Results 121-140 of 15,432 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Instruction to Committee (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I move: That it be an instruction to the Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development on the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025, that pursuant to Standing Order 194, the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing provisions of the Bill to provide that: — Invalidity Pension is a pension...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Uniforms (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The scheme operates from June to September each year. The rates of payment for the 2025 scheme are €160 for children aged between 4 and 11 years and €285 for children...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The marriage bar was a legal requirement for women in the Irish civil service and some areas of the public service to retire from employment after marriage. While the legislation applied only to the civil and public sector, a similar policy was adopted by other sectors, such as the banking sector. The marriage bar for civil servants was removed from legislation in 1973. The impact of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (24 Jun 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 Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that there is no record of any appeal by the person concerned having been...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Inquiries (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My department received an application for Illness Benefit from the person concerned on the 15th May 2025. Unfortunately, the person concerned did not qualify for payment of Illness Benefit as she did not satisfy the PRSI conditions. In order to qualify for Illness Benefit, you must meet conditions related to age and social insurance (PRSI) contributions. You must have at least 104...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Gender Recognition (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Gender Recognition Act 2015 and its current provisions are the responsibility of the Department of Social Protection. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: At the outset, I would like to acknowledge the important role Community Employment (CE) schemes play in providing valuable occupational experience and training as a stepping-stone to employment for people who are unemployed, schemes such as CE also provide important and, in many cases essential, services to their local communities. The Deputy may wish to note that no changes have been...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has a designated Procurement Officer as provided for in the Department of Finance Circular 40/02. The Departments Procurement Officer is at Principal Officer grade. Details in relation to my Department’s agencies are set out below. The Citizens Information Board has a Procurement Officer at Higher Executive Officer grade. The Pensions Authority has a Procurement...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department implements strict governance of public procurement, and all staff involved in procurement must adhere to comprehensive rules set out in the Department’s Procurement Policy and Procedures. The Department and its agencies fully comply with all government procedures for procurement, ensuring that best practice and regulatory requirements are consistently met across all...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Procurement Contracts (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has a robust governance process in place to assure the management control of procurement and contract management. A central register of all contracts awarded is maintained. This register is held on an in-house SharePoint application which is monitored by the Project Office & Procurement Policy Unit. Details in relation to my Department’s agencies are set out...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (24 Jun 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: Pension Provisions (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My officials have been examining the issues in relation to this specific case. Throughout this process they have engaged directly with the person involved and kept him briefed regarding progress. The process has taken some time because the circumstances are unusual and have raised extremely complex issues that require engagement with a number of external stakeholders and other Government...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reports (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: As the Deputy will be aware, the gov.ie website is the key source of information on government and public services, with approximately 75 million page views in 2024. It was also a critical information resource during covid-19. In April 2025 the Gov.ie platform underwent a major system upgrade, carried out by OGCIO. Following this upgrade some links were unintentionally broken. Any broken...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Education Policy (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: On the 13th February 2025 the Minister for Education and Youth Helen McEntee and Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Michael Moynihan announced details of the 2025 Summer Programme, and encouraged schools to participate. This programme was first established in 2021. All schools have an opportunity to run a programme over the summer months for children with complex...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Communications (24 Jun 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. The Hot School Meals began as a pilot project in 2019 with some 30 schools. Since then it has expanded...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Care Services (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Government acknowledges the valuable role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in the Programme for Government. Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently over 100,000 people in receipt of this payment with...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Inquiries (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Fuel Allowance is a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. The payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) is paid from late September to April. One of the conditions for receipt of fuel allowance is that a person must satisfy a means test. The person concerned applied for Fuel Allowance on 5 February 2025. It was decided that they...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 573 and 574 together. The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The scheme operates from June to September each year. The allowance is payable in respect of eligible children between the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department administers over 100 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. We are committed to ensuring that members of the public are fully aware of the welfare supports and services that are available to them. Public information campaigns, including advertising on digital and social media platforms, are an important part of this work. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit 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, in line with the statutory conditions for the scheme. A commencement date is required for the introduction of any new...