Results 181-200 of 7,690 for in 'Written Answers' speaker:Regina Doherty

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Redundancy Payments Act 1967 remains in force during the emergency period, apart from one section which is temporarily suspended in certain circumstances. The provisions of Section 12 of the Act which relates to temporary lay-offs and short-time work were not considered adequate to deal with the current emergency situation. The provisions of Section 12 provide that an employee who has...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 provides that an employer must provide its employee with a written statement of the particulars of the employee’s terms of employment. It also provides that an employer must notify the employee of any changes in the particulars given in the statement. The Act provides a right of complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission where an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on most CIÉ public transport services, Luas and a range of services offered by some 80 private operators in various parts of the country. There are currently 975,508 customers in receipt of Free Travel as of the end of April 2020. The 2020 budget allocation for the Free Travel scheme is €95 million. Attached as requested is a list of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Maternity Benefit (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 916, 927, 964, 982 and 1008 together. Maternity benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who are on maternity leave and who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. Expectant mothers in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will not be adversely affected by the Covid...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: Firstly, I would like to say that my thoughts are with all workers who are dealing with job losses or facing the prospect of redundancies at this difficult time. I want to assure everybody that my Department is assisting affected workers through its Intreo service to help them in whatever way we can in terms of income supports and job-seeking over the coming weeks and months and will...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 918, 935, 942, 949 and 971 together. The COVID-19 unemployment payment was introduced as a time limited emergency measure to meet the surge in unemployment which resulted from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic and the final payment is due to be made on 9th June 2020. As we gradually move through the phases of reopening our society, we need to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: My Department introduced new measures in the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 to ensure that births could continue to be registered during the Covid-19 Pandemic. These measures removed the necessity for a qualified informant (QI) to sign the register of births and to attend before a registrar in order for a birth to be registered. The QI can use an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Rights (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Duffy Cahill report, which was commissioned by the Government in the aftermath of the Clery’s closure, highlighted how the issues raised by that event and the subsequent legal cases are highly complex. The Duffy Cahill report was sent to the Company Law Review Group (CLRG) in 2016 for its consideration as part of the work of that group in advising the Minister for Business...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: I am advised that no civil marriage ceremonies are being conducted due to the nationwide closure of civil registration offices and that this is adversely affecting couples seeking to marry. The only exceptions to this are cases involving marriages where one of the parties is at threat of death. Such marriages can be conducted with the prior approval of a superintendent registrar, on a case...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 926, 943, 966 and 984 together. The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment was introduced in March 2020 as a time limited emergency measure to meet the surge in unemployment in Ireland which resulted from the effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic. If a person has lost their employment and the employer is no longer paying the persons’s wages, they may...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Measures (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The reports referred to in sections 24, 25 and 26 of the Social Welfare, Pension and Civil Registration Act 2018 were submitted to the Chair of the Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection in August 2019 for circulation to the committee. My office will forward these to you for information. In relation to Section 19, my Department has met with numerous interested...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: On 6thDecember 2019, my Department received enforcement proceedings from the DPC in respect of the August 2019 Report of the Commission on the Public Services Card. The Department filed an appeal against the Enforcement Notice within the timeframe provided to do so. As the matter is now before the Courts, it would be inappropriate to make any further comment. I trust this clarifies the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: In early 2019, the Government agreed to establish an Interdepartmental Group (IDG) to explore how social inclusion schemes might be organised going forward. A series of meetings of the IDG have taken place and a number of follow-up meetings were undertaken with the relevant Departments. There was also a stakeholder consultation process which resulted in a number of submissions that were...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The COVID 19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment was introduced in March 2020 as a time-limited emergency measure to meet the surge in unemployment which resulted from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. This emergency payment is payable to people of working age between 18 and up to 66 years old, who were in employment immediately prior to the 13th March 2020 and have lost their employment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Redundancy Payments (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: Firstly, I would like to say that my thoughts are with all Debenhams workers who are dealing with job losses at this difficult time. As deputies are well aware, with the exception of grocery outlets, the retail sector has been particularly affected by the economic turmoil caused by Covid-19. Having come through a number of turbulent years and an examinership process, it is regrettable that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment has been introduced as an emergency measure so that payments can be made as quickly as possible to the large number of people in the state who have become fully unemployed due to the pandemic. The payment is not available to people living abroad and who have returned to Ireland as outlined by the Deputy. In the first instance they should apply for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The negative economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis is likely to be severe and will require our personal insolvency system to be as robust and efficient as possible. The State has a comprehensive insolvency system and a network of experienced insolvency practitioners in place to quickly advise those people who may inevitably find themselves in financial difficulty. Debt resolution is one...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: International Students (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 937 and 999 together. My Department has temporarily suspended the face-to-face SAFE/PPSN registration service. This decision was taken in order to comply with HSE and WHO guidelines in respect of social distancing. As a result of the postponement of the SAFE process, an email and postal service has now been introduced for people who wish to apply for a PPSN....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: International Students (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme offers a safety net within the overall social welfare system by providing assistance to those whose means are insufficient to meet their own needs and those of their dependants. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance to those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. There are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 20 September 2019. I am advised that the case was referred to an Appeals Officer on 20 February 2020. I am further advised that Appeals Officer has been in communication with the person concerned and has been provided with some updated information in relation to the...