Results 1-8 of 8 for carers segment:8783489
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)
Heather Humphreys: ...fuel allowance lump sum; a double payment at Christmas; a double payment in January; and, on top of that, a €12 increase in the weekly payment. That adds up to an extra €1,700 annually and approximately €32 extra per week. A carer will get the two double payments at Christmas and in January, the €400 carer's lump sum and the €12 increase in January,...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)
Catherine Ardagh: I welcome the review, especially as regards the means-testing of carer's payments, which is an issue we have raised in this House on numerous occasions. It needs to be looked into to ensure it is fair for carers and those they are caring for. The second issue I raise is the thresholds for the fuel allowance. There are many ancillary benefits available to people who qualify for the fuel...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)
Heather Humphreys: ...assessments for the different payments. There are many different ones. I expanded the fuel allowance last year for the over-70s. I changed the income limits. I also increased the limits for the carer's allowance in this year's budget. When this went through the Dáil on Committee Stage, we had a discussion about doing something on a graduated basis. I am prepared to examine that...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)
Heather Humphreys: ...Commission report. We responded comprehensively to that by retaining the pension age at 66, introducing the new flexibility to allow people to defer their pension, providing a pension to long-term carers and the small, incremental increases in PRSI over the next five years, which will make the system more sustainable. We always said that in keeping the pension age at 66, because of the...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)
Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 13: “Report on extending eligibility for long-term carer’s qualifying contributions 46. (1) The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas and the Joint Committee on Social Protection a report on options for extending eligibility for long-term carer’s qualifying contributions to...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)
Aisling Dolan: I welcome the Minister. Her focus is particularly on carers, as has been highlighted in the amendment. It has been absolutely crucial. As she will be aware, in rural areas it is family carers who are doing a lot of the work. It is very difficult to access carers in rural areas for many different reasons. Access for people living in city centres is a bit easier because there are more...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)
Heather Humphreys: ...Nos. 13 and 14 together. I do not propose to accept them. The Pensions Commission concluded its detailed analysis of the State pension system in late 2020 and recommended that long-term carers, which it defined as caring for more than 20 years, should be given access to the State pension contributory by having retrospective contributions paid for them by the Exchequer for any gaps in...
- Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Dec 2023)
Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 14: In page 25, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “Report on expanding recognition of long-term carer’s qualifying contributions 46.The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas and the Joint Committee on Social Protection a report on options for expanding recognition...