Results 161-180 of 15,432 for speaker:Dara Calleary

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

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 602 and 603 together. I welcome the recent publication of the 2025 Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) on June 17th. The report provides an update of the MESL income needs to reflect price changes in 2025. The Government acknowledges the impact that increases in the cost of living have on people, especially in relation to income adequacy....

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Harbours and Piers (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: As the Deputy is aware, Galway County Council is responsible for the maintenance and development of piers on the Aran Islands, including Inis Oírr. Regarding the development of the pier at Inis Oírr, Galway County Council is the sponsoring agency and contracting authority, and as such, it is responsible for the business case and every aspect of the procurement process. ...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Public Procurement Contracts (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 961 and 962 together. My Department has a detailed procurement policy in place, which fully aligns with the guidelines produced by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP). The Department procures a relatively small volume and value of goods and services each year, and it is Departmental policy that, wherever possible, OGP frameworks are utlised for the...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Public Procurement Contracts (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: As part of my Departments Procurement Policy, and in line with guidance from the Office of Government Procurement, officials in my Department maintain a Contracts Register to monitor and report on all contracts procured with a value over €25,000 excluding VAT. This register is updated quarterly. Given the relatively small level of procurement undertaken directly by the Department, my...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Reviews (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 964 and 965 together. My Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) currently supports 428 community organisations through 448 services to provide employment opportunities and the delivery of local services, through a social enterprise model, with a budget of €55.4m for 2025. A review of the CSP Programme funding rate categorisations is...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I would like to acknowledge the valuable work of social enterprises, and the meaningful impact they have on the lives of people in our communities. They frequently work to support disadvantaged groups such as the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, the Traveller community, etc., or to address issues such as childcare, food poverty, social housing, our ageing population or...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) improves non-public rural roads and laneways not usually maintained by local authorities. Since its establishment in 2017, the Government has provided almost €170 million to local authorities under the scheme. In April 2024, €40 million in funding was announced for LIS across eligible local authorities to cover 2024/2025. This figure...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Reports (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department’s website is part of the gov.ie platform, hosted by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). It is my understanding that the gov.ie platform underwent a major system upgrade in mid-April 2025. I am informed that following this systems upgrade, due to a technical issue, the links on some pages were broken and automatically replaced with the text:...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Projects (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department does not, in general, directly build or commission infrastructure projects. The capital allocations made to my Department support a range of schemes that focus on the delivery of community based projects, with the relevant projects mainly delivered by local authorities. Most schemes have grant levels below €500,000 and for these the terms and conditions usually set out...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: On June 5th, I announced the latest round of funding of over €17 million for the delivery of 212 projects under the Community Recognition Fund covering all 31 local authority areas. That announcement brought the total number of projects that have been awarded funding under the fund to over 1,450 in just over two years. A significant number of projects approved under the Community...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Staff (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has a small team working on the area of data management for the information related to the capital schemes operated by my Department. There is one ICT specialist as part of that team, working across the broad area of data and information management, and this person has been in place for the period in question.

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Library Services (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The provision of library services is primarily a matter for local authorities in their capacity as library authorities under the Local Government Act 2001. Notwithstanding this, investing in our library service is a key priority for me as Minister. Our Public Library Strategy 'The Library is the Place' recognises that public libraries are at the heart of our communities and my Department...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputy Carrigy for his question. Continuing from where we finished with Deputy Dempsey, there were 14,791 control reviews in 2024, which is quite small in the overall carer's allowance paid out but it is a balance that has to be reached. On Deputy Carrigy's question, means tests are a central part of any social protection system to ensure that resources which are limited are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is complex as it involves 96 schemes, many of which are means tested. A good outcome will be consistency across schemes and in how means testing is applied. We had a discussion this morning about areas it may not need to or should not apply to in the context of work done by those on these schemes. Even though the Department has a budget of €27 billion, resources are still scarce...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: That is an important aim and one we will try to achieve. This review is not happening in isolation. Means tests and income thresholds are kept under regular review. We made a number of significant changes in recent years. Significant changes have been made to the income thresholds for the working family payment and income disregards for disability allowance, the blind pension, the fuel...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist faoi chúramóirí. Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach go seasaimid leis na cúramóirí agus an jab iontach a dhéanann siad gach lá. The programme for Government sets out a timeline which commits to significantly increasing income disregards for the carer’s allowance in each budget with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Based on our record to date, we have made such significant changes that there is predictability. We will continue to make significant changes to the income disregard. There was an almost 88% in the disregard and the highest ever level of the carer's support grant. I continue to invest in carers agus sa jab tábhachtach atá a dhéanamh acu i ngach cuid den tír gach uile...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as sin. Tá sé seo tábhachtach. The schemes have a lot in common; there are a lot of differences, though. All the schemes - CE, Tús and RSS - were set up with different priorities and different cohorts in mind, initially achieving different things but as they have evolved doing many of the same things. I am definitely looking at all...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Without being cheeky enough to suggest a work programme for the committee, as regards the interaction of CE, RSS and Tús, I would love to engage with Members on that or to hear what they could come up with on it. Deputy McGuinness has raised an important point that the schemes have evolved over the years. It would be good to maybe stand back and look at them to see if they are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The carer's allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently more than 100,000 people in receipt of carer's allowance. Expenditure in 2025 is estimated to be over €1.24 billion. My Department also provides other supports for carers which are not based on a means assessment, including the carer's support...