Results 201-220 of 7,690 for speaker:Regina Doherty in 'Written Answers'

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

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that, as of 1 May 2020, the total number of social welfare appeals on hand was 7,590. This covers...

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

Regina Doherty: The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. The number of appeals on hand in the Social Welfare Appeals Office, as of 1 May 2020, was 7,590. The corresponding figure for the end of 2019 was...

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

Regina Doherty: Child benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 18th birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Child benefit is currently paid, as of end-March 2019, to over 638,160 families in respect of over 1.2 million children...

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

Regina Doherty: The existing provisions of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (as amended) outline the obligations and rights of employers and employees in situations of temporary lay-offs for the purposes of redundancy entitlements. An employee is considered to have been laid off where the employment ceases because their employer is unable to provide them with work, it is reasonable for the employer to...

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

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 947, 958, 980 and 990 together. 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 payment is payable to people of working age between 18 and up to 66 which is is consistent with other Social...

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

Regina Doherty: My Department receives information from Revenue of all customers paid under the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS). This file includes a customer’s PPSN, customer’s wage payment frequency (monthly, fortnightly or weekly paid) and the date of the TWSS payment. A Covid-19 PUP application will not pay due to Revenue overlap if the date of a customer’s last...

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

Regina Doherty: In these unprecedented times, my Department has put emergency measures in place to meet the surge in unemployment which has affected so many people, including those under 25 years. The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment was introduced as a time-limited, emergency income support measure which is paid at a flat rate of €350 per week to people of working age from 18 and up to 66...

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

Regina Doherty: To qualify for a Pandemic Unemployment Payment a person must, inter alia, have been in employment on or after 6thMarch 2020 and must have lost employment as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. I am advised that the person concerned stated they finished work on 28thFebruary 2020 and so does not satisfy the eligibility criteria for that payment. However, this person is currently in receipt of...

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

Regina Doherty: The SURE instrument was published on 2nd April by the European Commission and is intended primarily to support Member States with efforts to protect workers and jobs, and also support some health-related measures. It is temporary in nature, with the duration and scope limited to tackling the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. It was adopted at ECOFIN, and published in the Official...

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

Regina Doherty: It is imperative that those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic receive practical supports to assist them back to work. My Department is advancing a number of significant recruitment initiatives to meet the critical staffing needs of employers who are delivering essential services to our communities. The Employer Relations Team has responded to the need to fill critical vacancies...

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

Regina Doherty: Dismissal in circumstances where a genuine redundancy situation exists is regarded as one of the fair reasons for dismissal under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015. However, unfair selection for redundancy is regarded as an unfair dismissal under those Acts. When selecting a particular employee for redundancy, an employer is required to apply selection criteria which are reasonable...

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

Regina Doherty: The provisions of Section 12 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (as amended) provide that an employee who has been temporarily laid-off or kept on short-time for four consecutive weeks, or for a series of six weeks within a thirteen week period of which not more than three are consecutive has an entitlement to claim redundancy from their employer. These provisions were not considered...

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

Regina Doherty: Contactless payment cards are not issued by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection but by financial institutions. Consequently, I am advised that my Department has no information on the number of persons in receipt of a social welfare payment who have access to this type of payment instrument.

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

Regina Doherty: The Total Contributions Approach (TCA), when it is introduced, is intended to be a fairer and more transparent system where the person’s lifetime contribution will be more closely reflected in the benefit received. Consultation is a very important part of the development and design of such a new approach. With this in mind, a public consultation on the design of the TCA was...

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

Regina Doherty: I am advised by my Department that the person concerned is currently in receipt of Farm Assist with means of €115 being applied to the personal rate of €203 per week from 06/05/2020. The means up to 05/05/2020 were assessed as €65 per week, however this increased as a result of a review of the persons entitlement to the payment. The means were calculated based on...

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

Regina Doherty: My Department introduced a series of measures to maintain social welfare payments while assisting with social distancing measures designed to combat the spread of the Coronavirus. Fortnightly payments were introduced to minimise the need for people to attend and queue in banks or post offices to collect payments, so helping people restrict their movements to essential activities only....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Blind Person's Pension (27 May 2020)

Regina Doherty: Blind Pension is a means-tested payment for blind and visually impaired people between the ages of 18 and 66 who are habitually resident in Ireland. The payment is made up of a personal rate and extra amounts for a qualified adult and any child dependents. Invalidity Pension is a pension paid to people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness. It is based on a claimant's...

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

Regina Doherty: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs...

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 referred on 14 April 2020 to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has also advises me that a decision will issue in respect of this appeal in the coming week. The Social Welfare Appeals Office...

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

Regina Doherty: I am advised that as the person concerned was not in employment on or after 6thMarch 2020 and does not meet the criteria for receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. However, the person concerned continues to receive a Jobseekers Allowance payment. It is open to the person concerned may contact their local Community Welfare Officer with a view to making an application for Supplementary...