Results 481-500 of 14,252 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 529 and 530 together. There is no scheme in place to support beneficiaries of temporary protection, international protection applicants or indeed any persons solely for car repairs, however under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet essential expenditure which an eligible...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Mar 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. Means are any income belonging to the carer and their spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, property, (except their own...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 533 to 535, inclusive, together. Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. The payment is available to anyone who needs it and qualifies, whether the person is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age. The level of that disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 consecutive...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: Prior to 6 April 1995, civil and public servants did not have access to the full range of social insurance benefits as their terms of employment protected them against the main contingencies of illness and old age, and the risk of unemployment was not considered a factor due to the nature of their employment. Civil and public sector employees recruited prior to 6 April 1995 pay social...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Regeneration Projects (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) provides funding for the development and construction of large scale capital projects in towns, villages and rural areas across Ireland. Funding is allocated to local authorities and other State-funded bodies, who take the lead role in individual projects. I can confirm that in September 2024, Kerry County Council was granted Approval in...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Official Engagements (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The period around Saint Patrick's Day provides a unique opportunity to promote Ireland around the world, connect with the 70 million people around the world of Irish descent, and celebrate Ireland’s international connections and partnerships. As part of the Government’s programme of international travel for Saint Patrick's Day, Minister Jerry Buttimer travelled to New...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Regeneration Projects (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department supports community facilities and spaces across the country through a range of interventions, particularly the Community Centre investment Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Community Recognition Fund and the LEADER programme. Based on information provided to my officials by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, I understand that local...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a range of financial supports to communities across a broad suite of programmes, and many of these programmes have provided important supports to community halls across the country in recent years. Under the Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF), my Department has provided funding of over €4.5 million towards the refurbishment of 66 community halls within...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: Applications for the delivery and upgrade of playgrounds are welcome under a number of schemes operated by my Department such as the CLÁR Programme, the LEADER programme, and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. The CLÁR programme provides funding for small-scale projects in rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population. It supports a wide range of...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department operates a large number of grant schemes that are available to community and rural groups throughout the country. These schemes include LEADER, the Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF), the Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS), the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS), CLÁR, the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) and the Community Services Programme (CSP). Full...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has a number of capital programmes designed to support community groups with capital funding towards the renovation and upgrade of community halls and theatres. The Community Centre Investment Fund provides funding towards capital costs for the refurbishment of community centres and other community facilities, such as theatres, that are open to and used by a broad range of...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Public Procurement Contracts (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: In line with the Office of Government Procurement’s guidance (Public Procurement Guidelines for Goods and Services), and the procurement thresholds within that guidance, my Department maintains a register of all contracts with a value of over €25,000 (exclusive of VAT) entered into each year. The table below provides the information requested by the Deputy, based on that...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Bodies (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: There are two bodies under the remit of my Department which are quasi-judicial in nature. The Charities Regulatory Authority (the ‘Charities Regulator’) was established in October 2014 pursuant to the Charities Act 2009. The Charities Regulator is the State organisation responsible for registering and regulating all of Ireland’s charities, and, where necessary,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Legislative Programme (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Dog Control Stakeholder Group established by my Department in 2024 have been tasked with considering the policy and legislative matters currently under the remit of my Department, specifically the Dog Control Acts and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act. The stakeholder group meet regularly and the work of the group is wide ranging and complex in nature. The group's remit includes...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Library Projects (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) is a strategic capital investment fund that is key to the delivery of Ireland's rural development policy, Our Rural Future 2021-2025. RRDF provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages and rural areas across Ireland. Funding is allocated to local authorities and other State-funded bodies, who...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Contracts (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has not had any contracts with the company referenced in 2024 and to date in 2025.

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: As with other schemes of my Department, the Community and Voluntary Pillar (C&V Pillar) funding scheme is kept under continuous review. Notwithstanding this, over the last twelve months officials at my Department have engaged with members of the C&V pillar, both as a group and bilaterally, regarding the need to consider options for the future of the scheme. Department officials will...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Dormant Accounts Fund (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The main purpose of the Dormant Accounts Acts is to reunite account holders with their funds. Unclaimed funds are transferred to the Dormant Accounts Fund, which is managed by the National Treasury Management Agency. The beneficial owner has a right to reclaim their money at any time. Legislation governing Dormant Accounts established an administrative framework within which Departments...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 902, 903 and 907 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. In April 2024, €40 million in funding was announced for LIS...