Results 15,141-15,157 of 15,157 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child Poverty (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I am aware of the report the Deputy referenced and I share her concern regarding the data from the 2024 survey on income and living conditions, SILC, presented in the report. However, as I said earlier this morning, the data does not fully capture many of the Government actions in recent years to address child poverty. SILC asks people each month to provide income and poverty status data...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child Poverty (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Tuigim go mór cé chomh dáiríre is atá an fhadhb seo. Is é sin an fáth go bhfuil a lán oibre déanta ag an Rialtas. We fully understand the challenges but a lot of work has been done in this space. The ESRI has shown, backing up Deputy O'Reilly's view, that direct social transfers by way of child-related cash and in-kind payments have lifted an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Child Poverty (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: We recognise that the cost of living is still incredibly challenging. Not all the measures we have taken have been one-off measures. The hot school meals and free schoolbook schemes are continuous improvements that will directly assist in reducing child poverty. The expansion of the hot school meals scheme, in particular, was not recognised in the SILC data. Deputy O'Reilly and I are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputy Butterly for her question. The free travel scheme provides free travel on our main public and private transport services for those who are eligible. There are over 1 million customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on the free travel scheme in 2025 is €107.6 million. The programme for Government has committed to examining an extension of free...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I fully recognise the importance of DCA. That is why we in the Department have put such a focus on it. We have particularly focused on trying to reduce the waiting periods for appeals and applications. I fully understand how important it would be to extend free travel to include those in receipt of DCA for many reasons, including medical and social appointments. Regarding free travel,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I absolutely guarantee it will be considered. I fully understand the pressures those in receipt of DCA are under. We want to enhance their lived experience. It will be considered, in line with other commitments within the programme for Government. It is a commitment within the programme for Government and will be delivered on within the lifetime of this Government. I note the Deputy's...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Tuigim cé chomh tábhachtach atá na scéimeanna seo. Tá siad ag déanamh an-jab i ngach cuid den tír. Tosóimid le CE agus beimid in ann RSS agus Tús a phlé ar ball. Community employment schemes make an extraordinary contribution right around the country. I have engaged with many of the schemes over recent months since my appointment as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as sin. Tá sé seo tábhachtach. The schemes have a lot in common; there are a lot of differences, though. All the schemes - CE, Tús and RSS - were set up with different priorities and different cohorts in mind, initially achieving different things but as they have evolved doing many of the same things. I am definitely looking at all...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Without being cheeky enough to suggest a work programme for the committee, as regards the interaction of CE, RSS and Tús, I would love to engage with Members on that or to hear what they could come up with on it. Deputy McGuinness has raised an important point that the schemes have evolved over the years. It would be good to maybe stand back and look at them to see if they are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The carer's allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently more than 100,000 people in receipt of carer's allowance. Expenditure in 2025 is estimated to be over €1.24 billion. My Department also provides other supports for carers which are not based on a means assessment, including the carer's support...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I congratulate the Deputy on her appointment as Leas-Chathaoirleach of the coiste. Means reviews are an important part of control mechanisms. The C and AG and the Committee of Public Accounts have told us that these reviews need to continue not just for control but also to avoid a situation, such as happened in the UK, where people unwittingly amass very significant overpayments, which...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I will not comment on individual cases, but we seek to support families such as that who are in need. In order for us to do that, there will always be rules to ensure that schemes are targeted and that we have the resources to meet the scheme. As I said, we are answerable to the Committee of Public Accounts and the C and AG in that regard. They have said the reviews have to continue to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputy Carrigy for his question. Continuing from where we finished with Deputy Dempsey, there were 14,791 control reviews in 2024, which is quite small in the overall carer's allowance paid out but it is a balance that has to be reached. On Deputy Carrigy's question, means tests are a central part of any social protection system to ensure that resources which are limited are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is complex as it involves 96 schemes, many of which are means tested. A good outcome will be consistency across schemes and in how means testing is applied. We had a discussion this morning about areas it may not need to or should not apply to in the context of work done by those on these schemes. Even though the Department has a budget of €27 billion, resources are still scarce...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: That is an important aim and one we will try to achieve. This review is not happening in isolation. Means tests and income thresholds are kept under regular review. We made a number of significant changes in recent years. Significant changes have been made to the income thresholds for the working family payment and income disregards for disability allowance, the blind pension, the fuel...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist faoi chúramóirí. Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach go seasaimid leis na cúramóirí agus an jab iontach a dhéanann siad gach lá. The programme for Government sets out a timeline which commits to significantly increasing income disregards for the carer’s allowance in each budget with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Based on our record to date, we have made such significant changes that there is predictability. We will continue to make significant changes to the income disregard. There was an almost 88% in the disregard and the highest ever level of the carer's support grant. I continue to invest in carers agus sa jab tábhachtach atá a dhéanamh acu i ngach cuid den tír gach uile...