Results 341-360 of 15,366 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides two main payment options for its customers: payment in cash at post offices (EIT) or payment directly into customer accounts by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). The payment options a person may avail of depends on the payment they are receiving, for example, Jobseeker payments for people who are fully unemployed are only paid at the post office whereas pensions may be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is a service 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 Payments (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is a new social insurance income support which has replaced the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme for people who have become fully unemployed since 31 March 2025. On 31 March 2025, there were almost 10,730 claims awarded. Jobseeker's Benefit payment rates are based on income bands which can result in significant differences in benefit payments for those near the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is a new social insurance income support which has replaced the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme for people who have become fully unemployed since 31 March 2025. Under the Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit scheme, the weekly rate of payment for a person with at least 5 years paid PRSI contributions is set at 60% of previous earnings, up to a maximum of €450...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has been in touch with Deputy Graves and, due to the complexity of the question and the time constraints involved, the Deputy has agreed to accept the response at a later date outside of the PQ process.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The aim of Community Employment (CE) is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and unemployed persons by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities. In addition, it helps long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return-to-work routine. The Deputy may wish to note...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The total number of medical assessors employed by my department is 35 (32 FTE). The total number of number of referrals received by the department for medical assessments to date in 2025 is 45,850. The average number of medical opinions processed for 2025 to date is 40,481 and breakdown of weekly opinions process ranges from 1354 to 2179 per week. The time involved in medical...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The total number of medical assessors employed by my department is 35 (32 FTE). The total number of number of referrals received by the department for medical assessments to date in 2025 is 45,850. The average number of medical opinions processed for 2025 to date is 40,481 and breakdown of weekly opinions process ranges from 1354 to 2179 per week. The time involved in medical...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Carer’s Support Grant (CSG) is an annual payment for carers who look after a person in need of full-time care and attention. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means but is subject to the same caring conditions as Carer’s Allowance (CA). CA recipients automatically qualify for the Carer's Support Grant on the first Thursday in June each year where they have an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The main legislative provisions determining whether a person is a qualified adult are Sections 2(2) and 3(11) of Part 1 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005, as amended, and Articles 6, 7 and 8 in Statutory Instrument (S.I.) 142 (Claims, Payment and Control Regulations) of 2007, as amended. Article 7 specifies the income limits in order to be regarded as a qualified adult for social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (11 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The scheme operates from June to September each year. To qualify for the allowance a person must meet a number of conditions, namely: The child must meet the age criteria,The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. It is paid at €140 per month, with twins being paid at €210 per child and triplets being paid at €280 per child. Child...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Poverty (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is not proposed to establish a new departmental team to address child poverty in my Department. The One Parent and Child Income Policy Unit and the Social Inclusion Division within my Department, together with the Hot School Meals Team, work in close cooperation on policies and measures to address child poverty. In addition, the Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Office was...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a range of employment support schemes for jobseekers aged between 18 and 66 and others in receipt of certain social welfare payments to avail of training or employment opportunities and improve their access from social welfare to sustainable employment. The Back to Education Allowance provides income support for customers in receipt of certain social welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The estimated annual cost of increasing disability allowance, invalidity pension and blind pension by €1 is €12.4m. It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and the associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients. It should also be noted that these costings include proportionate increases for qualified adults...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The total estimated cost of increasing the Child Support Payment (formerly known as the Increase for Qualified Child or IQC) for children aged 12 years and over by €1 is €4.22 million. This increases the weekly rate from €62 to €63 per week. This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2025, and is subject to change in light of emerging...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The estimated cost of increasing the Child Support Payment (formerly the Increase for a Qualified Child) for children under 12 years by €1, from €50 to €51 per week, is €11.23m. The above costing is on a full year basis and is based on the estimated number of recipients in 2025. It should be noted that this costing is subject to change in the context of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is important to note that the State Pension age was never 65 years of age. The State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Non-Contributory) were never paid at 65 years of age. Reducing the State Pension age to 65 years would increase pension related expenditure significantly. While my Department does not have a detailed actuarial analysis of this option, a high-level estimate of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The State Pension (Contributory) (SPC) is funded from the Social Insurance Fund through the contributions paid by workers. The rate of payment reflects the number of social insurance contributions paid over a working life. Eligibility for SPC is based on a number of criteria:Being aged 66 or over.Having entered the Social Insurance system 10 years before you intend to drawdown your...