Results 321-340 of 15,792 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Rural and Community Development Matters: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Absolutely. The discussion we had earlier was about reimagining what recreation spaces look like. We have a fantastic programme with Coillte. It is making its existing forestry properties more visitor friendly. In 2024 we provided €1 million in funding for 517 walking trails around the country.

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Rural and Community Development Matters: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: We fund the plans. The local authorities prepare plans. We fund some local authorities' outdoor recreation officers. We met all those officers last Thursday in Limerick at their conference. It was a super event with super energy and buzz.

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Rural and Community Development Matters: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: When it comes to outdoor recreation walks, Coillte is working with us well. They are also identifying commercial activities that are there. We visited Rossmore Forest Park in County Monaghan in March. It is an excellent example. There is a licensed coffee truck there. Coillte also have the space to consider ziplines and so on that would increase the visitor experience. Rossmore has...

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Rural and Community Development Matters: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Chair. Our islands are absolutely vital. We have done quite a lot of work on them. We have increased funding to the non-Gaeltacht islands and to the co-ops and organisations on those islands in the previous number of weeks to bring them in line. The funding allocation is €11 million in current and €5 million in capital, which represents an increase. The majority...

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Rural and Community Development Matters: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputy Aird. The Coillte programme is fantastic and Coillte are very good partners but equally, we invest €15 million into Coillte over five years. It is a significant investment on our part. We are actually in negotiations and very early talks with Bord na Móna around what we can do with their properties as well. The Deputy just said it himself. There are some...

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Rural and Community Development Matters: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Yes, it is more or less the same. Capital funding is of particular importance for the rural development programme. The funding allocated in 2025 will ensure continued delivery under schemes, including LEADER, the rural regeneration and development fund, town and village renewal, local improvement scheme and CLÁR. These schemes are well established and are contributing to positive...

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Rural and Community Development Matters: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: With regard to community facilities and where we can have colocation, we need it, and we will have it. Colocation facilities are the way to go. In terms of running them, coming back to the Minister if State's remarks about volunteers, the more colocation, the less pressure there is. Community facilities must also be built with accessibility in mind, both physical accessibility and sensory...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit scheme is available to those whose unemployment begins on or after 31 March as provided for in the Commencement Order and section 68KB(1)(d) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended. People who became fully unemployed before 31 March will remain on Jobseeker's Benefit until they return to employment, or their benefit runs out, whichever...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Government acknowledges the valuable role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. The Programme for Government has clearly set out a timeline which commits to significantly increasing the income disregards for Carer’s Allowance in each Budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the Government. This is a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, administered by my department, was activated in November 2024 to assist householders affected by Storm Bert and again in January 2025 to assist householders affected by Storm Éowyn. The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is to provide financial support to people whose homes are damaged and who are not able to meet costs for essential...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a key disability employment support. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to people with disabilities through a subsidy. The table shows expenditure in the period 2020-2024 and the number of employers and employees involved in the Scheme. Year 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: This Government acknowledges the important role that carers, including foster carers, play and remains fully committed to supporting them. That is why I was really pleased to announce that Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance eligibility is being extended to include children for whom Foster Care Allowance is being paid. The Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The estimated annual cost of increasing the weekly rate of Community Employment, Tús and the Rural Social Scheme by €1 is €1.64 million. It should be noted that this costing includes a proportionate increase for qualified adults and for those on reduced rates of payment, where relevant. This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2025, and is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their nineteenth birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. Child Benefit is currently in payment in respect of approximately 1.2 million children with an estimated expenditure of €2.2 billion...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. Child Benefit is currently in payment in respect of approximately 1.2 million children with an estimated expenditure of €2.2 billion for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: This Government acknowledges the important role that carers, including foster carers, play and remains fully committed to supporting them. That is why I was really pleased to announce that Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance eligibility is being extended to include children for whom Foster Care Allowance is being paid. The Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The estimated annual cost of increasing pension payments to all recipients aged 66 years or over by €1 is €40.6 million. This includes the following schemes but only where payable to those people aged 66 and over:State Pension (Contributory)Widow/er's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) PensionDeserted Wife's BenefitDeath Benefit PensionState Pension...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The estimated annual cost of bringing all working-age social welfare weekly payments (at 2025 rates) in line with the recently published MESL 2025 rates is €1.51 billion. It should be noted that this costing includes a proportionate increase for qualified adults and for those on reduced rates of payment, where relevant. This costing is based on the estimated average number of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The cost of extending the One-Parent Family Payment by five years, until the youngest child reaches age 12, is difficult to accurately estimate as it is challenging to predict the future movement of customers into and between schemes and the subsequent cost implications relating to secondary benefits. Some people whose youngest child is aged between 7 and 12 may be in receipt of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (2 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: While the Deputy does not specify an amount by which to increase Living Alone Allowance, currently €22 per week, in order to provide an estimated annual cost to answer the question, we have set out the estimated full year cost of increasing the Living Alone Allowance by €1 per week from €22 to €23 per week, which is €13.1 million. This costing is based...