Results 681-700 of 15,365 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office 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 Appeals (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office 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 Eligibility (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Carer’s Support Grant (CSG) is an annual payment made to full-time carers who satisfy certain conditions. The person claiming the CSG must:Be aged 16 or over and ordinarily resident in this State.Care for the person on a full-time basis.Care for the person for a continuous period of at least six months – this period must include the first Thursday in June.Live with the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (21 May 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 21 January 2025. It is a necessary condition for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: State Pensions (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The person concerned reached pension age on 2 June 2023. An application for State Pension (contributory) was received on 21 October 2024. The person concerned was awarded the maximum rate of the state pension (contributory) with effect from 21 April 2024 which included the standard six months backdating from the date of receipt of the application. Following receipt of medical evidence, it...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet expenses that an eligible person cannot pay from their weekly income. The ANP scheme is demand led and administered by Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) in the Community Welfare Service (CWS), taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Regeneration Projects (21 May 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 Schemes (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 194 and 195 together. My Department administers a large number of schemes and programmes that support communities, community groups and organisations around the country, however it does not provide supports to individuals or households directly. Detailed information on all schemes and programmes, including details on eligibility criteria, the values of funds...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways, blueways and mountain access routes in rural areas. Last year, funding of over €20.3 million was announced for 221 projects under measures 1, 2 and 3 of the 2023 ORIS scheme. Almost €900,000 was...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Launched in 2022, the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. TCF supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland by setting out a framework to facilitate and resource the regeneration of Irish towns to ensure they are vibrant, viable places to live, work,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme over €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects. Of this more than €7 million has been allocated to 72 projects in County Laois. In April 2024, funding of...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (21 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Funding was awarded in December 2021 to 26 towns to draft and complete Town Centre First (TCF) Town Plans. These towns were nominated by local authorities and Kerry County Council nominated Milltown. The agreed delivery timeframe for completion of these Town Plans was within 12 to 18 months of the announcement of the Minister. A condition attached to the €100,000 funding awarded...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (20 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Government recognises the additional costs associated with having a disability and is committed to improving outcomes for disabled people. The Government has prioritised the development of a new National Disability Strategy, a cross-governmental strategy that will have a focus on improving access to services and bringing down these extra costs. That work is led by the Department of...

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

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office 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. The Annual Report of the Chief Appeals Officer is published each year and includes the detailed information requested. The...

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

Dara Calleary: In November 2022 the European Commission made a non-binding recommendation on the recognition of COVID-19 as an occupational disease. The Commission did not make a recommendation in relation to Long COVID. Recognition as an occupational disease confers different entitlements in different Member States, with employers paying the compensation in some countries and social insurance systems...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Paternity Leave (20 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality has responsibility for family leaves, while my Department has responsibility for the associated benefits. Paternity Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed parents who are on Paternity Leave from work and who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It is paid for two weeks at €289 per week, the same rate as...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (20 May 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 3 March 2025. It is a condition for receipt of CA...

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

Dara Calleary: Section 8 of the Social Welfare & Pensions (No 2) Act, 2009 provided for a statutory limitation on the return of PRSI contributions made in error – on refund applications made from 1 January 2010. This Section provides that the PRSI refund application must be made within 4 years of the last day of the contribution year in respect of which contributions concerned were paid. ...

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

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office 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. Appeals are not processed on a geographical basis. The waiting times for appeals are calculated measuring the time from when the...

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

Dara Calleary: Deserted Wife’s Benefit is a social protection payment made to women who were deserted by their husbands. One of the conditions for entitlement to Deserted Wife’s Benefit payment is permanent residence in the state. The scheme allows for payment in respect of a period abroad in certain limited situations. Reasonable absences of up to a maximum of 3 weeks outside the State...