: PUP recipients by rate payable week ending 3rd October 2020 € € € Sector €203 €250 €300 A Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing 720 488 1,555 B Mining...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The cost of Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) up to April 2021 will depend on the ongoing suppression of the Covid-19 virus. The Government has already decided to extend the PUP scheme to early April 2021 at an estimated total cost of €5.1 billion. The additional estimated cost of paying all people in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment a rate of €350 until April...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year cost of increasing all weekly social welfare payments to €350 per week is €10.0 billion. It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients. It should also be noted that these costings include proportionate increases for qualified adults and for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated full year cost of increasing all weekly social welfare payments to €300 per week is €6.1 billion. It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients. It should also be noted that these costings include proportionate increases for qualified adults and for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated cost of paying a once-off bonus of €1,000 to all recipients of Carer's Allowance is €85.6 million, based on the estimated number of recipients in 2020. This estimate is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients. All recipients of Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit and Domiciliary Care...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Living Wage (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy has clarified, this question relates to increasing the rates of all social welfare payments to meet the Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL). The MESL is an assessment, developed by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, of the minimum income needed to live and partake in the social and economic norms of everyday life for various household types. The most...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The main income supports for carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. The estimated expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in 2020 is approximately €916 million. Combined spending on all these payments to carers in 2020 is expected to exceed €1.3 billion. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Government acknowledges the important 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. My Department provides income supports to carers such as Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: The Department operates a range of means-tested social assistance payments. Social welfare legislation provides that the means test takes account of the income and assets of the person (and spouse/partner, if applicable) applying for the relevant scheme. Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Support Grant (6 Oct 2020)

Heather Humphreys: 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, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the...