Results 461-480 of 20,443 for speaker:Heather Humphreys in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (9 Apr 2024)

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 the evidence, disallowed...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Social welfare legislation provides that means tests take account of the income and assets of the person (and their spouse or partner, if applicable) applying for the relevant scheme. The means assessment includes income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions and maintenance payments. It also includes property owned other than the family home and capital such as savings,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. The Department received a claim for IP from the person concerned on 21 November 2023. This claim was refused on 15 January 2024 on the grounds that the medical...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: My Department provides a suite of income supports for those who are unable to work due to an illness or disability. These include contributory payments based on PRSI contributions, such as Illness Benefit and Invalidity Pension, and non-contributory payments based on a means test, such as Disability Allowance. Eligibility for these scheme is not dependent on the nature of the illness or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) s a monthly allowance payable in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and where the level of the child's disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of additional care...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Habitual Residence Condition is a social welfare condition that a person must satisfy to receive a social assistance payment. Generally, International Protection Applicants who have not yet been granted protection will not qualify for social welfare payments that are subject to the Habitual Residence Condition. However, those who reside in, or are waiting for, accommodation provided by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: A person who retires after 30 years' of service with an employer may be entitled to an occupational pension. The terms and conditions of the relevant occupational pension are matters for the person’s employer and not the Minister for Social Protection. The main supports for people who are under pension age and who are not in employment are the social insurance contribution-based...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Most welfare benefits require the recipient to be habitually resident in Ireland. Certain welfare benefits, such as State Pension Contributory allow the recipient to live outside the State. The data requested by the Deputy for the calendar year 2023 is shown in the attached tabular statement. There were approximately 3,500 recipients of increased qualified adult payments living abroad, and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. Each primary payment has specific eligibility criteria, which may include residence in Ireland. In addition to these primary payments, the Department also provides a range of other payments, on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Persons entitled to receive their social welfare benefit abroad are also entitled with once of bonuses to help with the cost of living. This includes, for example, recipients of State Pension Contributory, Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension or Invalidity Pension. In 2023 there were approximately 63,000 recipients receiving 91,000 cost of living allowance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions. I can confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The costs paid by the Department for external security at INTREO offices in 2023 and up to 31 March 2024 are stated in the below table: Year Company Contract expiration Total Paid for INTREO office security (€) 2023 (1 Jan – 31 Dec) SAR Security 30/09/24 €2,325,097.94 2024 (1...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Fuel allowance (FA) is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments and persons aged over 70 with the cost of their winter heating needs. Qualification for FA is subject to satisfying all the relevant qualifying conditions. Further to Dáil Question No. 230, the person concerned was awarded a FA payment of €594 which was paid with their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Recipients of certain social welfare payments can claim an increase in their payment in respect of a qualified adult, subject to a means assessment. A qualified adult is the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the recipient who is being wholly or mainly maintained by that claimant. The information requested is not readily available. My Department is in the process of collating the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (9 Apr 2024)

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 in relation to a decision on Disability...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I propose to take Questions Nos. 793, 795 and 796 together. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion contains a commitment to develop a benchmarking approach for use in adjusting the value of State pension payments. The approach proposed by the Department, known as the smoothed earnings approach, was subsequently endorsed by the Pensions Commission. Government subsequently decided that the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Department of Social Protection provides income supports through a mixture of contributory payments (which are based on a person's social insurance record) and means-tested social assistance payments. The State Pension (Non-contributory) is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a State Pension (Contributory), or who...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The Household Benefits Package comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. The Department of Social Protection will spend approximately €285 million this year on the Household Benefits Package for over 521,000 customers. People over the age of 70 receive the Household Benefits package, with one package provided per household. The package is also...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: The introduction of an automatic enrolment (AE) retirement savings system is a Programme for Government commitment and a key priority for me as the Minister for Social Protection. Implementation of the AE system is well underway, with the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024 now published and a tender process to contract for administration services being well advanced....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Redundancy Payments (9 Apr 2024)

Heather Humphreys: It is an 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 from the employer on behalf of an employee may be submitted to the Department for payment from the Social Insurance Fund. When a payment is made from the Social Insurance Fund, a debt for this...