Results 41-60 of 17,072 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy. I also thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for tabling the question and her engagement over recent days about the Fastway workers. All of our thoughts are with the workers affected by this receivership. It is very concerning for all of them and I assure Deputy Guirke that my Department's priority is to support all the workers who are affected and ensure they receive their...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: I am listening to concerns directly through the Deputy, Deputy Conway-Walsh and many other Deputies. I have met workers myself in my own constituency. That is why we have put the processes in place that have ensured 45 urgent needs payments have been made and 56 jobseeker's claims have been awarded. The offices are available to the Deputy to process any specific claims he has. I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputies O'Sullivan and O'Connor for the question. The programme for Government contains the commitment to abolish the means test for carers over the life of the Government. Budget 2026 increases the earnings disregard for carer's allowance by €375 to €1,000 per week for a single person and by €750 to €2,000 per week for a couple from July 2026. These...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: The context of the commitment in the programme for Government is to do it in a progressive manner as part of the annual budget process. We are still finalising budget 2026 in terms of passing the Bill and we have not given a huge focus to 2027 yet. In terms of abolishing the carer's allowance, the Department has estimated a cost of approximately €600 million. This is based on...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: I will revert to the Deputy on the first point regarding multiple people in a home. With regard to pay-related carer's benefit, and as Deputy O'Sullivan knows, we introduced a pay-related jobseeker's benefit earlier this year. I am waiting to do a full 12-month evaluation of the impact of this scheme. It will give me guidance on introducing it for carers and for parental leave. Once...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputy O'Sullivan and I acknowledge his ongoing engagement on this issue. In 2024, the Department's deciding officers and designated persons made almost 3.4 million appealable decisions. Of these, 174,000 claims were disallowed or rejected, representing 5% of all decisions, and 40,684 appeals were registered. This represents just over 1% of the overall total decisions. At current...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputies Ardagh and Daly for this question. DCA is a non-means-tested payment of €360 per month and is payable in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability. The child must require continuous care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. Applications for DCA are decided by a deciding officer on an individual...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: I have actually started the process of looking at all the forms in the Department. This entire office probably engages with all the forms on a daily basis. I would certainly like to get feedback from all the Deputies. We looked at the DCA form during the year. We engaged with DCA recipients and carers' advocacy groups, which improved the process. We provided additional information and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: We made a lot of changes in recent years to DCA. In fairness to the Department, there were 29,305 people receiving DCA in respect of 31,628 children in 2015. In 2024, there were 57,319 people receiving DCA in respect of 64,676 children. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that people have that support. We want to make further changes where possible. We have also expanded the payment...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: Our focus in this year's budget was on the fuel allowance, in terms of energy support, and on making permanent changes to it and extending it to people on the working-family payment. There are 55,000 families on that payment. We have also made changes in order that those on disability allowance who move from that to work will keep their fuel allowance for five years. That addresses some of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a suite of income supports to people with disabilities, including disability allowance, DA, blind pension, invalidity pension and partial capacity benefit. DA is a means-tested payment for people who are substantially restricted from working because of their disability. Invalidity pension is a weekly social insurance benefit payment made to people who are regarded as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is important to constantly keep all of the Department's schemes under review and also review what the demand factors are. Work is under way into what a permanent cost-of-disability payment will look like, both in terms of the level of that payment and those who will qualify for it. People's experience of disability is not uniform. There is a challenge in the context of ensuring that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Schemes (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: In relation to poverty, the cost-of-disability payment is going to be very focused on addressing that. As stated, there will be a need to make it as relevant as possible. I want to see us open up our imagination in the context of employment opportunities for people with disabilities and that we offer more opportunities in the digital space and in the creative space. That is why we have...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: What we have already done and what we are going to do over the course of Government is turn those one-off payments into permanent supports in a way that people can plan on a year-to-year basis. This year, as I have said, as a result of the weekly increase in the rate of payment relating to the domiciliary care allowance and the fuel allowance and other changes, there will be an extra...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: That is happening. As I said, from next year, €4 million per week extra will be going into permanent payments in various support and payment schemes for those with disabilities. The means test for the disability allowance has one of the highest capital disregards. A recipient can have up to €50,000 in savings and still receive the full rate of payment. During the debate...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Is tuairim shuimiúil é sin agus b’fhéidir go mbeimis in ann é a phlé. That is certainly an interesting idea. I commend the Ceann Comhairle's predecessor, Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, who did a huge amount of work to introduce people with disabilities into employment roles within the Oireachtas. On the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: We are very focused on that. As stated, there will be €4 million per week extra in payments and supports to the various schemes for people with disabilities. As discussed with Deputy Murphy, we are beginning the work on introducing a permanent cost-of-disability payment, as committed to in the programme for Government and I have begun the consultation process on doing that. I...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: Ireland is the last country in the OECD to introduce auto-enrolment. This is not a good thing. The only good thing about it is we can learn from other products and countries and look at what we need to change here to make sure we do not end up with their problems. We have looked closely at NEST, given its proximity to us. We will observe it and ensure, through NAERSA, which will be...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: That is exactly why we have established the structure of NAERSA, which is independent of the Department, with a very successful and experienced team of staff that we are building up now. It has an independent board that represents the interests of workers, employers and the public. Those kinds of operational decisions will be made by NAERSA. In relation to people exiting the scheme, it...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments (13 Nov 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy. As he said, the programme for Government commits to introducing a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment. We will introduce and incrementally increase this payment. These commitments will be advanced over the lifetime of the Government, having regard to the policy and budgetary context. In budget 2026, I provided for a €1.15 billion package of...