Results 21-40 of 14,473 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The new Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The legislative basis for implementing the new system was enacted last July. 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 savings. The new...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 provided for changes to the social welfare means test to exclude child maintenance payments from assessment in all means-tested payments that my Department provides. This was one of the recommendations of the Report of the Child Maintenance Review Group in relation to the social welfare system. This change to the social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that, as a result, they require that level of care. Means are any income belonging to the carer and their spouse /civil partner / cohabitant, property (except their own...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Cycling Facilities (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Details supplied: Cycle to Work applications processed by year 2020-2024. Year Applications 2020 210 2021 237 2022 150 2023 111 2024 138 Total 846 The information requested is set out in the table...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the social security arrangements between Ireland and the United Kingdom, the respective authorities exchange social insurance record details for pension entitlement assessment purposes. State pension (contributory) applications are examined to establish entitlement based on a person’s Irish contribution record. If a person does not qualify for a pension or qualifies for a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. On 22nd January 2024, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the entitlement of an unmarried cohabitant to a Widower's Contributory Pension. The Supreme Court judgment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet expenses that an eligible person cannot pay from their weekly income. The ANP scheme is demand led and administered by Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) in the Community Welfare Service (CWS), taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The requested figures for applications for Domiciliary Care Allowance are shown below. The figures for 'Average Weeks to Award' is the average number of weeks between an claim being registered and the claim being awarded for successful claims. Year Claims Received Claims Awarded Claims Withdrawn Average Weeks to Award Claims Pending Year End ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The requested figures for applications for Disability Allowance are shown below. The 'Average Weeks to Award' is the average number of weeks between a claim being registered and the claim being awarded for successful claims. Year Claims Received Claims Awarded Claims Withdrawn Average Weeks to Award Claims Pending Year End 2020...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The medical condition of qualifying recipients of Disability Allowance were submitted by their doctor as part of the application form. The application is then assessed by the Department’s medical assessors, who are experienced doctor’s with various sub-specialty qualifications and hold full registration with the Irish medical council. In March 2025, there were 168,698...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is a new social insurance income support which has replaced the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme for people who are fully unemployed and whose first day of unemployment is on or after 31 March 2025. The Jobseeker’s Benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance schemes remain available to workers who are part-time, casual or seasonal and who claim income support....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Farm Assist is a statutory means-tested income support specifically for farmers on low incomes. There are approximately 3,400 claims in payment at present. The government has provided almost €47 million for the scheme in 2025. Under the Farm Assist means test, income from a range of agri-environmental schemes attract a disregard of €5,000, with 50% of the balance assessed...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Carer's Allowance(CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that, as a result, they require that level of care. A primary qualifying condition for CA is that the applicant provides full-time care and attention to a person in need...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: My colleague the Minister for Health has lead responsibility for the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024. This complex and far-reaching legislation encompasses the regulation for the first time of a wide range of practices undertaken in this jurisdiction, including domestic altruistic surrogacy, but also provides for the regulation of future surrogacy arrangements undertaken by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Bodies (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The State bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council and the Social Welfare Tribunal. Of these State bodies, only the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Authority are required to submit quarterly prompt payment reports. The data for the period in question is published quarterly on gov.ie at:...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Bodies (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The State bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council and the Social Welfare Tribunal. Of these State bodies, only two are required to submit quarterly prompt payment reports - Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Authority. I can confirm that both bodies have submitted prompt payment reports...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The purpose of the voluntary contributions scheme is to provide persons who were, but are no longer, compulsorily insured under the social insurance system with the opportunity to pay contributions directly to my Department. Voluntary contributions ensure continuity of social insurance for pension purposes during periods where former contributors are no longer insured as employed or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Homemakers Scheme and Homecaring Periods are specific Pension Caring Supports within the State Pension system that give significant recognition to those whose work history includes extended periods outside of paid employment, often to raise families or in a full-time caring role. They are not qualifying contributions for the State Pension (Contributory) but can be used once a person has...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (7 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: As you will be aware, the Citizens Information Board (CIB), under the aegis of this Department, funds and supports eight Citizens Information Service (CIS) companies, to provide important information, advice and advocacy services to the public nationwide. As each CIS is an independent limited company overseen by a voluntary Board of Directors, each CIS company makes decisions independently...