Results 21-40 of 15,364 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Yes.

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: There is a means test on all of our schemes to ensure that they are targeted. We are examining the means test separately from this issue at the moment. We have increased the thresholds considerably for one-parent family payments and will continue to do so in the coming budget. One-parent families will be a focus.

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I am not in a position to go into individual cases. Each individual case will be different, depending on the circumstances so I cannot give the Deputy a general ruling today but we have tried-----

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: We have tried in recent years to expand the income disregards for the one-parent family payment and that is something I am very focused on continuing to do during my time as Minister.

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The one-parent family payment is there so the Deputy cannot make a general remark to the effect that there is no payment. We have supports through the one-parent family payment and through other schemes in the Department.

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: There are other payments-----

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: There are other payments available. As I said, it is important to say that we are not taking it from existing claimants and there are other payments and supports available that were not available at the time when this was implemented back in 1996.

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputies O'Reilly and Wall. What we are trying to do here is to address an anomaly and ensure equality of treatment. To ensure equality of treatment in the case of a married couple who separate, a similar rule is going to apply to a relationship of qualified cohabitation. If the rules were left as they are, cohabiting couples would continue to be treated differently from separated...

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Not today. I always try to take on board points. I genuinely take on board anything that is coming but we have been through this with the Office of the Attorney General and we have been trying to keep consistency with regard to the anomalies highlighted in the judgment in the first place and correct them across the schemes. If we were to proceed without making these changes there would be...

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: We had a very good meeting with Treoir and FLAC. We were not able to come to agreement with FLAC on it. I will not commit to a formal meeting, as we want to get the Bill passed before the summer recess, but we will engage with them again. We had a very long meeting with them. It was a good meeting but I would be telling Deputy O'Reilly a lie if I said I thought there was prospect of...

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I move amendment No. 6: In page 5, lines 25 and 26, to delete "Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension) Act 2025" and substitute "Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2025".

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I am not in a position to accept these amendments. They would remove the ability of the Minister of the day to make a regulation relating to clarifying circumstances where a couple may have lived apart for more than two years due to medical circumstances. This definition is linked to the regulation-making power inserted into section 123A of the Act for the Minister of the day to consider...

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputies for the amendments. I do not propose to accept them. There are provisions in the Bill which remove the eligibility of those who are divorced to the bereaved partners contributory pension, as we have discussed. The Bill attempts to treat each cohort as equally as possible. That means the eligibility for bereaved partner's contributory pension would end on divorce,...

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I move amendment No. 23: In page 12, line 32, to delete “Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension) Act 2025” and substitute “Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2025”.

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I move amendment 24: In page 14, lines 24 and 25, to delete “Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension) Act 2025” and substitute “Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2025”.

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I move amendment No. 25: In page 20, after line 17, to insert the following: “PART 3 MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS TO PRINCIPAL ACT AND FAMILY COURTS ACT 2024 Invalidity Pension 19. The Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 113A— (i) in subsection (1) by the insertion of “, and subject to subsection (1A),” after “under this Chapter”, and (ii)...

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I move amendment No. 26 In page 20, after line 17, to insert the following: “Attendance at, and participation in, questioning of detained person by relevant officers during interview by member of An Garda Síochána 20. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 250B: “250C. (1)Where a member of An Garda...

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I move amendment No. 27: In page 20, after line 17, to insert the following: “Amendment of Family Courts Act 2024 21. Schedule 2 to the Family Courts Act 2024 is amended, in item 6— (a) insofar as it relates to the amendment of section 142A(4)(d)(ii)(I)(A) of the Principal Act, by the substitution of “Part III of the Child Care Act 1991, or” for...

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I will address both amendments. Once again, I wish to correct the record. I do not rule amendments out of order. We have had considerable engagement with all of the organisations in this space. I do not propose to accept the amendments. It is important that the changes we propose are allowed substantial time to bed in and any changes to the rights of qualified cohabitants are consistent...

Select Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (25 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I have no difficulty with reviews. I have committed that I will keep the committee informed but to put it in primary legislation in this instance, in the instance of a working scheme such as this, is unnecessary at this point. I will keep the committee informed and engaged with it about the implementation of this Bill. It is a Bill I myself intend to keep a close watch on and I know that...