Results 1,461-1,480 of 16,601 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Means test rules in my Department are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes were made in recent years including: Increase in the Carer's Allowance income disregard to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple from July 2025. The amount disregarded when you sell your home to move into care increased to €337,500 from January 2025 for those...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks, a total of €924 each year, available from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €400 million in 2025. The duration of the scheme is designed to coincide with the coldest periods of the year, and it is for this reason the scheme runs from September to April annually. The coldest period of the year is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: People who are employed in schools may receive income support from my department during unpaid holiday periods, through the social insurance based Jobseeker’s Benefit scheme, or the means tested Jobseeker's Allowance scheme, depending on individual circumstances. There is a general principle of one person, one payment, which applies across the social welfare system. Given the nature...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 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. Applications for DCA are decided by a Deciding Officer on an individual case by case basis, based on the details...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government sets 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 of the Government. There have been a number of significant changes made to the Carer’s Allowance means test in recent years. Next month, there will be a further...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Tús is a community work placement initiative which aims to provide short-term work opportunities for those unemployed customers. The focus of Tús is on jobseekers that are unemployed for twelve months or more, and the targeted activation of this cohort aims to provide additional assistance and a renewed impetus to these jobseekers who could otherwise be in danger of falling into...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (19 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 School Meals programme has grown from a small pilot of 30 schools to a nationwide programme...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Educational Sector Workers (ESWs), including School Bus Escorts, who wish to avail of income support while temporarily laid-off during the school breaks can apply for a jobseeker’s payment. They must satisfy all the qualifying conditions to receive a payment. This includes completing the relevant claim application forms and providing supporting documentation in a timely manner while...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disablement Benefit is a compensatory payment for persons who have suffered a loss of faculty due to injury arising out of and in their insurable employment. All qualifying criteria for disablement benefit must be satisfied before entitlement to payment can be established. The person concerned applied for disablement benefit on 26 October 2023 for an accident which was alleged to have...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Poverty Data (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is a whole of Government strategy with the ambitious aim of reducing consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive member states in the EU. The Roadmap was published in January 2020 and contains seven high level goals, with 81 commitments. Progress towards achieving the aims of the Roadmap are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Poverty Data (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Inclusion Forum was established by Government in 2002, as part of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy institutional structures, and has continued to be part of the monitoring and evaluation structure of successive strategies, including the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025. The aim of the Forum is to give people who are directly affected by poverty and social exclusion, and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Poverty Data (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is a whole of Government strategy with the ambitious aim of reducing consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive member states in the EU. The Roadmap was published in January 2020 and contains seven high level goals, with 81 commitments. Goal four of the Roadmap is "Supporting Families and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Poverty Data (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is a whole of Government strategy with the ambitious aim of reducing consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive member states in the EU. The Roadmap was published in January 2020 and contains seven high level goals, with 81 commitments. Goal three of the Roadmap is "Supporting Older People."...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Poverty Data (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is a whole of Government strategy with the ambitious aim of reducing consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive member states in the EU. The Roadmap was published in January 2020 and contains seven high level goals, with 81 commitments. Implementation of Roadmap commitments is well underway...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Carer's Support Grant (CSG) is an annual payment for carers who look after a person in need of full-time care and attention. My Department received an application for CSG from the person concerned on 14 May 2025. I can confirm that the person has been awarded the CSG payment for the years 2024 and 2025. Payment of €1,850 for the year 2024 and €2,000 for the year 2025...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The person concerned was awarded State pension (contributory) with effect from 1 June 2011. Based on their contribution record, they were awarded 50% of the maximum rate of pension. Their current weekly payment is €154.70, which includes the over 80 allowance of €10.00. A number of reforms were introduced to the State pension (contributory) including a provision for people...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Invalidity Pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance contribution conditions. The person concerned was awarded IP with effect from 22 May 2025 and will receive her first payment to her nominated bank account on 3 July 2025. She will receive all arrears...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 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. 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 Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides assistance to households in the immediate aftermath of severe weather events under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS) which was activated on Thursday, 23 January in advance of Storm Éowyn’s arrival. The purpose of supports available under HAS 2 is to provide financial support to eligible householders whose primary dwelling i.e., their home only, was...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department implemented a formal Blended Working Policy in September 2022 under which staff members were invited at that time to apply for a blended working arrangement and annually thereafter via the annual application process. This Policy, developed in line with the Blended Working Policy Framework for Civil Service Organizations, offers a varied attendance model, depending on the staff...