Results 201-220 of 15,365 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has no role in setting the rules for payment of contributions under occupational pension schemes or pension products or for contractual terms in respect of unpaid maternity leave. During a period of qualifying maternity absence, occupational pension schemes are required to ensure that a member: • continues in membership of the scheme, and • continues to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Government is very aware of the key role that carers, including foster carers, play in Irish society and the challenges they face. We are fully committed to supporting all carers.The Department of Social Protection provides a comprehensive package of income supports.While foster care policy falls under the Minister for Department for Children, Disability and Equality, foster carers may...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The objective of Community Employment (CE) scheme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long-term unemployed persons by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their local communities on a temporary fixed term basis.In addition to providing eligible people with valuable occupational experience and training as a stepping-stone to employment in the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Poverty (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 175 together. The Government welcomes the publication of the fourth Child Poverty Monitor by the Children’s Right Alliance.While the latest SILC 2024 data contained in the Child Poverty Monitor, which saw Child Poverty rise from 4.8% in SILC 2023 to 8.5% in SILC 2024, is very disappointing, it is important to recognise that they do not...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: A newborn or adopted child grant of €280 was announced in Budget 2025 to be paid to families of babies born or children with a date of placement on or after 1st December 2024. This grant is paid in addition to their regular first month’s Child Benefit payment of €140. The newborn baby or adopted child grant is paid automatically with Child Benefit payments, there is no...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides State Pension payments through the State Pension (Contributory), which is a contributory based payment based on a person's social insurance record and the State Pension (Non-Contributory) which is means-tested social assistance payment. A State pension (contributory) recipient can claim an increase on their pension in respect of a qualified adult where the eligibility...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Data Protection (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department received a copy of the Data Protection Commission’s (DPC) final decision on the processing of biometric templates in connection with the SAFE registration process on 9th June 2025. The biometric template created by my Department, as part of the SAFE identity authentication process, is not stored on an individual’s PSC and is not shared with any other...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Disability Allowance is a means tested payment for people who are aged between 16 and 66 with an injury, disease or disability that has continued, or may be expected to continue, for at least one year and, as a result of this disability, the person is substantially restricted in undertaking work that would otherwise be suitable. The payment is subject to a medical assessment, a means test...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly non-means-tested payment of €360 to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability. The child must require care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. Domiciliary Care Allowance stops being paid when a child reaches 16 years of age. This aligns with the age of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Offices (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The delivery of vital locally based Community Welfare Services to meet the challenges and the needs of citizens across the country is a priority for me and for my department. The Community Welfare Service (CWS) provides a flexible service to meet the different needs of clients, who may find themselves in a financially difficult or vulnerable situation. It is a priority that this service is...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Self-employed contributors pay class S PRSI at a rate of 4.1%. This is 11.15 percentage points lower than the combined employer and employee contribution of 15.25% made in respect of employed contributors. However, self-employed contributors do have access to over 90% of benefits available to employed contributors. The Programme for Government includes an action to explore the option of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Communications (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Criminal Assets Bureau exists as an independent corporate body as provided for under section 3 of the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996.Section 8 of the CAB Act provides for the appointment of officers of the Bureau from An Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Protection who operate in an inter-agency and multi-disciplinary structure within the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 168 and 344 together. A person, including a child, who is visually impaired and who meets the medical conditions for Blind Pension, or alternatively is registered as blind with Vision Ireland or the League of the Blind of Ireland, can qualify for a Free Travel Companion pass. A Companion Free Travel Card entitles the holder to have any one person, aged 16...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a key disability employment support. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to people with disabilities through a subsidy.Last year, my Department published a review of the Wage Subsidy Scheme, following a public consultation, to make the scheme more flexible and effective. The review made six recommendations, including to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. In addition to these primary payments, my Department also provides a range of other payments on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary in nature and cannot be made available to those who are not in receipt of a primary payment.The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Official Engagements (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My department is committed to hosting the Annual Carers’ Forum. The purpose of the Forum is to provide carers with a voice at policy level. It also provides an opportunity for engagement between officials and people experiencing care issues first-hand.I was delighted to attend and present at this year’s Annual Carers’ Forum held on 28 May and the opportunity it gave me...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Improving the lives of disabled people is a priority for the Government. A key element of this is to provide pathways to employment, and the Wage Subsidy Scheme facilitates this by encouraging employers to employ people with a disability through a subsidy.The Deputy may be aware that at the recent launch of the updated Wage Subsidy Scheme I was joined by An Taoiseach and also by my...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The number of persons in receipt of Carer's Allowance at year end for each of the past 10 years is shown below, along with number of persons in receipt as of the end of May 2025: 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 End of May 2025 63,003 70,459 75,264 79,914...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Communications (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has longstanding direct contact arrangements in place for Deputies. The Department provides a dedicated TD enquiry line and mailbox for each of the main schemes where Deputies can raise specific queries for their constituents directly with the relevant scheme area by phone or email. The enquiry lines and mailboxes are monitored daily to ensure an efficient and effective...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit is a payment for people whose first day of unemployment is on or after 31 March 2025 and who have sufficient pay-related social insurance (PRSI) contributions. An individual's rate of payment is directly linked to their previous earnings subject to a maximum or minimum rate. If they have 5 or more years of contributions, their payment will be 60% of...