Results 14,021-14,040 of 15,109 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 includes a commitment for the Department of Social Protection to "Consider and prepare a report for Government on the potential application of the benchmarking approach to other welfare payments". In response to the recommendations from the Commission on Pensions, a series of reforms to the State Pension system were announced in September 2022....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is a new social insurance income support, linked to previous earnings, which has replaced the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme for people whose first day of unemployment is on or after 31 March 2025. A commencement date is required for the introduction of any new scheme. The Commencement Order provides that this scheme comes into operation on 31 March 2025....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 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. The named person was awarded Jobseekers Allowance on the 18th of February, 2025 effective from the 10th of February, 2025....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. The payment is available to anyone who needs it and qualifies, whether the person is currently receiving a social welfare payment or working on a low income. Entitlement...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (9 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. The average time for Carer's Allowance Appeals for the period 1 January - 31st March 2025 is 18.5 weeks. The waiting times for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (9 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. An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 19 March 2025. CA was awarded on 4 April 2025 and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Irish Sign Language (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 166, 167, 168 and 169 together. The Irish Sign Language (ISL) Act 2017 assigns responsibilities to the Minister for Social Protection in relation to the funding of a scheme of accreditation for ISL interpreters (Section 7) and the provision of funds to facilitate ISL users with access to specific events, services and other activities, as specified in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Electric Vehicles (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department actively encourages the use of environmental transport through the provision of electric vehicle charging points. We hope that this will in turn encourage the use of electric vehicles, thereby reducing the environmental impact of car emissions on both our customers and staff. The Department does not procure the infrastructure for electric vehicles - this is a matter for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Irish Sign Language (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Irish Sign Language (ISL) Act 2017 assigns specific responsibilities to the Minister for Social Protection in relation to the funding of a scheme of accreditation for ISL Interpreters (Section 7) and the provision of funds to facilitate ISL users with access to social, educational and cultural events and services (including medical) and other activities as specified in guidelines (Section...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme over €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects. In line with Government Policy, Town and Village Renewal Scheme funding approved in 2024 placed particular emphasis on...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as trails, walkways, cycleways, blueways and bridleways in rural areas. Last year, funding of over €20.3 million was announced for 221 projects under measures 1, 2 and 3 of the 2023 ORIS scheme. €1.27 million was approved for 13...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Irish Sign Language (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The schemes and programmes operated by my Department do not involve the direct provision of services to the public. As such, the Department does not have extensive engagement with the public in terms of service delivery and, in that context, does not have a specific Irish Sign Language (ISL) strategy. My Department is committed to providing an appropriate service to everybody, including those...

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

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a suite of income supports for those unable to work due to illness or disability. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes. Invalidity Pension is a weekly payment to people who are regarded as being permanently incapable of work because of a long-term illness or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (10 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was introduced in 2020 in response to the unprecedented disruption caused to the Irish labour market on foot of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Some 880,000 people received at least one payment under the scheme. In total, some 30 million individual payments issued under the scheme. The Department is undertaking a number of reviews aimed at identifying cases...

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

Dara Calleary: Treatment Benefit is a PRSI-based scheme which provides free dental and optical services, along with assistance towards the provision of audiological appliances and hair replacement products, to people who satisfy certain qualifying conditions, and to their dependent spouses/partners. The Department is committed to an annual review of the Treatment Benefit Optical scheme. The Department...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (10 Apr 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 full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. Child Benefit becomes payable in respect of newborn babies in the month after their birth. As part of Budget 2025, a...

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

Dara Calleary: The Government is very aware of the key role that family carers play in Irish society and the challenges they face and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. From July 2025, the weekly income disregard for Carer's Allowance will increase from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner. This will...

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

Dara Calleary: The Homemakers Disregard Scheme was introduced in April 1994 for use in the Yearly Average (YA) calculation of the State Pension (Contributory). This allowed an applicant to apply under the Homemaker's Scheme for those years out of the workforce since April 1994 spent caring for children under age 12 or other dependent relatives to be disregarded in the calculation under the Yearly Average...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (10 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. Funding under the programme is solely for food. My Department has engaged with a number of schools...

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

Dara Calleary: The Department provides support for workers on Short-Time Work under the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme. This is an income support payment for those who have been temporarily placed on a shorter working week by their employer and which has worked effectively in response to challenges facing businesses. For example, if a person's working week has been reduced from a 5 day work pattern to a 3...