Results 1,141-1,160 of 14,528 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (26 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Means testing payments ensures that the State’s limited resources are directed towards those who are in the most need of financial support. The means test examines the following types of income: Cash income (including income from work) Property that someone personally uses Capital (savings and investments) and property that someone does not personally use. The house a person lives...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (26 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 207 together. Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to Exceptional and Urgent Needs Payments, and certain supplements. The statistical reporting was revised in 2022...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (26 Feb 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. The table below shows a breakdown of average processing times for the period 1st January 2024 to 31st December 2024 on a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (26 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as trails, walkways, cycleways, blueways and bridleways in rural areas. Last year, funding of over €20.3 million was announced for 221 projects under measures 1, 2 and 3 of the 2023 ORIS scheme. €1.3 million was approved for 13...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (26 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme over €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects. Of this more than €7.2 million has been allocated to 74 projects in County Donegal. Town and Village Renewal funding...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Weather Events (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus leis na Seanadóirí. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Chathaoirleach, leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach agus leis na Seanadóirí nua atá tofa. I congratulate the Cathaoirleach, the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the new Senators. Excuse me not knowing a lot of your names but I will get to know you all. I also welcome back all...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Weather Events (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I assure the Senator I will continue to engage with him and the Seanad on the response and on building resilience in not just rural communities but urban ones. Generators are not necessarily going to be the answer to everything. It is not as easy as some people make it out to be. Irish Water has already made plans to acquire 100 generators in the immediate future. We will have a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Policies (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: In order to legally solemnise a marriage in the State a person must be nominated for registration in the Register of Solemnisers. The General Registers Office (GRO) maintains the Register of Solemnisers. To be so registered a person wishing to become a solemniser must be either, a registrar employed by the Health Service Executive, or be a member of a religious or a secular body in Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 573 and 602 together. The Government is very aware of the key role that family carers play in Irish society and the challenges they face. The Programme for Government has 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: In August 2024, my Department published a review of the Wage Subsidy Scheme. The review made six recommendations to make the scheme more accessible and flexible for people with disabilities and their employers. The revised scheme will be implemented in the coming weeks. A key recommendation was to expand the scheme to people who acquire a disability or health condition. Employers will be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Increase for Qualified Adult (IQA) allowance is a means-tested payment, payable to a State Pension (contributory) claimant whose spouse, civil partner or cohabitant is being wholly or mainly maintained by them, and where that qualified adult’s personal means from any source does not exceed a means test income limit. Where a qualified adult has weekly means of less than...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Feb 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: State Pensions (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The person concerned reached pension age on 17 April 2019. An application for the contributory State Pension was received on 18 February 2019. In general, public servants who joined prior to 6 April 1995 paid modified contributions which are not reckonable for the standard contributory State Pension. However, such employees generally have an occupational pension, the level of which is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Feb 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 Appeals (25 Feb 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. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 13th...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Feb 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 Benefits (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 581 and 582 together. The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS) is to prevent hardship by providing financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and/or severe weather events and who are not able to meet costs for essential needs, household items and in some instances structural repairs. The scheme is administered by the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 583 and 609 together. The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, administered by my department through the local Community Welfare Service, was activated on the 23rd January 2025 to assist householders across the country affected by Storm Éowyn. The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is to provide financial support to people whose homes are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizens Information Services (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Citizens Information Board (CIB) funds and supports eight independent regional Citizen Information Service (CIS) companies, which in turn operate a national network of Citizens Information Centres. It is important to note that each CIS is a limited company governed by a voluntary Board of Directors which make decisions independently on the delivery of services in their regions. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Sector Staff (25 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a wide range of employment supports to assist jobseekers and employees with disabilities, and their employers. Work and Access is a set of supports to help remove or reduces barriers in the workplace for people with a disability. It is available to the private, community, not-for-profit, and voluntary sectors and the self-employed. This scheme is funded by the...