Results 14,581-14,600 of 15,157 for speaker:Dara Calleary

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

Dara Calleary: To qualify for the Fuel Allowance payment aged over 66 a person must satisfy all relevant qualifying criteria including satisfy a means test. The means test ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment goes to those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty, including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own. A...

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. When a person in receipt of CA has a qualified child who is 18 years of age or over in full-time day education, a child...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (13 May 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. There are now 2,850 primary schools participating in the Hot School Meals Programme for the current...

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

Dara Calleary: Educational Sector Workers (ESWs) including those working in the Early Years Childcare Sector, who wish to avail of income support while temporarily laid-off during the school breaks can apply for a jobseeker’s payment. They must satisfy all the qualifying conditions to receive a payment. This includes completing the relevant claim application forms and supporting documentation a in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (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. Means are any income belonging to the carer and their spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, property (except their own...

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

Dara Calleary: The JobPath service commenced in 2015 and referrals to the JobPath service ceased in June 2022 with the service ceasing completely in June 2024. JobPath providers continued to provide a service to existing customers during a run-off period. The referral numbers to individual JobPath providers under contract and agreements are commercially sensitive. The overall total number of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (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 3 January 2025. It is a condition for receipt of CA...

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

Dara Calleary: The JobPath Service ceased to operate in June 2024. My Department currently contracts external employment services through three programmes, the Intreo Partners Local Area Employment Services, the Intreo Partners National Employment Services and the Employability service. The contracts which are in place between my Department and the contracted employment service providers permit...

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

Dara Calleary: My Department has contracted with Turas Nua and Seetec as employment service providers since 2015 initially under the JobPath Programme. Referrals to the JobPath service ceased in June 2022 and the service ceased completely in June 2024. JobPath was a payment by results model and all set-up and day-to-day operational costs were borne by the companies. The companies were paid on...

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

Dara Calleary: Referrals to the JobPath service ceased in June 2022 and the service ceased completely in June 2024.  JobPath was a payment by results model and all set-up and day-to-day operational costs were borne by the companies.  The companies were paid on the basis of performance and with the exception of the initial registration fee; payments were made only when a client had achieved...

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

Dara Calleary: My Department has in place contracted employment services with a number of external providers including Turas Nua and Seetec. Under the current data protection legislation the Department is permitted to engage the services of a sub-contractor or agent, referred to as a ‘data processor’. The personal data shared with external employment service providers includes PPSN,...

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

Dara Calleary: The Department of Social Protection does not hold data on citizenship and therefore the data requested by the Deputy is not available.

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

Dara Calleary: My Department regularly publishes data on recipients of social protection payments, including breakdowns by nationality. This data is available in open-data format, accessible through data.gov.ie and The statistics requested by the Deputy are provided in the table below. Figures relate to 30/04/2025. Scheme Irish All other Nationalities Total ...

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

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals service of the Department of Social Protection is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. The Department has issued a revised decision in favour of the customer. As a result, the appeal lodged by the customer has been withdrawn. The...

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

Dara Calleary: Child Benefit becomes payable in respect of newborn babies in the month after their birth, subject to the qualifying conditions. As part of Budget 2025, a new-born baby grant of €280 was introduced. This is paid to families of babies born, or children with a date of placement, on or after 1 December 2024 in addition to their regular first month’s Child Benefit payment of...

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

Dara Calleary: The purpose of weekly payments made by the Department are to provide an income support for people experiencing specific contingencies that limit their ability to earn an income through employment. These contingencies include unemployment, illness, disability, and caring responsibilities, as well as maternity leave. In general where a person experiences two or more contingencies at the...

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

Dara Calleary: It is my understanding that what the deputy is referring to is the Special Scheme for Sea Workers that exists in Spain. This scheme is administered by that country's Social Marine Institute and includes coverage across a variety of social and health care benefits for persons engaged in a wide range of maritime and fishing activities. The special scheme includes unemployment benefits similar...

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

Dara Calleary: My Department’s Intreo Employment Services engage with jobseekers to support them to find work. All customers in receipt of a jobseekers payment with the exception of those aged over 62, must engage with Intreo and avail of suitable supports offered to them. A distinctive client journey has been embedded into the employment services process. Jobseekers on the live register engage...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Reviews (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The CLÁR Programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas. The Programme for Government makes a commitment to carry out a comprehensive review of the eligibility criteria for CLÁR within 6 months with a view to expanding the programme to rural areas which are currently ineligible. My officials...