Results 841-860 of 15,365 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 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: Civil Registration Service (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Marriage notification requires that the data of both parties is entered on the Civil Registration Computer System (CRCS). In marriages of persons of the opposite sex the male party was traditionally listed first and the female party listed second. Marriage data is shared by my Department with CSO for the compilation of Vital Statistics, and listing the parties in this order was favoured by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 May 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, means test and the habitual residency conditions, I can confirm that my Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Treatment Benefit Scheme provides dental, optical, aural and hair replacement products and services to insured workers, the self-employed, retired people and their dependent spouse/partner who have the required number of social insurance (PRSI) contributions. To qualify, a person needs to have at least 260 PRSI contributions paid at either Class A, E, H, P or S since first starting...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (13 May 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. Last year, my Department published a review of the Wage Subsidy Scheme. The review made six recommendations, including to reduce the minimum required hours of the scheme, to regularly review the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: A review of means testing in the social protection system is ongoing in my Department. This is complex and detailed work but the review is currently being finalised and will be presented to me shortly. The outcome of the review will inform decisions regarding any potential changes to means testing, including in the run up to Budget 2026. All prospective changes to means testing...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (13 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 Department calculates waiting times for appeals measuring the time from when the appeal was registered to the latest decision...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 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 reports...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 801 and 818 together. The Government is very aware of the key role that family carers play in Irish society and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. The Carer's Allowance is the main scheme by which my department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently 99,421 people in receipt of Carer's Allowance....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Reviews (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Means tests and income thresholds are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes have been made in recent years. In particular, a number of changes to means testing which provide for higher income disregards have been introduced. These disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, a certain level of income from that work...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The number of persons with a Jobseeker's Allowance claim duration of 12 months or longer, by county, are shown in the attached table.  Note that casual Jobseekers who work up to 3 days a week while receiving Jobseeker's Allowance are excluded from the Figures.  Figures refer to the week ending 03 May 2025.  County Number of persons Carlow ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: In line with the Programme for Government committment, my Department is examining a new Working Age Payment which will ensure that individuals always see an increase in income when they work or take on additional hours. An outline of a proposed approach was previously published as part of the strawman consultation process on the introduction of new pay-related benefit. My Department will...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (13 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: Departmental Bodies (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department does not have any non-governmental organisations under its aegis. My Department does provide funding to a number of voluntary / non-governmental organisations, who provide information and wider social research on social welfare services and social policy in Ireland. The current recipients of funding are: Community Law and Mediation (CLM). The Irish National...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Bodies (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 807, 808, 809, 810, 811, 812, 813 and 814 together. My Department does not have any non-governmental organisations under its aegis.  My Department does provide funding to a number of voluntary / non-governmental organisations, who provide information and wider social research on social welfare services and social policy in Ireland. The current...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. Payments available to those over 66 include the State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-Contributory) and the Widows, Widowers and Surviving Civil Partners' Contributory Pension. The rate of primary and secondary payments to pensioners, and their adequacy, are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: To qualify for the Fuel Allowance payment aged over 66 a person must satisfy all relevant qualifying criteria including satisfy a means test. The means test ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment goes to those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty, including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own. A...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (13 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. When a person in receipt of CA has a qualified child who is 18 years of age or over in full-time day education, a child...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: The objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. There are now 2,850 primary schools participating in the Hot School Meals Programme for the current...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Childcare Services (13 May 2025)

Dara Calleary: Educational Sector Workers (ESWs) including those working in the Early Years Childcare Sector, 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...