Results 361-380 of 1,015,048 for in 'Dáil debates' OR speaker:Áine Brady in 'Committee meetings'
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2024)
Heather Humphreys: Deputy Bruton is absolutely right. I also see that in my office. Much of the medical information is not put down. It is on the provision of further medical information that the payment is granted. We have done a lot for carers. A pension scheme has been introduced for long-term carers. The carer's support grant has been increased to its highest ever level. The weekly carer's payment...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2024)
Peadar Tóibín: Yesterday.
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2024)
Heather Humphreys: -----that from June a couple will be able to have weekly earnings of €900 and €50,000 in savings and still qualify for the full carer's allowance payment.
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2024)
Peadar Tóibín: Scrap the means test.
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2024)
Heather Humphreys: An interdepartmental group has been set up to examine what further work we can do on the means test. I assure Deputies that I am committed to working with our carers to continue to give them support in carrying out the valuable work they do.
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (25 Apr 2024)
Social Welfare Schemes
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (25 Apr 2024)
Pádraig O'Sullivan: 14. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who availed of the activation and family support programme in 2022 to fund the cost of training supports and education courses for people on social welfare in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18137/24]
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (25 Apr 2024)
Pádraig O'Sullivan: What is the number of persons who have availed of the activation and family support programme in 2022 to fund the cost of training supports and education courses for people on social welfare in Cork?
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (25 Apr 2024)
Heather Humphreys: The Department's activation and family support programme provides funding to assist local organisations and agencies to implement training and education initiatives to address the needs of recipients of welfare payments and their families who are distant from the labour market. The programme is demand-led and is designed to fund one-off projects in response to local customer needs, as...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (25 Apr 2024)
Pádraig O'Sullivan: It goes without saying that we all understand the merits of this programme and would like to see it continue to be funded in the future. I looked at previous parliamentary questions from over the years and was interested to learn that the funding in 2008 was €5.4 million, but in 2012 it was just €2.5 million. It has gradually reduced. The last figure I have in this...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions (25 Apr 2024)
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)
Social Welfare Payments
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)
Pauline Tully: 6. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she is considering the consolidation of all disability payments together into one single payment system; if so, her plans to consult and co-design this scheme in conjunction with the disability community; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18411/24]
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)
Pauline Tully: Is the Minister considering the consolidation of all disability payments into one single payment system and, if so, has she plans to consult and co-design the scheme in conjunction with the disability community, and will she make a statement on the matter?
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)
Heather Humphreys: I thank Deputy Tully for raising this matter. As she will be aware, one of the main ideas in the Green Paper I published for consultation last year was to consolidate disability allowance, blind pension and invalidity pension into one single payment. I sought people's views on an approach to providing additional support to those most in need by increasing payments for those people with most...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)
Pauline Tully: As the Minister has said, one of the proposals was to merge the disability allowance, blind pension and invalidity pension into a single payment called the personal support payment. While the Green Paper has been scrapped, and for good reason, there were proposals within which merited further analysis and I believe this is one. In our consultation with disabled individuals and DPOs, there...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)
Heather Humphreys: I agree with the Deputy's initial question. There are too many different payments trying to do the same thing, whether it is disability allowance, invalidity pension, 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...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)
Pauline Tully: The Green Paper also proposed higher rates for disability payments, and that, too, needs to be progressed. The cost of disability payment needs to be looked at. The priority is to ensure no person is living in poverty. I also refer to a number of constituents who have come to my office because their payment has been cut or curtailed without any warning. There may be perfectly good reasons...
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: I welcome that we now realise from our meetings that the Green Paper was not going to work. However, the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities in 1996 recommended there should be a gradual payment to meet additional everyday costs associated with disabilities. This has come up with me recently too. There is no overall payment to cover the cost of disability in Ireland....
- Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (25 Apr 2024)
Heather Humphreys: That is what I am trying to do and what the Green Paper was trying to do, but people were not happy with it. I listened to their concerns. There is a lot of information and we did a lot of consultation during the Green Paper when it was published. We will take lessons from those too. There is now a Cabinet committee and I know there will be a huge focus on this. We have to come together...