Results 201-220 of 14,473 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (30 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 276 and 278 together. The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) supports improving rural roads and laneways not usually maintained by local authorities. Since its establishment in 2017, almost €170 million has been provided by the Government to local authorities for LIS. While the Department provides funding for LIS, the scheme is administered by local...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (30 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) with the amounts paid to each local authority in each year, for inclusion in their Report on the Accounts of the Public Services. As my Department was established in 2017, I have provided the information for 2017 to 2024 inclusive. I would note that the 2024 figures remain provisional until the OCAG report...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (30 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The current LEADER Programme runs to 2027 and is now up and running across the country. It supports a broad range of enterprises and community groups to develop projects which improve the quality of life and economic activity in rural areas. It is delivered through Local Action Groups across rural Ireland. A feature of the LEADER programme is that it is based on a community-led, bottom-up...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1370, 1475 and 1476 together. My Department administers the Daily Expenses Allowance on behalf of the Department of Children, Equality and Disability. Under the new Programme for Government, responsibility for international protection accommodation and integration is planned to move to the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. The Daily...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Carer's Benefit is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention. To qualify, the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions, employment conditions, show that they are providing full-time care and attention and show that the care recipient requires full-time care and attention. An...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Persons who have been overpaid social welfare have a liability to refund the overpayment as they have been in receipt of a payment to which they were not entitled. Overpayments of social welfare entitlements can occur where a person provides false or misleading information in their application or through error on the part of either the claimant or the Department. The individual...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 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 Habitual Residency conditions. My Department received correspondence from the person concerned on 12 August 2024...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is a new social insurance income support which has replaced Jobseeker's Benefit for people who become fully unemployed from 31 March 2025 and who satisfy the conditions for the scheme. Pay-related benefit means that a person's rate of payment will be linked to their previous earnings, subject to maximum and minimum rates. The intention of the Jobseeker's...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) is an income support scheme that provides part-time employment opportunities for farmers and fishers in receipt of specified social welfare payments, and who are underemployed in their primary occupation. The valuable work undertaken by participants draws on their existing skills which may be further developed and shared throughout their participation. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable to a parent or 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: In general, medical or health related benefits fall within the remit of the Department of Health and the HSE. However, my Department administers the treatment benefit scheme which provides certain dental, optical, and medical appliances benefits to insured workers, the self-employed and retired people who have the required number of PRSI contributions. These treatments are also available to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 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: Social Welfare Schemes (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The number of applications registered for the period 2020 - 2023 are set out in the table below. Figures in respect of 2024 are being compiled. Final figures for 2024 will be published in the 2024 Annual Statistics Report which is due to be published later this year. Scheme 2020 2021 2022 2023 State Pension (Non-Contributory) ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The number of claims awarded for schemes in 2020 - 2023 are set out in the table below. Figures in respect of 2024 are being compiled. Final figures for 2024 will be published in the 2024 Annual Statistics Report which is due to be published later this year. Scheme 2020 2021 2022 2023 State Pension (Non-Contributory) 7,084 ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: he number of applications refused for each operational scheme in 2020 - 2023 are set out in the table below. Figures are in respect of 2024 are being compiled. Final figures for 2024 will be published in the 2024 Annual Statistics Report which is due to be published later this year. Scheme 2020 2021 2022 2023 State Pension ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1382 and 1383 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (29 Apr 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 Annual Report of the Chief Appeals Officer is published each year and includes the total numbers of appeals registered across each scheme to a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (29 Apr 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 Annual Report of the Chief Appeals Officer is published each year and includes the total numbers of appeals completed and a breakdown of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (29 Apr 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. In 2024, the average time taken to process an appeal was 23.5 weeks. The average processing time at the end of March 2025 is 20.9 weeks. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (29 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements. Decisions on Additional Needs Payments are made at the...