Results 101-120 of 15,792 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disability Allowance (DA) is a means-tested payment for people with a specified disability whose income falls below certain limits and who are aged between 16 and are under 66. The Department periodically reviews claims in payment to ensure that there is continued entitlement. In this case, the means of the person concerned were reviewed.  Means are any income belonging to the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Telephone Support Allowance (TSA) is a weekly payment of €2.50 for people on certain social welfare payments who are also receiving both the Living Alone Increase and the Fuel Allowance. The primary objective of the TSA is to support the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including the elderly and those with disabilities, by helping them maintain access to personal...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (15 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 (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The main income supports to carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. In 2025, total spending on these payments is expected to exceed over €1.9 billion. The Carer’s Allowance scheme is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Jobseeker's Transitional Payment is a means tested payment for lone parents, under 66, whose youngest child is aged between seven and their fourteenth birthday. The earnings disregard for the Jobseeker's Transitional Payment is €165 per week. In addition, 50% of earnings above this figure is also disregarded in the assessment of means. Increasing the disregards by €1,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined expenditure on these schemes in 2025 is expected to exceed €1.9 billion. Carer’s Allowance is a means tested social assistance income support paid to carers who...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Carer’s Benefit is a payment available to insured people who may need to leave work or reduce their hours to care for a person or people in need of full-time care. It can be paid for a period of two years (104 weeks) for each person being cared for and may be claimed over separate periods up to a total of two years (104 weeks). Carer’s Benefit is a payment available to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The State Pension (Non-contributory) (SPNC) is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a State Pension (Contributory), or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. The system of social assistance supports provides payments based on an income need. The means test...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Irish Language (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is committed to the provision of services in Irish, in accordance with the Official Languages Acts, and through our Irish Language Scheme and our Customer Charter and Action Plan 2023-2026. As of 10th July 2025 we have just under 300 staff from a range of business areas who are willing to provide a service through Irish to our customers. My Department is committed to the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: An increase for qualified adult (IQA) is a means-tested payment, payable to a 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 €100, the maximum rate of IQA is payable....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Benefit Payment for 65-Year-Olds is a payment for people aged between 65 and 66 years who are retired, that is they have ceased all employment or self-employment. The person concerned applied for Benefit Payment for 65-Year-Olds(BP65) on the 17/01/2025. As the person concerned continues to pay self-employed PRSI on rental income it was considered that they have not ceased self-employment...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is a service 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 person concerned applied for Domiciliary Care Allowance on 20th September 2022. Their application was refused on 19th...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disability Allowance is my Department's primary disability related social assistance scheme. The payment is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and a habitual residency requirement. The means test takes account of the income a person or couple has in terms of cash, property – other than the family home – and capital. Applying a means-test ensures that the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: State pension (non-contributory) is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a State pension (contributory) or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. Earnings from employment, self employment, occupational pensions, and foreign pensions are assessed as means. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Jul 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. I can confirm that the person concerned is in receipt of half rate CA in respect of the care of their daughter since...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The person concerned is currently in receipt of a reduced rate contributory state pension. This is based on a record of 719 full rate contributions which gives entitlement to 65% of the maximum rate. A an increase in respect of a qualified adult was also in payment in respect of his late spouse. Following the death of their spouse, my Department contacted the person concerned to advise...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disability Allowance is my Department's primary disability related social assistance scheme.  The payment is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and a habitual residency requirement.  The means test takes account of the income a person or couple has in terms of cash, as well as the value of capital and property, other than the family home. Applying a means-test ensures...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Strategies (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: There are a number of national strategies that my Department is responsible for:The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 builds on the work of its predecessors with the aim to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU'.  Most of the commitments have been achieved.Pathways to Work 2021-2025 is the national...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The delivery of vital locally based Community Welfare Services to meet the challenges and the needs of citizens across the country is a priority for me and for my Department.  The Community Welfare Service (CWS) provides a flexible service to meet the different needs of people, who may find themselves in a financially difficult or vulnerable situation.  It is a priority that this...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department’s gross allocation for 2025 is €575.05 million, with an additional €2.2 million available from capital carried forward from 2024, giving a total available allocation of €577.25 million for 2025. Of that amount the capital budget is €260.25 million and current budget is €317 million. It should be noted that the figures for 2025 include a...