Results 361-380 of 16,601 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. In Budget 2025, it was announced that the Hot School Meals Scheme will be extended to all remaining...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. My department established an interdepartmental working group, which includes the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 289 and 292 together. The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. Under the School Meals Programme, the primary...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Measures (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Nutritional Standards for School Meals have been in place since the scheme's inception. They were developed by a technical Nutrition Subgroups comprised of:Dieticians from the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute of Ireland,The HSE,Safefood, andThe Food Safety Authority of Ireland.These standards are available to all schools, organisations and suppliers and are publicly available on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. My department provides the funding for the meals directly to the school. The primary relationship is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. My department provides the funding for the meals directly to the school. The primary relationship is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly payment for people with a specified disability, aged between 16 and 66, where the disability is expected to last at least one year. Entitlement is subject to a medical assessment, a means test, and habitual residence conditions. The Department’s Medical Assessors are all qualified physicians with backgrounds in areas such as General Practice,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department published a review of the Reasonable Accommodation Fund and Disability Awareness Support Scheme in August 2023. This report set out nine recommendations to merge the two schemes into a single, flexible scheme and to expand and improve the supports offered under the new scheme. In July 2024, the new Work and Access scheme was launched. Work and Access offers seven supports...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Policies (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The accommodation needs of victims of domestic violence are met through a joined-up service delivery model provided by Tusla with the close involvement of the various housing authorities nationwide. Access to Rent Supplement can be provided on referral by Tusla or by prescribed Tusla-funded service providers. This provides victims of domestic violence with a fast track approval and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Inquiries (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: In relation to your questions above, I have instructed my officials to issue Contribution History Statements for both persons which should reach them in the coming days. Regarding the periods 1997- 2020 and whether the person concerned is entitled to credits, there is also an application for the Home Caring Scheme attached. Please have the person concerned complete and return this...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department assesses all factors relating to the State pension system and its sustainability through Actuarial Reviews of the Social Insurance Fund - from which the State pension is paid. An Actuarial Review must be conducted every five years. The last Actuarial Review was published in March 2023. The purpose of the review is to determine the extent to which the Fund may be expected, in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income. The new system - to be known as My Future Fund - will commence from 1 January 2026. My...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: There is a general principle of one person-one payment that applies across our social welfare system. Given the contingency-based nature of this system, it can happen that a person may experience more than one contingency at the same time, but generally they can receive only one payment. This principle is common to social security systems across the world. As a result, in the case of a...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (18 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is committed to supporting thriving communities across the country through a range of funding initiatives. My Department has allocated in the region of €51 million in funding to County Offaly from 2020 to 2024. My Department’s funding programmes have delivered significant capital investment in County Offaly over the years referenced. Examples include:Over...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (17 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 720, 760, 761, 764 and 767 together. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income. The new system - to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (17 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The PRSI class A income threshold where the higher employer rate, currently at 11.15%, takes effect is €527 per week. The estimated cost in PRSI foregone in increasing the threshold to €735 per week is €311 million in a full year.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (17 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The web link to the Department's published reports of procurement-related payments or purchase orders over €20,000 is: www.gov.ie/en/collection/2e5b95-purchase-orders-for-20000-or -above/. Q1 2025 was published on 02 May 2025 and Q2 2025 was published on 16 July 2025. These reports have been published in full and are publicly accessible. The Q3 2025 report will be published in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (17 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Reports on purchase orders for goods and services exceeding €20,000 are published in machine-readable format on a quarterly basis. My Department publishes using PDF and the document is searchable (text-based, not image-based).

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (17 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 725, 726 and 728 together. Social Welfare legislation provides that a person who has lost their employment because of a stoppage of work due to a trade dispute is disqualified for receiving a jobseeker’s payment for the duration of the dispute. However, any person, including bus escorts, school secretaries and caretakers who are directly or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Industrial Disputes (17 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. Supports provided under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of...