Results 961-980 of 14,473 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Offices (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: For context, the average time taken to process an appeal in 2024 was 23.5 weeks. That jumped from 16 weeks in 2023. The average processing time for an appeal dealt with summarily in 2024 was 24.5 weeks, which, again, was an increase on 2023. As of 31 January last, the current processing times for social welfare appeals is 19.4 weeks. We are beginning to make progress. I will be very...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I take this opportunity to officially congratulate the Deputy on his election. Spending on income supports for carers by the Department of Social Protection is expected to amount to over €1.9 billion this year. The carer’s allowance scheme is the main scheme by means of which my Department provides income support to carers in the community. In 2025, the expenditure on the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I assure the Deputy that we will continue the work of recent Governments in terms of supporting the work of carers, which we feel is very important. We have already discussed this morning the increases in the income disregard, the weekly increase to carer's allowance and carer's benefit and the increase in the carer's support grant. Since January, the carer's allowance is now included as...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I absolutely acknowledge the work of carers, which we see at first hand, and that is why it is also important we acknowledge the extent of the improvements the previous Government brought in for carers over recent years. We introduced the long-term carer's contribution scheme in January 2024, which allows a person who has been a full-time carer for an incapacitated dependant for 20 years or...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Absolutely. Carers' work is extraordinary and there is also the benefit of having somebody remain at home. Leaving aside the financial sides of things, having somebody remain at home is much better for their long-term recovery and long-term living. In the context of budgetary discussions, we will review all the figures. I will engage with the carers' organisations but also with the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis as a bheith tofa agus ar a leanbh nua i gCill Dara. Comhghairdeas leis féin agus lena bhean chéile agus guím gach rath orthu. A newborn baby grant of €280 was announced in last year's budget to be paid to families of babies born on or after 1 December 2024. This grant is paid alongside, but in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Grant Payments (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy. As I look around, I think that, apart from the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I am the longest serving Deputy in this House, and on every day of those 18 years, I have heard references to trying to make ours a family-friendly Oireachtas, although we seem to be going further away from that. Even so, a lot of work has been done in respect of parental leave for Members of the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: No one has an exclusive concern for carers. The last Government did a great deal of work in increasing the income disregard and the carer’s support grant. I intend to engage with all the carers organisations around that. I am very focused on the work they do and the burden they face on a daily basis. There is a commitment in the programme for Government that we will phase out the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy and congratulate him on his election. I look forward to working with him. In November 2023, the Department of Social Protection published a report on the inclusion of long Covid in the occupational injuries benefit regulations. This report concluded that Covid-19 did not satisfy the statutory criteria for recognition as an occupational illness or accident at work....

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: My own Department has 78 people in receipt of illness benefit with a Covid-related certification. Covid-related claims account for 0.6% of all illness benefit claims that were awarded so far this year. As well as illness benefit, my Department provides an invalidity pension and a disability allowance scheme for those who cannot work due to an illness or disability. That includes those who...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The temporary scheme of paid leave for public health service employees was identified in the report my Department published in November 2023 as the appropriate channel to target specific supports for employees in our health services. That scheme is being dealt with by the Minister for public expenditure. He has extended it. I will bring the Deputy’s concerns to him about its future...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy and congratulate him and welcome him back to the House. Carer’s allowance is an important income support for people who have caring responsibilities. That is clear from the fact that there are nearly 99,000 people in receipt of the payment and expenditure on the scheme in 2025 is estimated to be over €1.24 billion. In common with other welfare payments...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Widow's Pension (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I do not have that specific figure but I will seek to provide it to the Deputy. The analysis carried out by my Department anticipates that there will be 500 new cohabitant recipients expected annually in the initial years, with an annualised cost of approximately €50 million. It is difficult to predict those numbers with certainty. It is the Department's intention, once we have...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Widow's Pension (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I do not want to create an expectation that the Department will not be able to meet. While I understand where people are at, our hands our tied to the 22 January 2024 judgment date. However, there are other supports that we may be in a position to make available to families in this situation and we will look at those. However, in relation to the specific payment and backdating, I am...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The carer’s allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently 98,311 people in receipt of carer's allowance. Expenditure on the scheme in 2025 is estimated at over €1.24 billion. The primary objective of the carer's allowance payment is to provide an income support to people whose earning capacity is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Code (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: We have been clear that we will increase the income disregards for carer's allowance in each budget. It is our intention to phase out the means test during the lifetime of this Government. We were clear on that in the programme for Government and I am clear on it as Minister for Social Protection. I value the work of carers, which is incredibly important, but I would be wrong to say we...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Widow's Pension (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I congratulate the Deputy on her new role and wish her well. I look forward to working with all Deputies in my role in the Department of Social Protection. Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner’s contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. However, as...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Widow's Pension (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I absolutely agree that grief does not distinguish, including in the circumstances we are discussing. Under the draft legislation, it is proposed that a person who becomes eligible for the scheme will be able to claim, irrespective of the date of death of his or her partner. It is also proposed that the claims will be backdated to the date of the judgment, which is 22 January 2024, that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Widow's Pension (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I would not like to create an expectation. I want to be very careful. People are going through enough without me creating false expectations. We will look at the kinds of cases involved and the figures to see whether there is some way forward. I do not have any flexibility regarding the date of backdating, which is the date of the judgment. However, I want to try to be flexible. People...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Widow's Pension (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I congratulate the Deputy on his election to this House. I look forward to working with him. The State has always distinguished in a number of its laws between the rights of couples whose relationship is formalised in a marriage or civil partnership and the rights of other couples whose relationship is not formally registered. There was a backdrop to that in regard to succession,...