Results 13,981-14,000 of 15,109 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (1 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides funding to the organisation referred to by the Deputy, under the Community Services Programme (CSP), which currently supports over 430 community-based organisations to provide local services through a social enterprise model. The CSP Programme provides an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent (FTE) position being supported and, where...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (2 Apr 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 Department provides the funding for the meals directly to the school. All schools who wish to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Strategies (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, is a whole of government strategy with a five-year timeframe which aims to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion is an overarching statement of Government strategy, which acknowledges the range of sectoral plans already in place that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Weather Events (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS), administered by my department through the Community Welfare Service (CWS), was activated on 23 January 2025 to assist householders affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. Humanitarian assistance is available in three stages. Stage 1 of the HAS is available to people while they are directly impacted by the storm. It targets people who...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Weather Events (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS), administered by my department through the Community Welfare Service (CWS), was activated on 23 January 2025 to assist householders affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. According to the records of the Department, the person concerned applied for a HAS stage 1 payment to assist with the additional costs incurred as a result of Storm...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 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 of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Weather Events (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS), administered by my department through the Community Welfare Service (CWS), was activated on 23 January 2025 to assist householders affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. Humanitarian assistance is available in three stages. Stage 1 of the HAS is available to people while they are directly impacted by the storm. It targets people who...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. It is a condition for receipt of CA that the carer cannot be engaged in employment/self-employment or training/study....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 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 condition. I can confirm that the Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension (WCP) is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. The number of claimants, or recipients, who were separated or divorced before being widowed as requested by the Deputy are shown in the attached Table. It is important for the Deputy to note that while the Department does hold records...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Meetings (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I have held two Minister/Management Board meetings since I took office as Minister for Social Protection. The details and attendees of both these meetings are outlined below. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. Minister/Management Board Meetings Year Date Attendance Other Attendees 2025 20th February ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a suite of income supports. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes. Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension (WCP) is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. The pension remains payable while you...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Living Alone Increase is a weekly payment, which is not means tested. The Living Alone Increase is an additional payment made each week to persons who live alone and are in receipt of certain Social Protection payments. These payments include recipients, 66 or over, of State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s, or Surviving Civil...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Urban Development (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 351 and 352 together. Launched in 2022, the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. TCF supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland by setting out a framework to facilitate and resource the regeneration of Irish towns...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Since 2018, the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP) and its iterations has provided almost €59 million in funding to over 26,000 community and voluntary projects throughout the country. In 2023, the CEP was replaced by the Local Enhancement Programme (LEP). The LEP 2025 was launched last November with €7 million available to assist thousands of community groups across the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Charitable and Voluntary Organisations (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Charities Regulatory Authority (the ‘Charities Regulator’) was established in October 2014 pursuant to the Charities Act 2009. The Authority is the State organisation responsible for registering and regulating all of Ireland’s charities, with the mandate to promote good governance practice. The Charities Regulator is fully independent in the performance of its...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 355 and 356 together. The Local Improvement Scheme (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 the Government to local authorities for LIS. Since 2017, Carlow has been allocated €4.38 million, and Kilkenny...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Meetings (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Following my appointment on 23rd January 2025 I was provided with detailed written briefing on my Department and held a number of meetings with Management Board members and senior officials on that briefing. The first Ministerial Management Board took place on 27th February 2025 and was attended by all Management Board members, my advisor, Minister of State Buttimer and his advisor, and two...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (3 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The One-Parent Family Payment is a payment for parents who are under 66 and who are not cohabiting and whose youngest child is under age seven. When the youngest child turns seven, the person may then apply for the Jobseeker's Transitional Payment. The Jobseeker's Transitional Payment is a special arrangement under the Jobseeker’s Allowance scheme that is available to lone parents...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (3 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Finance Act 2023 introduced the Mortgage Interest Tax Credit. This tax credit is for taxpayers who have made payments in respect of a qualifying loan for a principal private residence. The Mortgage Interest Tax Credit was originally only available for the year 2023. However, in Finance Act 2024, it has been extended to include the year 2024. Those who applied for and did not...