Results 81-100 of 15,374 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department administers over 100 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. We are committed to ensuring that members of the public are fully aware of the welfare supports and services that are available to them. Public information campaigns, including advertising on digital and social media platforms, are an important part of this work. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit was introduced at the end of March this year. This new social insurance-based income support has replaced the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme for people who have become fully unemployed since the commencement of the scheme on 31 March, in line with the statutory conditions for the scheme. A commencement date is required for the introduction of any new...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Funding (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 577 and 578 together. My Department has no role in relation to the provision of reasonable accommodations or disability equality training in the public sector workplace. That is a matter for the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation and/or individual public sector organisations. My Department provides a...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 579 and 580 together. Disability Allowance is a long-term social assistance scheme for people who are aged between 16 and 66 with an injury, disease or disability that has continued, or may be expected to continue, for at least one year and, as a result of this disability, the person is substantially restricted in undertaking work that would otherwise be...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Disability Services (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 581, 582, 583 and 584 together. My Department has a commitment to an annual level of control reviews and operates an ongoing continuous schedule of control and review activity for scheme recipients, including those in receipt of disability or pension payments. The objective is to ensure that customers continue to receive their correct rate of payment over...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Inquiries (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The role of the Scope section is to make statutory decisions on insurability of employment under social welfare legislation. Scope decisions are based on all available evidence, including a report from a social welfare inspector in a local area where required. Scope section has requested the inspectorate to expedite the necessary enquiries. Depending on the complexity of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Projects (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has no infrastructure project being built or commissioned that is currently late in delivery or over budget.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office 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. 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 Benefits (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office 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. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Household Benefits Package comprises of an electricity or gas allowance, and a free television licence. Only one Household Benefits Package is payable per household. The payment is made on a monthly basis. The package is generally available to people living in the State aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment, or who satisfy a means test. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: State Pension (contributory) payments issue weekly on a Friday to those who opt to have their pension paid to a post office; to an Irish account in a financial institution; or by cheque posted to an Irish residence. For those who opt to get paid to a foreign account in a financial institution or by cheque to a foreign address, these payments issue every four weeks on a standard schedule. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office 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 put in place measures to deal with the increase in appeals received during 2024. 20 Appeals...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Any decision to further extend the over 70 Free Travel Companion Pass Budget 2025 measure to holders of a Free Travel Pass aged under 70 who are single and widowed persons, would require additional funding for the Free Travel scheme and would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations. Free Travel Pass holders aged under 70 can of course receive a Free Travel...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has a commitment to an annual level of control reviews and operates an ongoing continuous schedule of control and review activity for those in receipt of a pension. The objective is to ensure that customers on a pension, regardless of age, continue to receive their correct rate of payment over the lifetime of their claim. On review, claimants on a means tested payment or in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (24 Jun 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 Working Family Payment claims...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Working Family Payment is a tax-free payment which provides an income top-up for employees, with children, on low earnings. It is a targeted measure that is directly linked to overall household income and therefore directly supports low-income working families. Currently there are some 48,500 households with approximately 100,000 children in receipt of the payment. The average...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (24 Jun 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 medical assessment, a means test, and habitual residency conditions. DA is a means tested payment. Social Welfare Legislation provides that the means test...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is always open for a person to apply for Illness Benefit and payment will be awarded if all the qualifying conditions are met. A person's Disability Allowance will cease payment if they are in receipt of Illness Benefit. However an applicant for Disability Allowance to whom Illness Benefit is payable may opt to forgo the Illness Benefit payment in order to receive Disability Allowance at...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. Currently there is no provision to pay Child Benefit after the death of a child. The Child Benefit payment ceases once the department is notified...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Data (24 Jun 2025)

Dara Calleary: As of 31st May 2025, there were 52 recipients of Fish Assist nationwide. The breakdown of recipients by county is set out in the table below. Counties with fewer than three recipients have been combined. - County Recipients Clare/Galway 15 Cork 3 Donegal 12...