Results 1,641-1,660 of 16,601 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: As the Deputy is aware, Job Initiative (JI) is an employment support scheme which was designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities. The Department provides wage grant funding for JI team leaders and JI participants along with a grant contribution towards the running costs of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 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 Benefits (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Educational Sector Workers (ESWs), including 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 also...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: There is a general principle of one person-one payment that applies across our social welfare system. Given the contingency-based nature of this system, it can happen that a person may experience more than one contingency at the same time, but generally they can receive only one payment. This principle is common to social security systems across the world. As a result, people on the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: As part of Budget 2025, a Free Travel Companion Pass will be assigned to all those aged over 70 from September 2025. Therefore, a Free Travel companion pass will also be assigned to those who are single and aged over 70. The Free Travel Companion Pass scheme enables a person 16 years of age or over to accompany the pass holder free of charge. There is no requirement that the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals 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 Chief Appeals Officer has put in place measures to deal with the increase in appeals received during 2024. 20 additional staff...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Freedom of Information (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body, under my Department’s aegis, that funds and supports eight regional Citizen Information Service (CIS) companies, which in turn operate a national network of Citizens Information Centres. Funding is provided based on a Service Level Agreement between CIB and the CIS companies. As the CIS companies are independent...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (10 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. 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: School Meals Programme (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Child Benefit is a monthly payment to families with children up to the age of 16 years. 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. It is paid in respect of almost 1.3 million children. Expenditure on the scheme is estimated at over €2.2 billion in 2025, with a monthly estimated average...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 915 and 930 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 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: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Quarterly statistics on recipients of Jobseeker's Allowance, including a breakdown by county and a breakdown by nationality, is published in the Department's Quarterly Statistics report and is available in open data format at www.gov.ie/en/department-of-social-protection/collections/qu arterly-statistics/#quarterly-statistical-open-data . These figures are set out in the tables below. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16, 17 and 18 if they are in full-time education or training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. Under EU regulations, Child Benefit is considered a "Family Benefit". The country where a person is employed (their "country of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Quarterly statistics on recipients of Disability Allowance, including a breakdown by county, is published in the Department's Quarterly Statistics report and is available in open data format at www.gov.ie/en/department-of-social-protection/collections/qu arterly-statistics/#quarterly-statistical-open-data . These figures are set out in the table below. county 2020Q1 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Quarterly statistics on recipients of Invalidity Pension, including a breakdown by county, is published in open data format as part of the Department's Quarterly Statistics report which is available at www.gov.ie/en/department-of-social-protection/collections/qu arterly-statistics/#quarterly-statistical-open-data . These figures are set out in the table below. county ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Blind Pension is a means-tested payment provided by the Department to individuals who are blind or have a serious visual impairment and are habitually resident in the State. It is available to those aged 18 to 66 and requires medical certification of visual impairment. Due to low numbers of recipients when broken down by county, the counties of Leitrim, Longford, and Roscommon are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disablement Benefit is a payment provided by the Department under the Occupational Injuries Scheme. It is available to individuals who suffer a loss of physical or mental capacity due to a work-related accident, a direct commute-related accident, or a prescribed occupational disease. Quarterly data on the number of persons receiving Disablement Benefit is set out in the table below. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Injury Benefit is a weekly payment from the Department provided under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme to employees who are unfit for work due to an accident at work, while commuting directly to or from work, or from an occupational disease. To qualify, the individual must be employed under certain PRSI classes and be medically certified as unfit for work for more than three days....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Quarterly statistics on recipients of Illness Benefit, including a breakdown by county, is published in open data format as part of the Department's Quarterly Statistics report which is available at www.gov.ie/en/department-of-social-protection/collections/qu arterly-statistics/#quarterly-statistical-open-data . These figures are set out in the table below. County Q12020...