Results 13,141-13,160 of 15,080 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Child Poverty (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1401, 1402, 1404, 1413, 1415 and 1417 together. Pobal’s HP Deprivation Index is Ireland’s primary social gradient tool, used by many Government Departments, including my own, and state agencies for the identification of disadvantage, in order to target resources towards communities most in need. The Index is a robust and reliable tool,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Data (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Pobal HP Deprivation Index is Ireland’s primary social gradient tool, used by many Government Departments, including my own, and state agencies for the identification of disadvantage, in order to target resources towards communities most in need. The Index is a robust and reliable tool, using data from Ireland’s census to identify relative levels of affluence or...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Staff (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: As of 29th January 2025, I have not yet appointed any Special Advisers to support me in my work at the Department of Rural and Community Development.

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The CLÁR programme provides targeted investment for small scale infrastructural projects in defined rural areas. Since 2023, 9 projects have been approved funding of almost €357,000 in Carlow and 13 projects have been approved funding of over €516,000 in Kilkenny. These projects are listed below. 2023 Carlow Projects Old...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Contracts (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1407 and 1408 together. My Department employs one full time Service Officer. No cleaners are directly employed by the Department. There are four agencies under my Department’s remit; the Western Development Commission, Pobal, Water Safety Ireland and the Charities Regulator. These agencies are independent legal entities responsible for managing...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government commits to the support of rural communities including a commitment to increase funding under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS). LIS supports improving non-public rural roads and laneways not usually maintained by local authorities. Since its establishment in 2017, almost €170 million has been provided by Government to local authorities for LIS and this...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Transport (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department of Rural and Community Development had one Minister of State assigned during the period in question. The details of the total value of annual mileage claimed by the Department's former Minister of State, Joe O'Brien, in 2023 and 2024 were as follows: Year Value of Mileage Claimed (€) 2023 €13,012.50 2024...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Staff (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: In my new role as Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, I am in the process of reviewing my staff requirements. Currently, my private office comprises one Parliamentary Assistant and two Secretarial Assistants. One of the Secretarial Assistants is in place to support me on my constituency work and the others are in place to support my work in the Oireachtas. ...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Poverty Data (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1412 and 1414 together. Pobal’s HP Deprivation Index is Ireland’s primary social gradient tool, used by many Government Departments, including my own, and state agencies for the identification of disadvantage, in order to target resources towards communities most in need. The Index is a robust and reliable tool, using data from...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Poverty Data (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Pobal HP Deprivation Index is Ireland’s primary social gradient tool, used by many Government Departments, including my own, and state agencies for the identification of disadvantage, in order to target resources towards communities most in need. The Index is a robust and reliable tool, using data from Ireland’s census to identify relative levels of affluence or...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Staff (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is committed to staff development and promotes several programmes annually. Staff are encouraged to apply for opportunities in the EU through the National Experts in Professional Training (NEPT) programme and the Erasmus programme. These are usually offered as secondment positions rather than facilitated through career breaks or special leave. We look forward to playing a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (6 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Pensions Authority does not receive any declarations and does not approve any transfers to overseas arrangements for individual scheme members and individual PRSA contributors. The requirements to be in a position to process such a transfer payment to an overseas arrangement are on the trustees of the pension scheme or the PRSA provider, as the case may be, and are set out in the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (6 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office 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 the evidence, disallowed...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (6 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Fuel Allowance is a means tested payment to help with the cost of heating a home during the winter months, payable to people who either live alone or only with certain other qualified people. An application for Fuel Allowance was received from the person concerned on 03 January 2025. The application was assessed by a Deciding Officer. The claim was disallowed, because the household...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (6 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office 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 an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 5th...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Artificial Intelligence (6 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is currently examining the potential future use of A.I. technologies. This has involved active participation in several stakeholder groups, providing observations to The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the EU AI Act drafts and its implementation. An A.I. Chatbot on the MyGovID platform is in use, providing real-time advice to customers on how best to use...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (6 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: My department provides the Domiciliary Care Allowance which is a monthly non-means tested payment to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability and requires care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. From January 2025, the rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance increased from €340 to €360 per month....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (6 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable to a parent / guardian in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and where the level of the child's disability is such that the child is likely to require this...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (6 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 158 and 159 together. The key role of the Department of Social Protection is that of income support for people experiencing specific contingencies that limit their ability to earn an income. These contingencies include unemployment, illness/disability and caring responsibilities. These payments reflect the fact that, people experiencing these...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (6 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and the habitual residency conditions. Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable in respect of a child aged under 16...