Results 1,201-1,220 of 16,601 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Correspondence (1 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit scheme was introduced at the end of March this year. This new social insurance-based income support has replaced the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme for people who have become fully unemployed since the commencement of the scheme on 31 March and who meet the statutory conditions for the scheme. The legislation underpinning the scheme provides that specific...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (1 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. To receive Child Benefit in Ireland, parents must be habitually resident in the State. Applicants for International Protection do not satisfy...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Application Delays (1 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all of its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) new claim processing activity is prioritised on an ongoing basis with particular focus on processing times, to ensure a timely service to applicants. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reviews (1 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department of Social Protection provides a range of income supports to carers, which includes Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance, and the Carer’s Support Grant. The combined spending on these payments is estimated at over €1.9 billion in 2025. The main objective of these carer payments is to provide income support to those whose...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Uniforms (1 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 513 and 540 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Free Travel Passes (1 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. The Free Travel Scheme is available to all persons aged over 66 and those under the age of 66 on certain qualified payments, who are living legally and permanently in the State. The scheme permits those who are eligible to travel for free on most CIE public...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Bus Services (1 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. The Free Travel Scheme is available to all persons aged over 66 and those under the age of 66 on certain qualified payments, who are living legally and permanently in the State. The scheme permits those who are eligible to travel for free on most CIE public...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (1 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. 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: Parental Leave (1 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 517 and 533 together. 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...

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

Dara Calleary: The estimated cost of increasing all headline social protection rates to €300 per week, excluding any increase for Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Partial Capacity Benefit, Disablement Pension and Blind Person's Pension, is €1.68 billion in a full year. It should be noted that this costing includes a proportionate increase for qualified adults and for those on...

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

Dara Calleary: The estimated full-year cost of increasing Invalidity Pension from €249.50 to €350 per week, an increase of €100.50, is €305.2 million. The estimated full-year cost of increasing Disability Allowance and Blind Pension from €244 to €350, an increase of €106, is €985.4 million. It should be noted that these costings are subject to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (1 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is important to note that the State Pension age was never 65 years of age. The State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Non-Contributory) were never paid at 65 years of age. Reducing the State Pension age to 65 years would increase pension related expenditure significantly. While my Department does not have a detailed actuarial analysis of this option, a high-level estimate of...

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

Dara Calleary: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. Child Benefit is currently in payment in respect of approximately 1.2 million children with an estimated expenditure of €2.2 billion for...

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

Dara Calleary: The cost of increasing the Child Support Payment (formerly the Increase for a Qualified Child) for children under 12 years, from the current rate of €50 by €6 to €56 per week, and of increasing the Child Support Payment for children aged 12 years and over, from the current rate of €62 by €15 to €77 per week is total cost of €145 million in a...

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

Dara Calleary: The Department of Social Protection provides a range of income supports to carers, which includes Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance, and the Carer’s Support Grant. The combined spending on these payments is estimated at over €1.9 billion in 2025. Carer’s Allowance is the main income support, with over 100,000 recipients and...

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

Dara Calleary: My Department does not hold data on persons in receipt of a medical card and is therefore unable to provide a costing for the extension of Fuel Allowance to this cohort. There are approximately 740,218 pensioners in receipt of qualifying payments for Fuel Allowance. Of these, 220,429 are already in receipt of Fuel Allowance. This would give an additional 519,789 Fuel Allowance claims if...

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

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 525 and 528 together. Parent's Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed people who are on Parent's Leave from work who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It is currently paid for nine weeks at €289 per week. Any decision to extend the period of Parent's Leave for employees is a primarily a matter for my colleague, the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (1 Jul 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 will be extended to all remaining primary...

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

Dara Calleary: In order to qualify for Widows and Surviving Civil Partner's Contributory Pension it must be established that the applicant is the widow, widower, or surviving civil partner of the deceased, and that the civil partnership, or marriage, entered into by the parties is one recognised under Irish law. Following the marriage equality referendum and the subsequent Marriage Act 2015, same sex...

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

Dara Calleary: The total estimated cost of increasing the weekly payment rate for Maternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit, Paternity Benefit and Parent's Benefit, from the current rate of €289 by €61 to €350 per week, is €87 million. The above costing is on a full year basis and is based on the estimated number of recipients in 2025. It should be noted that this costing is...