Results 501-520 of 14,252 for speaker:Dara Calleary

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

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 904 and 905 together. Since its establishment, my Department has placed a strong emphasis on the development, publication and implementation of a range of strategic, stakeholder informed and evidence based policies. The development of a robust policy platform has focused the Department’s investment and drives progress in the areas of rural and...

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

Dara Calleary: For the period in question, 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024, 100% of videos posted on my Department’s social media accounts included closed captioning/subtitling with a view to making these more accessible. None of the videos included Irish sign language (ISL) translations. There are four agencies under my Department’s remit: the Western Development Commission, POBAL, Water...

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

Dara Calleary: I would like to reassure the Deputy that the schemes he refers to continue to be reviewed and revised in conjunction with stakeholders and in the context of the evolving needs of communities around the country. My Department's capital schemes operate on the basis of periodic ‘Calls for Proposals’. In advance of each call, the terms and conditions attached to each scheme are...

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

Dara Calleary: The provision of library services including new library buildings is primarily a matter for Local Authorities in their capacity as library authorities under the Local Government Act 2001. Notwithstanding this, in April 2024, I announced the new Libraries Capital Programme for the period 2023-2027, which will invest €22.6m in 11 state-of-the-art infrastructure projects and a further...

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

Dara Calleary: The Community Recognition Fund was first introduced in 2023 to recognise the huge efforts made by communities in welcoming and supporting people coming to Ireland. Through the 2023 allocation, funding of €50 million was approved for some 900 projects in cities, towns and villages nationwide. To further support communities, a further €50 million in funding under the Community...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Small and Medium Enterprises (25 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 912 to 914, inclusive, together. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the Irish economy, and the supports provided by Government recognise their importance. Such enterprises operate across every sector, often supporting larger enterprises in their activities. SMEs are also particularly important for rural areas, with many such companies...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Personal Public Service Numbers (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) is the unique reference number for transactions between individuals and Government Departments and other public service providers. It forms part of the Public Services Identity (PSI) data set. Verification of a person’s identity is carried out during the SAFE Registration process following which a  Public Services Card is issued.  A...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: Farm Assist is a statutory means-tested income support specifically for farmers on low incomes. There are approximately 3,500 claims in payment at present. The government has provided €46.99 million for the scheme in 2025. In line with many other means-tested social welfare schemes, the first €20,000 of capital is not assessed in the means test for Farm Assist. Based on the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department of Justice regularly notifies my Department with details of persons who are subject to deportation orders. The details are matched against social welfare records and if a person is in receipt of a payment, the scheme area is notified, and the payment is stopped. A person who is subject to a deportation order is considered not to satisfy the habitual residence condition as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Information and Communications Technology (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department operates a substantial network of more than 180 public offices nationwide and operates a very large national customer Contact Centre. My Department utilises SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) telephony technology to provide high-capacity concurrent telephone channels from customers into its national Contact Centre and network of offices. I have outlined the number of lines in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (20 Mar 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: State Pensions (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The person concerned reached pension age on 21 October 2016. An application for State Pension (contributory) was received on 27 September 2016. Under current eligibility conditions, an individual must have 520 full-rate contributions paid in the State to qualify for standard State Pension (contributory). 520 full-rate contributions equate to 10 years of full-rate insurable employment. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Insurance (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The person concerned has been in receipt of Disablement Benefit since 25 December 1987. Disablement Benefit is a compensatory payment for the loss of physical or mental faculty as a result of an occupational injury or prescribed occupational disease. Disablement Benefit is paid whether the recipient is engaged in full-time employment/self-employment or whether they are receiving social...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The full-year cost of increasing State Pension (Contributory) by €13 per week is €380.4 million. The full-year cost of increasing Disability Allowance by €13 per week is €120.2 million. The combined estimated annual cost of the two increases would €500.6 million. It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The full-year cost of increasing the island allowance by €4 from €20 to €24 per week is €0.13 million. It should be noted that this costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2025.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (20 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. An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 04 February 2025. The application was examined and CA...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (20 Mar 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 conditions. I can confirm that the Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Staff (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: The nature of the arrangement for consultancy in my Department is by way of contractual agreements and not by secondment. My Department does not have any secondments from consultancy firms.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (20 Mar 2025)

Dara Calleary: My department provides the Domiciliary Care Allowance which is a monthly non-means tested payment to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability and requires care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. From January 2025, the rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance increased from €340 to €360 per month....