Results 14,281-14,300 of 15,117 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: All jobseekers, including those who are working part time and in receipt of a jobseekers payment from my department, are required to be genuinely seeking and available for full time employment and to engage with my Department's employment services. The Local Area Employment Services (LAES) is an employment assistance and advice service that supports and assists people who are long-term...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disability Allowance is the primary disability related social assistance scheme which is a means-tested payment for people with a disability who are aged between 16 and 66. In order to be eligible, the disability must be expected to last for at least one year. The allowance is also subject to a medical assessment and a habitual residency requirement. Estimated expenditure on Disability...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is committed to ensuring that only those people who are eligible, receive welfare and other payments. Achieving this requires that robust safeguards are in place that secure our payment systems, detect possible fraud and error, and prevent possible fraudulent claiming. All applicants must provide proof of their identity when making a claim. The applicants must verify their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a number of income and employment supports for people with a disability. The income supports include Disability Allowance, Blind Pension and Invalidity Pension. Both Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are means tested social assistance schemes, while Invalidity Pension is a social insurance based scheme. Disability Allowance is the primary disability related...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €400 million in 2025. At the end of December 2024, 413,934 households were in receipt of the Fuel Allowance payment. Based on similar numbers of households qualifying for the Fuel Allowance Payment during the 2025/26 fuel...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Living Alone Increase is an extra payment for recipients of certain social welfare payments who live alone. The current rate of increase is €22 per week a and is available to persons aged 66 or older who live alone and are in receipt of the State Pension (contributory and non-contributory), Widows, Widowers and Surviving Civil Partner's (contributory) Pension, Incapacity Supplement...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Treatment Benefit Scheme provides dental, optical, aural and hair replacement products and services to insured workers, the self-employed, retired people and their dependent spouse/partner who have the required number of social insurance (PRSI) contributions. The Department pays the full cost of an oral examination once a calendar year. In addition, an annual payment of €42 is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Comprehensive Employment Strategy set out a number of actions for my Department. They included measures around early intervention, employment activation, and reform of employment supports, such as the Wage Subsidy Scheme. In recent years, my Department has introduced and reformed a number of supports to implement these recommendations and promote employment opportunities for people...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (29 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: Social Welfare Appeals (29 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: Public Services Card (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The SAFE registration process is the process through which a person satisfies the Minister for Social Protection as to their identity. Once their identity is verified in this way, they are issued with a Public Services Card (PSC) which can be used as proof of their identity when dealing with public service bodies. It is also used to collect social protection payments and access Free Travel...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Climate Action Plan (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department of Social Protection is extremely conscious of the part it needs to play in the reaching of climate action targets for the public sector, as set out by government in relevant Climate Action Plans. In this regard, the targets to be achieved by 2030, as detailed in the Climate Action Mandate, are:Improve energy efficiency in the public sector by 50%.Reduce energy related GHG...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Funding (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department of Social Protection's mission is to promote active participation and inclusion in society through the provision of income supports, employment services and other services. The Department serves a wide and diverse group of people including families, people in employment, unemployed people, people with illnesses and disabilities, carers, older people, and employers through the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (29 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. My department has an oversight role in relation to the School Meals Programme and conducts regular...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public transport services and on private transport services operating the Free Travel scheme. As part of Budget 2025, the government announced that from September 2025, all those aged 70 years or over in receipt of Free Travel will have an entitlement to receive a Free Travel Companion Public Services Card (PSC). This means those...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance provides immediate assistance for those in need who are awaiting the outcome of a claim or an appeal for a primary social welfare payment or do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. It is a means tested payment and takes account of the income a person or couple has in terms of cash, property - other than the family home - and capital. It...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department currently holds five contracts with the company in question. All contracts were for ICT related work and were awarded from the Departments ICT framework; of which the company is one of the members. My Department publishes details of all contracts awarded over €25k every quarter on gov.ie: .

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1416 and 1444 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (29 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 school referred to by the Deputy, has received funding under the School Meals Programme since 2016...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 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, subject to the qualifying...