Results 341-360 of 15,374 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Protection Issues: Minister for Social Protection (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Will the Senator email me the details regarding partial capacity benefit? We will engage with her on that, particularly with regard to her experience in the sector. On auto-enrolment, we have just completed the procurement process for the investment advisers. We have selected three from a very competitive procurement process: Irish Life; Amundi, a French company; and BlackRock. We have...

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Protection Issues: Minister for Social Protection (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I do not think there is any evidence the Department was aware of this and did not act. We now have a special unit within the Department focusing on many of these cases. It is dealing with all of the cases. It is complex, involving going through records, including individual pay records, and how they were contracted and dealing with their employers. It is an area that I have been briefed on...

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Protection Issues: Minister for Social Protection (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: We operate the General Register Office. To be clear, the policy responsibility does not lie with this Department; it lies with the Department of children and equality.

Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Protection Issues: Minister for Social Protection (11 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Cathaoirleach, the clerk to the committee and the team.

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

Dara Calleary: To qualify for the Fuel Allowance payment a person must satisfy all relevant qualifying criteria including satisfying a means test. The means test ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment goes to those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty, including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own. The...

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

Dara Calleary: My Department's Oireachtas contact details was circulated to all members on 14th February 2025. I have arranged for a copy to be recirculated to the Deputy's office.

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

Dara Calleary: My Department has no record of capital projects for IT services with a contract value in excess of €1 million that failed to reach completion.

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

Dara Calleary: The capital allocation for my Department is primarily used to deliver IT modernisation and carry out refurbishments on the Department’s buildings. Neither my Department nor the bodies under its aegis had contracts valued in excess of €5 million that ran over cost in 2023.

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...