Results 721-740 of 16,746 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Communications (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the social security arrangements between Ireland and the United Kingdom, the respective authorities exchange social insurance record details for long-term and short-term benefit claims. If a UK social insurance record is required, a request is sent via an electronic platform used across EU/EEA/UK, that has been approved for the transfer of social insurance records. Requests...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Communications (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: This parliamentary question is appropriate to the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment and not the Minister for Social Protection.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: In August 2023, my Department published a review of the Reasonable Accommodation Fund and Disability Awareness Support Scheme. The report made nine recommendations to merge the two schemes into a single, flexible scheme and to expand and improve the supports offered under the new scheme. In July 2024, the new Work and Access scheme was launched. Work and Access offers seven supports to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a key disability employment support. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to people with disabilities through a subsidy. As of August 2025, there are 1,542 employers availing of the Wage Subsidy Scheme and 2,544 employees are supported through the scheme. Last year, my Department published a review of the Wage...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Strategies (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is committed to working to remove barriers to employment for people with disabilities. Intreo Employment Service (ES) provide a wide range of supports to assist jobseekers, including those with a disability, to find work.  Intreo ES also provides recruitment advice and support for employers including information on recruitment and retention incentives. Intreo ES...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Workers, including those who do not have year-long contracts, who are not paid for holidays and who wish to avail of income support while temporarily laid-off can apply for a jobseeker’s payment. The person applying must satisfy all the qualifying conditions to receive a payment. This includes completing the relevant claim application forms and providing supporting documentation in a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Government acknowledges the key role that family carers play in Irish society and remains committed to supporting them. In July, the weekly income disregard for Carer's Allowance increased from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner.  This change broadens access to the scheme, allowing more carers to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Statistics on claim processing are collated at scheme level, and it is not possible to provide breakdowns by individual claim characteristics such as county or specific location. In 2023 a total of 22,633 applications for Carer's Allowance were registered in Ireland, while this figure was 23,303 in 2024.  In 2023 a total of 17,333 Carer's Allowance claims were awarded while this...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly payment in Ireland for a child under 16 with a severe disability.  The average weeks to award for Domiciliary Care Allowance claims was 6 weeks in both 2023 and 2024.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Statistics on recipients of social welfare schemes are collated by county, and it is not possible to break down those statistics further by location.  The number of recipients of Disability Allowance in county Dublin at the end of 2023 was 38,513; at the end of 2024 was 39,707; and end July 2025 was 40,477, respectively.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Statistics on recipients of social welfare schemes are collated by county, and it is not possible to break down those statistics further by location. The number of persons in receipt of fuel allowance in County Dublin for 2023 and 2024 is shown below.  These figures are as of 31 December of each year.  Note that these figures refer to the number of individual persons in receipt of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1442, 1443 and 1444 together. My Departments disability related social assistance schemes are Disability Allowance and Blind Pension.  Disability Allowance is a means-tested payment for people with a specified disability who are aged between 16 and 66.  Blind Pension is a social assistance scheme for people who are blind or visually impaired, it is...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department's CLÁR programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas. The closing date for receipt of applications under CLÁR 2025 has now passed for all measures. My officials are assessing the applications received, including an application submitted from the group referenced by the Deputy. I...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Irish Language (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is committed to promoting and supporting the Irish language outside of the Gaeltacht. In this context, a fund known as ‘Scéimeanna Tacaíochta Gaeilge’ (‘Irish Language Support Schemes’) is in place for many years now with the aim of fostering and promoting the Irish language outside the Gaeltacht. The projects for which funding has been...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was introduced in 2016 and has to date allocated over €177 million to almost 1,800 projects nationally. The scheme, which sees local authorities work with communities throughout the country, primarily targets funding at rural towns and villages with populations of less than 10,000 people. The 2025 Scheme, which was launched in March,...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Programmes (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF) has provided approximately €110 million since 2022 for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of new centres. I am committed to delivering further iterations of the scheme in the coming years in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government for this to become a permanent rolling...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Our Rural Future, the national rural development policy recognises the importance of the fisheries and marine sectors in supporting the economic sustainability of our coastal and island communities. The policy contains a number of measures to support these sectors, and recent initiatives include the launch by my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, of the Fisheries...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Housing Schemes (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The annual Rural Youth Assembly was established in 2021 under a commitment in Our Rural Future as an important forum to hear the views of young people on various issues of importance to them. It is hosted by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, in partnership with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) and the National Participation...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Seirbhísí Oileán (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: Mar is eol don Teachta, aistríodh freagracht na n-oileán chuig an Roinn Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail in 2020. Is iad na seirbhísí laethúla farantóireachta, lastas trom agus aeir chuig na hoileáin is mó a mhaoinítear as an gcistíocht reatha. Cinntíonn an mhaoiniú seo gur féidir le pobail na n-oileáin theacht ar...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Data (8 Sep 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Town and Village Renewal Scheme 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 across Ireland. The 2025 Scheme was launched in March 2025 and places particular emphasis on projects that have a renewed focus...