Written answers
Thursday, 3 February 2022
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
- Social Welfare Benefits
7. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department plans to increase the level of income disregard for the carer’s allowance; and if she will make a... - Community Employment Schemes
12. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on reports in the media that an Irish subsidiary of a multinational company is scoping out bidding on State... - Social Welfare Benefits
13. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to introduce supports for persons who experience hair loss due to alopecia, cancer treatment or other similar... - Employment Schemes
18. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of her Department's engagement with private multinational companies tendering for local employment services. [5351/22] - Disability Services
19. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on and response to a key conclusion in the Cost of Disability in Ireland research report that measures to address... - Employment Schemes
20. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps she is taking to safeguard the jobs including the terms and conditions of the workers in jobs clubs now run by Turas... - Social Welfare Benefits
22. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who received the carer’s support grant in 2021; if the social protection budget will enable a... - Social Welfare Payments
23. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will seek an increase in social welfare payments in line with inflation. [5353/22] - Covid-19 Pandemic
24. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration has been given to recognising the work carried out by family carers throughout Covid-19. [5343/22] - Employment Schemes
25. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason she has not engaged with a company (details supplied) on the tender for local employment services in relation to... - Social Welfare Benefits
26. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to enhance supports for family carers from her Department in view of the extraordinary contribution carers make; and... - Domestic Violence
30. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way that victims of domestic violence can access rent supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5310/22] - Social Welfare Benefits
31. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications that have been received and approved for fuel allowance in 2021 and to date in 2022. [5354/22] - Pension Provisions
32. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons she expects will be covered by the auto-enrolment pension plan for workers in the private sector; the... - Social Welfare Payments
33. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of supplementary welfare payments that have been made under the heading of disability services or equipment... - Employment Schemes
34. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her strategy to link jobseekers and employers as a means to address labour shortages in the economy; and if she will make a... - Social Welfare Benefits
35. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to introduce supports for persons who experience hair loss due to alopecia and cancer treatment; and if she will... - Medical Aids and Appliances
36. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who availed of the €500 grant for hearing aids under the treatment benefits scheme in each of the... - Social Welfare Eligibility
37. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider extending the eligibility for domiciliary care allowance from 16 to 18 years of age given the families... - Covid-19 Pandemic
38. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps that her Department has taken to address the difficulties those suffering from long-Covid have in accessing social... - Social Welfare Benefits
39. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of those applying for, granted and refused a heating supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance by county... - State Pensions
40. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the Report of the Commission on Pensions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5395/22] - Social Welfare Benefits
41. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount of funding planned for the household benefits scheme in 2022; the number of households which will be in receipt of... - Flexible Work Practices
42. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been taken to expand her Department’s employment and recruitment events to include remote working... - Social Welfare Benefits
43. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps she plans to take to ensure the delays in processing enhanced illness benefit are resolved. [5497/22] - Employment Schemes
44. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if it is intended to review the operating rules for the rural social scheme particularly as they relate to the length of time... - Social Welfare Benefits
45. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the financial supports or pathways to funding that are available from her Department for a single parent of a young adult with... - School Meals Programme
46. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her long-term plans to ensure school meals are available in as many schools across Ireland as possible. [5498/22] - Social Welfare Benefits
47. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when carers will benefit from the changes to the carer’s allowance which are part of Budget 2022; and if she will make... - Social Welfare Code
48. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will make amendments to the social welfare code to ensure that those students who are obliged to study abroad but are... - Employment Schemes
49. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a commitment will be made to ending privatisation and outsourcing of the social protection system; and if she will make a... - Social Welfare Code
50. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider allowing social welfare claimants the option of continuing to receive their payments into their bank... - Employment Schemes
51. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the changes to the community employment scheme such as enabling persons 60 years of age and over to continue on schemes... - Community Welfare Services
53. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if call-in facilities for community welfare services will be provided at Ballybay, Clones, Castleblayney, Carrickmacross and... - Employment Support Services
54. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason additional funding to cover the cost of staff increments is not being awarded to an organisation (details... - Social Welfare Benefits
56. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to raise awareness and promote the treatment benefit scheme to increase take-up and ensure persons are aware of... - Industrial Relations
58. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the grounds on which her Department and Turas Nua is refusing to attend a Workplace Relations Commission explanatory talks... - State Pensions
59. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the kinds of different results the total contribution approach produces for many retirees;... - Social Welfare Code
60. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration has been given to an emergency increase in the fuel allowance or to the extension of same. [5344/22] - Community Employment Schemes
61. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider extending the 4 February 2022 deadline for community employment participants whose contracts are due to... - Social Welfare Benefits
63. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the proposals there are to improve the criteria for the free fuel allowance in cases in which a family member may return to... - Social Welfare Appeals
64. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the measures that will be implemented to further reduce the timescale for the finalisation of appeals in the social welfare... - Pension Provisions
65. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to provide pension provision to carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5016/22] - Artists' Remuneration
67. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason she has not taken action to date to improve the situation for artists with disabilities who cannot avail of Arts... - Disability Services
69. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to conduct reviews of the workplace adaptation grant and reasonable accommodation fund; and if she will make a... - Social Welfare Benefits
72. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the free travel pass; the way that this has increased in the past three years; and if she... - Public Services Card
73. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on whether credit unions and other financial institutions should be able to accept the public services card as one... - Social Welfare Benefits
74. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to increase the household benefits package given the rising costs of living; and if she will make a statement on the... - Social Welfare Code
75. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the changes to the domiciliary care allowance and carer’s allowance payments in respect of children in hospital... - Employment Schemes
76. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views regarding the level of abuse by employers of the Work Placement Experience Programme; and if she will make a... - Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
78. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if, in view of the rapidly rising cost of living she will reverse the cuts to the pandemic unemployment payment and cancel... - Covid-19 Pandemic
80. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which she and her Department expect to be in a position to manage the transition from a high level of dependence... - Departmental Websites
81. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the inaccessibility of paper-based applications for social welfare supports; and if she... - Employment Schemes
82. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the analysis her Department has carried out into phase 1 of the roll-out of the new local area employment service; her plans... - Social Welfare Benefits
84. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she plans to amend the eligibility criteria for the free fuel allowance scheme in cases in which the income of a person... - Social Welfare Schemes
85. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the progress made on the Programme for Government commitment to conduct a review of the means test disregards for farm assist... - Social Welfare Benefits
87. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider addressing the issue of recipients of widow and widower’s pension not being eligible to receive... - Departmental Strategies
88. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the progress of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 – 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5308/22] - Covid-19 Pandemic
89. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the provisions her Department is taking in recognising long Covid as a debilitating illness; if consideration has been given... - Social Welfare Code
90. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will urgently review the financial assessment element of the carer’s allowance in the case of a person (details... - Employment Schemes
94. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of her strategy for the procurement of public employment services; the reason she is proceeding to a new model of... - Social Welfare Code
95. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on and response to the key conclusion in the Cost of Disability in Ireland research report that the levels of... - Social Welfare Schemes
98. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons that benefited from the optical benefits component of the treatment benefits scheme operated by her... - Social Welfare Code
100. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the introduction of a cost of disability following the publication of a report (details supplied). [5490/22] - Social Welfare Schemes
101. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way it is proposed to promote the new income limit for the fuel allowance scheme to ensure that those who are eligible... - Community Welfare Services
103. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans for the resumption of in-person meetings with local community welfare officers in County Cork; and if she will make... - Social Welfare Benefits
104. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the further targeted interventions that she is planning to support social welfare recipients facing serious increases in... - Employment Schemes
105. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way that her Department is assisting those with a disability to avail of employment opportunities; and if she will make a... - Child Poverty
106. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on whether the rising cost of living will further worsen child poverty; and the measures she will take to address... - Social Welfare Benefits
107. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department has provided funding to help carers in accessing education and employment; and if she will make a statement... - Official Engagements
108. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the engagement she or officials from her Department have had with the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group... - Community Employment Schemes
109. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the details of pension entitlements in place for community employment scheme supervisors and assistant supervisors including... - Social Insurance
112. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the strategy in place to ensure that all foster parents in receipt of a foster care allowance can include time spent caring...
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