Results 261-280 of 14,252 for speaker:Dara Calleary

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

Dara Calleary: Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. It is a condition for receipt of CA that the carer cannot be engaged in employment/self-employment or training/study....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 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, a means test and the habitual residency condition. I can confirm that the Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension (WCP) is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. The number of claimants, or recipients, who were separated or divorced before being widowed as requested by the Deputy are shown in the attached Table. It is important for the Deputy to note that while the Department does hold records...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Meetings (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I have held two Minister/Management Board meetings since I took office as Minister for Social Protection. The details and attendees of both these meetings are outlined below. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. Minister/Management Board Meetings Year Date Attendance Other Attendees 2025 20th February ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a suite of income supports. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes. Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension (WCP) is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. The pension remains payable while you...

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

Dara Calleary: The Living Alone Increase is a weekly payment, which is not means tested. The Living Alone Increase is an additional payment made each week to persons who live alone and are in receipt of certain Social Protection payments. These payments include recipients, 66 or over, of State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s, or Surviving Civil...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Urban Development (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 351 and 352 together. Launched in 2022, the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. TCF supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland by setting out a framework to facilitate and resource the regeneration of Irish towns...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Since 2018, the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP) and its iterations has provided almost €59 million in funding to over 26,000 community and voluntary projects throughout the country. In 2023, the CEP was replaced by the Local Enhancement Programme (LEP). The LEP 2025 was launched last November with €7 million available to assist thousands of community groups across the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Charitable and Voluntary Organisations (2 Apr 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. The Charities Regulator is fully independent in the performance of its...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 355 and 356 together. The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) supports improving non-public 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. Since 2017, Carlow has been allocated €4.38 million, and Kilkenny...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Meetings (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Following my appointment on 23rd January 2025 I was provided with detailed written briefing on my Department and held a number of meetings with Management Board members and senior officials on that briefing. The first Ministerial Management Board took place on 27th February 2025 and was attended by all Management Board members, my advisor, Minister of State Buttimer and his advisor, and two...

Support for Householders, Businesses and Farmers Affected by Storm Éowyn: Motion [Private Members] (1 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: That is covered.

Support for Householders, Businesses and Farmers Affected by Storm Éowyn: Motion [Private Members] (1 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I move: To delete all the words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "commends the rapid response by local authorities, Electricity Supply Board (ESB) Networks, Uisce Éireann, Community Welfare Officers, Department of Social Protection staff and others, following Storm Éowyn, and this response, supported by the Defence Forces, Government agencies, Civil...

Confidence in the Ceann Comhairle: Motion (1 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Were this vote to succeed this evening and the Ceann Comhairle to lose the confidence of the House, a new Ceann Comhairle would have to be elected. We all have to ask ourselves, had anyone else sat in that Chair last Tuesday, would it have been different? It would not, because what happened was definitely orchestrated, organised and determined. The criticisms that are being made of the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Disability Services (1 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a number of income supports for people with a disability who are of working age. These include Disability Allowance, Blind Pension and Invalidity Pension. Both Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are means tested social assistance schemes, while Invalidity Pension is a social insurance based scheme. These are part of the suite of working age payments. This...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Fuel Poverty (1 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The criteria for Fuel Allowance are in place to direct the limited resources available to my department in as targeted a manner as possible. This ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment goes to those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty. While my Department's schemes are reviewed on an ongoing basis, any further decision to amend the qualifying criteria for Fuel Allowance, including...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (1 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS), administered by my department through the Community Welfare Service (CWS), was activated on 23 January 2025 to assist householders affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. According to the records of the Department, the person concerned applied for a HAS payment on 03/03/2025. I am pleased to advise you that the customer has been awarded...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: State Pensions (1 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a number of income supports for people with a disability who are of working age. These include Disability Allowance, Blind Pension and Invalidity Pension. Both Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are means tested social assistance schemes, while Invalidity Pension is a social insurance based scheme. These are part of the suite of working age payments. In...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Schemes (1 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS), administered by my department through the Community Welfare Service (CWS), was activated on 23 January 2025 to assist householders affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. According to the records of my Department, the person concerned applied for a HAS stage 1 payment to assist with the additional costs incurred as a result of Storm...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Disability Services (1 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,...