Results 81-100 of 14,473 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist a chur. Táimid ag iarraidh obair i dteannta cúramóirí chun iad a sheoladh. Tá brón orm nach bhfuil freagra agam as Gaeilge.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an cheist seo. On the wage subsidy scheme, employers face a risk when hiring any new worker, including in the context of whether the worker has the ability to do the job. Many employers perceive the risk as greater when a person under consideration has a disability, even where that person is highly qualified and able to do the job. It is important...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I endorse the Deputy's remarks on employability and Work West. A number of groups in this space are doing very important work. We will launch the reviewed and renewed scheme next week. We will seek to work with employers' organisations and various groups throughout the country to promote the scheme and the benefits for an employer in having somebody with a disability, who will bring that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy for his question. The programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce a new working-age payment to simplify and address those inconsistencies in payment arrangements, which face people who return to work from a jobseeker's payment. An outline of the proposed approach was published as part of the consultation process on the introduction of a new pay-related...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I will work closely with the committee. It has always been a very collegial committee and has the interests of those with disabilities at heart. I am determined to work with the committee to come up with solutions and reforms. This applies not just to social protection but across services as well. We have a lot of work under way in this space and I hope that by the time we come to the end...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Care Services (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy. I meant to clarify in reply to Deputy O'Reilly earlier that we are conducting a review of the means test process across all schemes in the Department. Means tests are important but they are how the process is implemented. I look forward to hearing people's views on that. We will engage with the Minister for public expenditure on this issue. He is aware of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Care Services (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The commitment has to be looked at in light of the improvements that have been made in recent years, which I am determined to continue. In the context of the Deputy's final remarks, the long-term carer's contribution scheme was introduced in January 2024. Under this scheme, a person who has been a full-time carer - and yes, the Deputy is right that they are predominantly women - for an...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Care Services (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I had this question down on behalf of Deputy O'Gorman but I thank Deputy Murphy for the question. The carer's allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to carers. There are currently 99,256 people in receipt of carer's allowance. Expenditure in 2025 is estimated at more than €1.24 billion. In common with other social welfare payments, the primary...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is incredibly confusing for people when means tests are assessed in different ways for different schemes and services. This is the case even within my Department. There are often valid reasons for this, however. Schemes are being developed to cater for people in different circumstances and who are experiencing different and difficult contingencies. That said, the social protection...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I do not have a specific timeline yet but we are working on it. There are a number of different reports on the cost of disability, which have widely varying figures. One of the first things I am trying to do is address and come up with a figure that actually reflects the reality of it. When we have a figure we can work on, we will look at a timeline. From next week, applications for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy for her question and for raising this issue. As she will be aware, 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...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disabilities Assessments (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Government recognises the additional costs associated with having a disability and is committed to improving outcomes for disabled people. In the programme for Government, we are committed to introducing a permanent annual cost of disability support payment. These commitments will build on progress made in recent years where we have taken steps to recognise the additional costs...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Meals Programme (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I would certainly be happy to consider that. There would be logistics issues. Some schools feed hundreds of students every day with a range of meal options. It could work, from a nutritional point of view as well, in that locally supplied food is generally healthier in this context. It is something we might even ask the nutrition review to consider as well. Anything we can do to help in...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Meals Programme (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I join the Deputy in wishing a happy 50th to Balbriggan meals on wheels; it is welcome to the club. I agree with the Deputy. We will certainly have a look at it. The first thing to do is review the nutritional standards. We will complete the roll-out of the school meals programme into every remaining primary school in September. That is a good time to stand back, take stock and see how...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children in Care (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Tusla has a duty under section 45 of the Child Care Act 1991 to make a decision whether each person leaving care has a need for assistance and then to provide services in accordance with the legislation, subject to the resources. On reaching the age of 18, a young person is deemed to have left State care. Young people who have a care history with Tusla are entitled to an aftercare service...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children in Care (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The staff in my Department are acutely aware of the challenges faced by young people who leave care and are available to them to assist with the provision of social protection income and employment supports. The Department's staff engage with a range of stakeholders and advocacy groups working with vulnerable people. For instance in Dublin, staff engage with the Dublin Regional Homeless...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Meals Programme (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy for her question and correspondence on this issue. On the nutritional value of school meals, I am very aware of the concerns that have been expressed. It is important to note that each week, parents are provided with a menu of food options and it is the parents who select the food to be served to their children in that week. It is important, in my view, that parents...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The introduction of the Public Services Card since 2012 has proven to be an important innovation both in enabling access to public services across a wide range of Government bodies and protecting against the use of fraudulent identities to access those services. For example, everyday hundreds of thousands of people use the PSC to access free travel or to collect their social welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a key employment support for people with disabilities. By providing a subsidy to reduce the ongoing cost of employing a person with a disability, the scheme aims to address any perceived disadvantages of hiring a person with a disability. It encourages employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to people with disabilities through a subsidy. As of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (1 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance is a non-means-tested payment of €360 per month to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability. The child must require care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. Eligibility for Domiciliary Care Allowance is not based on the disability or diagnosis, but rather on the impact of...