Results 1-20 of 4,663 for more speaker:Heather Humphreys

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (1 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...these reforms, the 2023 Act introduced a ten-year phased transition from the Yearly Average method of calculation of State Pension (Contributory) to TCA as the sole method of calculation. TCA is a fairer and more transparent method for calculating the contributory pension and will remove the existing anomalies. The ten-year transitional arrangements are to avoid a ‘cliff...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Burial Grounds (1 May 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...currently in place regarding burials and burial grounds, namely Part III of the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1878, as amended in Part VI of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act, 1948 and more recently, the Local Government Acts, 1994 and 2001, and also in the Rules and Regulations for the Regulation of Burial Grounds 1888 and amendments thereto. Having regard to other priorities...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: General Register Office (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...their research request to the staff of the GRO. Staff have access to digitalized records and indexes within the Department's internal registration computer system which allowed them to provide a more accurate, faster and more complete search for the customer. This new system has improved the service that is offered by the research room and has been welcomed by users. To cater for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...at supporting disabled people into employment. The Reasonable Accommodation Fund provides financial support for people with disabilities and for employers to help make their workplaces more accessible. The Disability Awareness Support Scheme provides funding for disability awareness training for employees. I published a review of these schemes last autumn. It recommends...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...the provision of once-off Cost-of-Living lump sums, to recipients of Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and the Carer's Support Grant. Recipients who are in receipt of one (or more) of these payments qualified for the Cost-of-Living lump sums. Both Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are means tested social assistance schemes. They are subject to a medical...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...factors identified as impacting on the child's additional care needs. It should be noted that the impact of any specified disability/diagnosis on a child's level of additional care needs may become more apparent in later childhood, in some cases. A child who has a diagnosis of Classic PKU- Non Responsive to Kuvan (Phenylketonuria) or any other specified condition/disability may qualify...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Following clarification from the Deputy's office, more recent data for the years 2023 and 2024 is required. This information is not readily available. My Department is in the process of collating the data in question and will revert with a reply directly to the Deputy as soon as possible. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...means test and Habitual Residency conditions. I confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person concerned on 23 June 2023. As the person concerned was in receipt of a more beneficial weekly rate of payment on Illness Benefit (IB), an option letter issued to the person concerned on 15 August 2023 to ascertain which scheme payment they wished to receive. ...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...on our website at gov.ie. The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme 2024 – 2028 (SICAP), is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention. One of SICAP’s goals is to contribute to building more sustainable, inclusive and empowered communities by empowering groups of individuals, local community groups, networks and social enterprises to address...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...it has supported a wide range of measures with over €70 million being approved for almost 2,400 projects throughout rural Ireland. This funding is making a real difference in many of our smaller and more remote communities. The areas originally selected for inclusion in the programme in 2001 were those which suffered the greatest population decline from 1926 to 1996. The average...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...the Scheme for 2024, eligible road projects are those that involve the construction or improvement of non-public roads which prove access: · To parcels of land, of which, two or more are owned or occupied by different persons, one of which must be engaged in agricultural activities; or · For harvesting purposes (including turf or seaweed) for two...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...with local communities across Ireland, including via an extensive series of visits over recent years. These visits have ranged from official project launches under schemes with larger investment items such as the RRDF, to witnessing first hand the implementation of more modest projects under schemes such as CLÁR which also deliver tangible benefits to communities. These visits...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (30 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...it has supported a wide range of measures with over €70 million being approved for almost 2,400 projects throughout rural Ireland. This funding is making a real difference in many of our smaller and more remote communities. I launched the current iteration of the CLÁR scheme on the 12th of April this year. As yet no application have been received in 2024. The tables below...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...payments. That is not what I am trying to do. That is not true. Look at the statistics. The number of people receiving disability allowance has increased massively in recent years. Slightly more than 100,000 people were getting disability allowance in 2014. Today more than 158,000 people receive it. That is a 50% increase in the number of people receiving the payment. The Deputy is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...blind pension or partial capacity benefit. Sometimes people are on long-term illness benefit. For children there is domiciliary care allowance. The Green Paper, in fairness, was trying to put a more unified and coherent approach to this so that everybody would receive what would be known as a personal support payment. That is what the proposal in the Green Paper was attempting to do....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: EU Directives (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...'s history. Ireland has responded to the war with a co-ordinated, whole-of-government response and has provided protection and support to those who have had to flee from the violence in Ukraine. More than 106,000 people have arrived in the State since the European Council unanimously adopted the implementing decision regarding the temporary protection directive in March 2022. In October...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...cost of disability rather than spreading resources thinly. Taking account of this analysis I commenced a consultation process on the Green Paper last September. Under the draft approach people with more profound challenges would receive a significantly higher level of payment. However, based on the feedback I have received to date, it is clear that there are significant concerns...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: One of the main findings of the cost of disability report was that there is a broad spectrum of disabilities. We all recognise that some people need more support than others. We all recognise that. There are some people with moderate disabilities who are able to work and some with profound disabilities who we know will never be able to work. That is the reality. The Cost of Disability...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: School Meals Programme (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...and organisations covering 443,000 are now eligible for funding under the school meals programme. Under the hot school meals programme, 900 primary schools were added this year means. This means that 150,000 more children will get hot school meals. I reiterate that from this month, over 2,000 primary schools will benefit from hot school meals and that the programme began in 2019 with a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Flood Relief Schemes (25 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: ...homes are damaged and because of lack of insurance are not able to meet costs for essential needs, household items and, in some instances, structural repair. The income test for the scheme is more generous than that applied under means tested social welfare payments in general. The basic principle of the income test is that individuals and families with average levels of income will...