Results 14,961-14,980 of 15,157 for speaker:Dara Calleary

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

Dara Calleary: The Department of Children, Equality and Disability has legal and policy responsibility for Parent’s Leave; the Department of Social Protection has responsibility for the associated benefit. My Department maintains data on individuals who have applied for and subsequently qualified for Parent's Benefit; it does not maintain data on the number of weeks of leave taken by those parents,...

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

Dara Calleary: The Department of Children, Equality and Disability has legal and policy responsibility for Parent’s Leave. The Department of Social Protection has responsibility for the associated benefit. The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 is in line with Directive (EU) 2019/1158 Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers. It aims to promote gender equality in the workplace and in caring...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (10 Jun 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 to people with...

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

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable to a parent / guardian in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and where the level of that disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care and attention...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Paternity Leave (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Paternity Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed people who are on Paternity Leave from work who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It is currently paid for two weeks at €289 per week. Any decision to extend the period of Paternity Leave for employees is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children, Disability, and Equality who has policy and legal...

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

Dara Calleary: The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks, a total of €924 each year, available from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €400 million in 2025. At the end of March 2025, 415,690 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...

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

Dara Calleary: The estimated annual cost of extending Fuel Allowance eligibility to all Working Family Payment recipients is €39.7 million, covering a full fuel season. This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2025, and is subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.

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

Dara Calleary: The tables below outline the estimated annual cost of increasing social welfare schemes by €1. It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and the associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients. It should also be noted that these costings include proportionate increases for qualified adults and for those on reduced...

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

Dara Calleary: Age-related rates apply to 18 to 24 year olds in receipt of the means-tested Jobseeker's Allowance scheme. Age-related reduced rates on Jobseeker's Allowance are designed to prevent long-term welfare dependency. If a young jobseeker participates in education or training, they receive up to the maximum personal rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance of €244. If they participate on the...

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

Dara Calleary: The Bereavement Grant, which was a once-off payment for funeral costs, was discontinued in January 2014. The number of bereavement grant claims in 2013 was 23,716 at a cost of €20.3 million. The number of Bereavement Grant claims paid in 2013 equated to 80% of registered deaths. If the same percentage was applied to the figures for 2023 - the most recent data that the Department...

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

Dara Calleary: Social welfare payments are made up of a personal rate, with extra amounts for adult dependents and child dependents. A Qualified Adult increase (IQA) is usually paid in respect of a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant. It is not payable in respect of an adult child. Child Support Payment (formerly known as an Increase for a Qualified Child) is payable in respect of a dependent child...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Charities Regulatory Authority (the ‘Charities Regulator’) was established in October 2014 pursuant to the Charities Act 2009. The Authority is the State organisation responsible for registering and regulating all of Ireland’s charities, with the mandate to promote good governance practice. While the Charities Regulator operates under the aegis of my Department, it...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Dormant Accounts Fund (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The main purpose of the Dormant Accounts Acts is to reunite account holders with their funds. Unclaimed funds are transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund, which is managed by the National Treasury Management Agency. The beneficial owner has a right to reclaim their money at any time. Legislation governing Dormant Accounts established an administrative framework within which Departments...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I would like to acknowledge the valuable work carried out by the organisation in question and the meaningful impact it has on the lives of people in their local community. In July 2024, my department launched Trading for Impact the second national social enterprise policy. Trading for Impact has been designed to cultivate and sustain a strong and impactful social enterprise sector in...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: On June 5th, I announced the latest round of funding of over €17 million for the delivery of 212 projects under the Community Recognition Fund covering all 31 local authority areas. That announcement brought the total number of projects that have been awarded funding under the fund to over 1,450 in just over two years. A significant number of projects approved under the Community...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF) has provided in excess of €109 million since 2022 for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of new centres. Over €45.8 million was approved for some 861 community centres nationwide under CCIF 2022. In early 2024, funding of over €30 million was approved for the construction of...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Cúrsaí Gaeilge (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Government's 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 contains a commitment to examine the feasibility of introducing a voluntary code for bilingual labelling and packaging of all goods sold in Ireland, as a mechanism to develop the range of areas available in which people can choose Irish as a language of exchange. In this context, Foras na Gaeilge, through its ‘Gnó...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) is a key support to rural communities in improving non-public roads and laneways not usually maintained by local authorities. Since its reintroduction in 2017, the government has provided almost €170 million to local authorities under the Scheme. In April 2024, €40 million in funding was announced for LIS across all local authorities to...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Cúrsaí Gaeilge (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Funding not exceeding €15,000 was approved in June 2022 to enable Nascadh Uíbh Ráthaigh to prepare a Language Plan for that area of Uíbh Ráthaigh situated outside the official Gaeltacht boundaries and outside the Gaeltacht Service Town of Cahersiveen. This grant was approved in line with the commitment made in the Government’s 2018-2022 Action Plan for the...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Legislative Process (10 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Charities (Amendment) Act, 2024 (the ‘Act’) was signed into law by the President on 10th July 2024. The Act seeks to improve the ability of the Charities Regulator to conduct its statutory functions, providing greater transparency, clarity, and fairness in terms of the regulation of charities, leading to greater public trust and confidence in the sector. The...