Results 721-740 of 15,365 for speaker:Dara Calleary

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

Dara Calleary: A community welfare officer is at Higher Executive Officer (HEO) civil service grade. The cost of the annual rate of the entry point of the HEO payscale is €58,264. Recruitment of HEOs is carried out via large-scale recruitment competitions both internally and via PublicJobs and therefore the cost of recruiting a single community welfare officer is not available.

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

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 623 and 625 together. The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €400 million in 2025. At the end of December 2024, 413,934 households were in receipt of the Fuel Allowance payment. Based on similar numbers of households qualifying...

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

Dara Calleary: As of the 30th April 2025, the number of part-time, seasonal, casual and short-time workers in receipt of Jobseeker’s benefit requested by the Deputy is 5,015.

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

Dara Calleary: Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly in-work support which provides an income support for employees on low earnings with children. To qualify for Working Family Payment, the customer must be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment and have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them. The number of customers currently in receipt of...

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

Dara Calleary: The number of people in receipt of Disability Allowance, Blind Pension and Invalidity Pension at the end of April 2025 is set out in the table below. There is no recipients of a combination of schemes as there is no entitlement to do so. Scheme: Number of recipients: Disability Allowance 169,152 Blind Pension 924 ...

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

Dara Calleary: The cost of extending the One-Parent Family Payment by five years, until the youngest child reaches age 12, is difficult to accurately estimate as it is challenging to predict the future movement of customers into and between schemes and the subsequent cost implications relating to secondary benefits. Some people whose youngest child is aged between 7 and 12 may be in receipt of...

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

Dara Calleary: As part of Budget 2025 last October, the rate of payment for the Carer's Support Grant was increased from the level of €1,850 paid in June last year by €150 to €2,000, which will be paid next month. The estimated full-year cost of increasing the Carer's Support Grant by a further €50, from €2,000 to €2,050, is €8.2 million. This costing is...

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

Dara Calleary: The State Pension (Contributory) (SPC) is funded from the Social Insurance Fund through the contributions paid by workers. The rate of payment reflects the number of social insurance contributions paid over a working life. Eligibility for SPC is based on a number of criteria:Being aged 66 or over.Having entered the Social Insurance system 10 years before you intend to drawdown your...

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

Dara Calleary: The estimated cost of a once off €50 payment to all recipients of the Carer’s Support Grant, Carer’s Benefit and Carer’s Allowance is €7.5 million. Please note that recipients of both Carer's Allowance and Carer's Benefit automatically qualify for the standard Carer's Support Grant payment, paid annually in June. This costing is based on the estimated...

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

Dara Calleary: My Department administers several schemes that could be considered State Pension Payments. I have listed below in tabular form the current rates for those pensions and the number of recipients at the end of April 2025. Scheme Name Recipients at end of April 2025 Current Maximum Weekly Rate Estimated Yearly Cost of Increasing Payment by €1 per week ...

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

Dara Calleary: Age-related rates apply to 18 to 24 year old's in receipt of the means-tested Jobseeker's Allowance scheme and do not apply to Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit or Jobseeker’s Benefit. The standard maximum weekly rates under the benefit schemes are €450 and €244 respectively subject to previous earnings and PRSI contributions. Age-related reduced rates on Jobseeker's...

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

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Service is a Service 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 Chief Appeals Officer has advised me that an appeal for this customer was received on the 16th of April 2024 and due to a...

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

Dara Calleary: Educational Sector Workers (ESWs), including school bus drivers, who wish to avail of income support while temporarily laid-off during the school breaks can apply for a jobseeker’s payment. They must satisfy all the qualifying conditions to receive a payment. This includes completing the relevant claim application forms and supporting documentation a in a timely manner while also...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Animal Breeding (20 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has overall policy responsibility for the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010. The Act provides a robust regulatory framework for the licensing, monitoring and inspection of dog breeding establishments by local authorities and, where a serious and immediate threat exists to public health or animal health and welfare, for the closure of such establishments. The day to day...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (20 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Last August, €16.4 million was approved to deliver 185 community projects across the country under the first tranche of the Community Recognition Fund (CRF) 2024. On 24th February, I approved over €14 million to deliver 164 projects across the country for the second tranche. The closing date for the third and final tranche has now passed and I expect to be announcing the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (20 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Last August, €16.4 million was approved to deliver 185 community projects across the country under the first tranche of the Community Recognition Fund (CRF) 2024 . On 24th February, I approved over €14 million to deliver 164 projects across the country under the second tranche of that scheme. The closing date for the third and final tranche has now passed and I expect to be...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (20 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. TVRS is administered through local authorities, who work closely with local communities and businesses to develop proposals that will bring long-lasting, positive impacts to rural towns and villages. The 2025 Town and...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (20 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, water-based recreation sites and mountain trails. The table at the link below provides detail on the amount of funding granted through local authorities under ORIS in each year from 2020 to 2024. This information...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Programmes (20 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The current LEADER Programme runs to 2027 and is now up and running across the country. It supports a broad range of enterprises and community groups to develop projects which improve the quality of life and economic activity in rural areas. It is delivered through Local Action Groups (LAGs) across rural Ireland, facilitating a community-led, bottom-up approach to rural development. The...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Programmes (20 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The CLÁR Programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation over a defined period. Between 2020 and 2024, almost €42 million was awarded through local authorities for over 1000 projects nationwide under the CLÁR programme. Applications...