Results 14,561-14,580 of 15,157 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, administered by my department through the local Community Welfare Services (CWS) was activated on Thursday 23 January 2025 to assist householders affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is operated in 3 stages. Stage 1 of the scheme is to address hardship in the immediate aftermath of a severe weather event...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The legislative basis for implementing the new system was enacted last July. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement savings. I recently...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Energy Usage (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department of Social Protection is committed to playing its part in the overall public sector climate targets, namely the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate and the Climate Action Plan 2025, which sets out key targets for energy: - Reduce energy related GHG emissions by 51% by 2030 and - Improve energy efficiency in the public sector by 50% by 2030. At present, the department is on...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 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 5 September 2024. It is a condition for receipt of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 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: Civil Registration Service (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Marriage notification requires that the data of both parties is entered on the Civil Registration Computer System (CRCS). In marriages of persons of the opposite sex the male party was traditionally listed first and the female party listed second. Marriage data is shared by my Department with CSO for the compilation of Vital Statistics, and listing the parties in this order was favoured by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 May 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, means test and the habitual residency conditions, I can confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (13 May 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. To qualify, a person needs to have at least 260 PRSI contributions paid at either Class A, E, H, P or S since first starting...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a key disability employment support. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to people with disabilities through a subsidy. Last year, my Department published a review of the Wage Subsidy Scheme. The review made six recommendations, including to reduce the minimum required hours of the scheme, to regularly review the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: A review of means testing in the social protection system is ongoing in my Department. This is complex and detailed work but the review is currently being finalised and will be presented to me shortly. The outcome of the review will inform decisions regarding any potential changes to means testing, including in the run up to Budget 2026. All prospective changes to means testing...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (13 May 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 Department calculates waiting times for appeals measuring the time from when the appeal was registered to the latest decision...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 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 Annual Report of the Chief Appeals Officer is published each year and includes the detailed information requested. The reports...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 801 and 818 together. The Government is very aware of the key role that family carers play in Irish society and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. The Carer's Allowance is the main scheme by which my department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently 99,421 people in receipt of Carer's Allowance....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reviews (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Means tests and income thresholds are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes have been made in recent years. In particular, a number of changes to means testing which provide for higher income disregards have been introduced. These disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, a certain level of income from that work...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The number of persons with a Jobseeker's Allowance claim duration of 12 months or longer, by county, are shown in the attached table.  Note that casual Jobseekers who work up to 3 days a week while receiving Jobseeker's Allowance are excluded from the Figures.  Figures refer to the week ending 03 May 2025.  County Number of persons Carlow ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: In line with the Programme for Government committment, my Department is examining a new Working Age Payment which will ensure that individuals always see an increase in income when they work or take on additional hours. An outline of a proposed approach was previously published as part of the strawman consultation process on the introduction of new pay-related benefit. My Department will...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (13 May 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: Departmental Bodies (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department does not have any non-governmental organisations under its aegis. My Department does provide funding to a number of voluntary / non-governmental organisations, who provide information and wider social research on social welfare services and social policy in Ireland. The current recipients of funding are: Community Law and Mediation (CLM). The Irish National...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Bodies (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 807, 808, 809, 810, 811, 812, 813 and 814 together. My Department does not have any non-governmental organisations under its aegis.  My Department does provide funding to a number of voluntary / non-governmental organisations, who provide information and wider social research on social welfare services and social policy in Ireland. The current...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. Payments available to those over 66 include the State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-Contributory) and the Widows, Widowers and Surviving Civil Partners' Contributory Pension. The rate of primary and secondary payments to pensioners, and their adequacy, are...