Results 1-20 of 27,613 for speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing eligibility criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 839, 840 and 841 together. I can assure the Deputy that where any request received in my Department via the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) from a staff member requesting to return from career break, contact is made with the candidate and an offer is made within the 12-month period after expiry of the career break, in all cases. No officer has been...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a means-tested payment for people with a specified disability whose income falls below certain limits and who are aged between 16 and are under 66. The Department periodically reviews claims in payment to ensure that there is continued entitlement to that payment. In this case the means of the person concerned were reviewed in line with DA eligibility. All...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: In general, public servants who joined prior to 6 April 1995 paid modified contributions which are not reckonable for the standard state pension (contributory). However, such employees generally have an occupational pension, the level of which is related to a number of factors, including years of service. The person concerned reached pension age on 27 September 2023. An application for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Tax Data (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The estimated additional annual revenue that would be generated if the higher employer PRSI rate, currently at 11.15%, was increased to 13.5% on the portion of wages in excess of €160,000 is €194.3 million per annum. This estimate does not take into account any possible changes in employer or employee behaviour arising from changing the rate of employer PRSI contribution. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. The estimated full-year costs as requested below, if all eligible children utilised 100% capacity of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Tax Data (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: According to Revenue 2023 data provided to my Department, there were approximately 850 employers with more than 380 employees making PRSI returns. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The capital allocation for my Department is primarily used to deliver IT modernisation and carry out refurbishments on the Department’s buildings. The Department did not carry over capital from 2023 to 2024.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The below table provides a breakdown of the permanent staff employed in my Department at each grade of Executive Officer and above, by gender. These figures, as reported in December, 2024, are based on full-time equivalents (FTE). The figure for full-time equivalents takes account of staff that avail of work-share options. Number of staff Grade EO and above by Gender -...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: For November 2024, there were 529,776 people receiving the State pension (contributory) and 167,551 people receiving Disability Allowance. In November the Department spent €875m on the State Pension (Contributory) and €254.7m on Disability Allowance. November expenditure figures for both schemes were higher than in comparable months, due to the payment of a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The criteria for Fuel Allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. The means test ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment goes to those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty, including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 4th...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned turned pension age on 21 November 2022. An application for State Pension (contributory) was received on 19 September 2024. The person concerned was awarded State Pension (contributory) based on their contribution record which showed they had 1,105 Long Term Carers Contributions and 14 non-caring credited contributions. This equated to a Yearly Average of 23 which gives...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The person concerned reached pension age on 17 May 2019. Under current eligibility conditions, an individual must have 520 full-rate paid contributions to qualify for standard State Pension (contributory). 520 full-rate contributions equate to 10 years of full-rate insurable employment. According to the records of my Department, the person concerned has a total of 251 full-rate...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The Government acknowledges the important role that carers play in society and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, once a person has met the minimum requirement of 520 paid contributions, the current contributory State pension system provides for a range of measures to recognise caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment in the calculations of a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Properties (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: Currently the Office of Public Works (OPW) leases two buildings in Dunfanaghy on behalf of my Department. There are staff located in one of these premises - the Intreo Centre on Main Street. The current lease for this property has been in place since January 1992. There is a second premises in Figart, Dunfanaghy that is also leased by the OPW on behalf of my Department. The building is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions and management of the Appeals Office is the responsibility of the Chief Appeals Officer. An Appeals Modernisation Project is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The main income supports to carers provided by the Department of Social Protection are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending on these payments is expected to amount to over €1.9 billion in 2025. The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Flood Relief Schemes (22 Jan 2025)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies. My department provides assistance to eligible households in the immediate aftermath of emergency weather events under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme. The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, administered by my department through the local Community Welfare Service, was activated...