Results 221-240 of 16,746 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (8 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Anyone in receipt of Disability Allowance, Blind Pension or Partial Capacity Benefit is considered to meet the disability criteria for any of my Department’s schemes to support the employment of disabled people – Work and Access, Wage Subsidy Scheme, Employability, WorkAbility, and the WAM programme. Each scheme or support has different criteria for people who are not in receipt...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Carer's Benefit (CARB) 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. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Carer’s Allowance is a means-tested payment for people who are providing full-time care to someone who needs significant support due to age, physical or learning disability or illness. The main objective of the Carer’s Allowance payment is to provide an income support to carers whose ability to earn is substantially reduced because of their caring responsibilities. To...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government has set out a timeline which commits to significantly increasing the income disregards for Carer’s Allowance in each Budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the Government. In terms of phasing out the means test, it is important that we make progress in a way that is sustainable, and which balances the allocation of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has commenced work on a successor to the current employment services strategy, Pathways to Work Strategy 2021-2025. This new strategy will aim to carry on from the success of its predecessor which has focused on removing barriers to employment, providing tens of thousands of training and education places, enhancing the Public Employment Service, providing incentives to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has an effective data governance framework in place to ensure that it meets its obligations as a data controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 in respect of its data sharing activities. This includes putting in place specific Data Sharing Agreements in respect of the sharing of data with other Departments and agencies. My...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My department’s policy is to consider the more serious cases of social welfare fraud for prosecution. Cases suitable for prosecution are identified during investigations conducted primarily by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of my department and Gardai seconded to SIU. Defined and recognised practice standards, set by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) are applied in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to examine key ancillary benefits such as the Fuel Allowance, Household Benefits Package and Living Alone Increase to support vulnerable groups. This is an ongoing activity as part of the Department's budget planning each year and I will continue, as part of the budget planning process, to consider if improvements can be made to ensure that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The estimated cost of increasing the Living Alone Allowance by €4 is €52.2 million. This represents an increase in the weekly rate from €22 to €26. The above costing is on a full-year basis and is based on the estimated number of recipients in 2026. It should be noted that this costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Irish Language (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has funded Scéim na gCúntóirí Teanga in Gaeltacht Schools for many years. In recent years, the scheme has been extended to Gaelscoileanna in Gaeltacht Service Towns and Irish Language Networks outside of the Gaeltacht areas. There are approximately 120 Cúntóirí Teanga (Language Assistants) currently working in schools within and outside...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Irish Language (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has funded Scéim na gCúntóirí Teanga in Gaeltacht Schools for many years. In recent years, the scheme has been extended to Gaelscoileanna in Gaeltacht Service Towns and Irish Language Networks outside of the Gaeltacht areas. The scheme has been extended for the current school year and work is currently underway on drafting a new 3 year agreement with the...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Sports Facilities (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department implements a number of schemes which support the development of gyms and other community sporting facilities that are not privately owned and are widely available for community use. This includes support through the CLÁR Programme, LEADER, the Local Enhancement Programme and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Measure 1 of the CLÁR programme provides funding for...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My department implements a wide range of schemes and supports which are available to community organisations and other groups across the country. While, there is not a scheme directly related to the issue raised by the Deputy, there may be an avenue of support available under the LEADER programme. The LEADER programme is part of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Community Development Projects (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I acknowledge the importance of community centres such as the one referenced by the Deputy. My department's Community Centre Investment Fund provides funding for repairs, upgrades and enhancements of such community centres. The Community Centre Investment Fund has provided approximately €110 million since 2022 for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Contracts (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Over the past three years, my Department has utilised the services of two Australian companies for subscriptions relating to online graphic design and stock assets. The details for the period 2022 to date are set out in the table below. Service Provider/Purpose 2022 2023 2024 2025 to date Canva (subscription for online graphic design...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Child Poverty (2 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht an t-ábhar seo a chur liom. As she will know, the Taoiseach has made it clear that tackling child poverty and homelessness are key priorities for this Government. It is a focus for budget 2026. Our negotiations are ongoing and all will be made available next Tuesday at 1 p.m. Our programme for Government commitments in relation...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Child Poverty (2 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Ultimately, it is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is also important to reflect on the fact that the Government, since we came to office, established the child poverty and well-being programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach and is at the heart of the Government, with cross-departmental responsibilities. The office is currently working on a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the remit of my Department there are a suite of income supports which include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes. Bereaved Partners (Contributory) Pension (BCP) is a weekly payment to the widow, widower, surviving civil partner or qualified cohabitant of a deceased person. The pension remains...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (2 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is acutely aware of the potential impacts of the projected demographic changes on social protection supports, particularly in relation to the funding of State pensions. My Department assesses all factors relating to the State pension system and its sustainability through Actuarial Reviews of the Social Insurance Fund - from which the State pension is paid.  An Actuarial...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (2 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the average time to process an appeal at the end of Quarter 2 2025 was 21.9 weeks.  The Chief Appeals Officer has put in place measures to help reduce the number of appeals on hand.  20 additional Appeals Officers were appointed in the period at the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025.  They are currently making appeal...