Results 14,821-14,840 of 15,157 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is a service 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 Schemes (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Household Benefits Package comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €308 million this year on the Household Benefits Package. People over the age of 70 receive the Household Benefits Package, with one package provided per household. The package is also available to people living in the State aged 66-69...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 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: Social Welfare Schemes (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Approved Retirement Funds (‘ARFs’) are post-retirement investment vehicles which are not regulated as a pension product under the Pensions Act 1990. As such, my Department has no role in relation to such arrangements. ARFs are funds managed by a qualifying fund manager into which an individual may invest the proceeds of their pension fund when they retire. ARFs are approved...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Inquiries (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The estate of the deceased person was the subject of a review by a Social Welfare Inspector following the receipt of Notice of Acknowledgment (Probate) from the solicitor for the estate. Following the conclusion of this review, a letter of clearance issued to the solicitor for the estate on 23 May 2025. I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Inquiries (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The judgement referred to by the Deputy is in relation to the requirement of a national authority, responsible for keeping a public register, to rectify the personal data relating to the gender identity of a natural person where data are inaccurate. The General Register Office of my Department fulfils this requirement and will engage with any person whose data it holds to ensure the data...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Process (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. On 22nd January 2024, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the entitlement of an unmarried cohabitant to a Widower's Contributory Pension. The Supreme Court...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Men's Sheds (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The emergence of Men’s Sheds has been a very positive development for communities across Ireland and my Department is fully committed to supporting Men's Sheds in the valuable work they do. My Department provides funding to Men's Sheds under various funding supports, including:The €7 million Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) 2025, the results of which I will be announcing...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Seniors Alert Scheme encourages community support for vulnerable older people in our communities through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. The current version of the scheme came into effect in September 2021 and, along with the provision of free monitoring for the first year and a...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Public Procurement Contracts (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 905, 906 and 907 together. My Department reports all relevant procurement of goods and services to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) as part of the preparation of its annual accounts, including goods or services procured using the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) frameworks. An annual contracts register of all procurement over...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Water Safety (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 908, 909, 910 and 911 together. The recent tragedies have highlighted the importance of public awareness of water safety, and I extend my condolences to the families and friends of those that have lost their lives in the water recently. Water Safety Ireland (WSI), which comes under the aegis of my Department, is the statutory, voluntary body...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Regional Development (27 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department operates a large number of current and capital schemes aimed at supporting both rural development and community development throughout the country. Since 2023, County Roscommon has been allocated approximately €23 million in funding through these various schemes. The main capital investment funding delivered by my Department is through the rural development programme....

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Regional Development (27 May 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. Of this more than €7.4 million has been allocated to 67 projects in County Roscommon. In April 2024, funding of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a range of supports for individuals on maternity leave, primarily through Maternity Benefit. Maternity Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed women who are on Maternity Leave from work and who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It is currently paid at €289 per week for 26 weeks. Any changes to the rate of Maternity Benefit would need to be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Legislative Measures (28 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. On 22nd January 2024, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the entitlement of an unmarried cohabitant to a Widower's Contributory Pension. The Supreme Court...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the single payment per person rule, people who qualify for multiple payments from my Department typically receive only the higher of the available options. However, as an exception to this rule, the half-rate Carer’s Allowance was introduced for people already receiving a social welfare payment. This arrangement allows people receiving certain welfare payments to retain their...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (28 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 288 and 292 together. 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. As clarified with the Deputy's office, I have...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (28 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The requested statistics for 2020 - 2023 are shown below. Figures for 2024 are currently being compiled and will be published later this year. The 'Average Time to Award' is the average number of weeks between a claim being registered and the claim being awarded for successful claims. Note that after an appeal is submitted, there are two stages to an appeal. First, the appeal goes back to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (28 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. In Budget 2025, it was announced that the Hot School Meals Scheme will be extended to all remaining...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (28 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Administered by my Department, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) is a major programme which seeks to support large-scale, ambitious projects which can achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. It forms part of my Department's Rural Development Investment Programme, and has allocated €588 million to 243 projects across Ireland to date. ...