Results 1,001-1,020 of 14,473 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Reasonable Accommodation Fund and Disability Awareness Support Scheme were supports offered by my Department to help make the workplace more accessible for people with disabilities. My Department published a review of the two schemes in August 2023. This review gave nine recommendations to merge the two schemes into a single, flexible scheme and to expand and improve the supports offered...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: A newborn baby grant of €280 was announced in Budget 2025 to be paid to families of babies born on or after 1st December 2024. This grant is paid alongside but in addition to the first month’s Child Benefit payment of €140. So parents of newborns will receive a total first payment of €420. The Benefit is payable in respect of newborn babies from the month...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS), administered by my department through the Community Welfare Service (CWS), was activated on 23 January 2025 to assist householders across the country affected by Storm Éowyn. The purpose of the HAS is to prevent hardship by providing financial support to people in the aftermath of severe weather or other exceptional events and who are not able...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Welfare Appeals Office is a service of the Department of Social Protection which determines appeals against first instance decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions. The following is the number of disability payment appeals received by scheme for 2024 which equates to approximately 37.5% of all...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: In Budget 2025, it was announced that the Hot School Meals Scheme will be extended to all remaining primary schools in 2025, meaning that approximately 3,200 schools and 550,000 children will be eligible for hot school meals in 2025. My Department have contacted the remaining primary schools who have not yet joined the Hot School Meals scheme asking them to submit expressions of interest if...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, administered by my department through the local Community Welfare Service, was activated in November 2024 to assist householders affected by Storm Bert and was again activated on the 23rd January 2025 to assist householders across the country affected by Storm Éowyn. The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is to provide income-tested...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I can assure the Deputy that the situation he describes of a person experiencing a net reduction in income from the Department will not arise. In fact in the situation set out the person concerned will receive an increase in total weekly payments from the Department. The purpose of weekly payments made by the Department are to provide an income support for people experiencing specific...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: People who work part-time and who are in receipt of a Jobseeker's payment can confirm their working pattern either through an online channel or by submitting weekly paper dockets to their Intreo Centre or Branch Office. Many people opt to confirm their working pattern through the online channel. However, if there is disruption to various services, including internet, due to a national...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Community Employment (CE) is an employment activation measure designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. There are currently almost 19,500 participants on CE and Government investment in CE will amount to nearly €370 million in 2025. CE...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: In Budget 2025, it was announced that the Hot School Meals Scheme will be extended to all remaining primary schools in 2025, meaning that approximately 3,200 schools and 550,000 children will be eligible for hot school meals in 2025. My Department have contacted the remaining primary schools who have not yet joined the Hot School Meals scheme asking them to submit expressions of interest if...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Rural Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) is an income support scheme that provides part-time employment opportunities for farmers and fishers in receipt of specified social welfare payments, and who are underemployed in their primary occupation. RSS is specifically designed and delivered to qualified people of working age whose income falls below certain limits. The valuable work undertaken by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is payable in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and where the level of that disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 123 and 134 together. The delivery of vital locally based Community Welfare Services to meet the challenges and the needs of citizens across the country remains a priority for me and my Department. The Community Welfare Service (CWS) provides a flexible service to meet the different needs of clients, who may find themselves in a financially difficult or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: As part of Budget Measures 2024, an Interdepartmental Working Group was established to examine and review the means test for carers payments. The Group is chaired by my department. I expect the Group to report to me in the coming weeks. I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Children in Care (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: As the Deputy is aware, matters related to foster caring are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, and for Tusla. The State Pension (Contributory) is funded from the Social Insurance Fund through the contributions paid by workers and their employers. The rate of payment reflects the number of social insurance contributions paid over a working...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department published a review of the Reasonable Accommodation Fund and Disability Awareness Support Scheme in August 2023. This report gave 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 Benefits (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Addressing child poverty is a key priority for the Government. That is why the Programme for Government 2025, includes a range of measures to support children and their families. One such commitment is to “explore a targeted Child Benefit Payment and examine the interaction this would have with existing targeted supports to reduce Child Poverty such as the Working Family Payment and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS) is to prevent hardship by providing financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and/or severe weather events and who are not able to meet costs for essential needs, household items and in some instances structural repairs. The scheme is administered by the Community Welfare Service (CWS) in my Department. In...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government commits to introducing a new Working Age Payment to provide that individuals see an increase in income when they work or take on additional hours and remove inconsistencies and anomalies in the current Jobseeker's supports. My Department is progressing this work, taking into account initial responses on the principle of the scheme which were received as part...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (27 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 135 together. The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is administered by my department through the local Community Welfare Service and was activated on the 23rd January 2025 to assist householders across the country affected by Storm Éowyn. In dealing with emergency events, the Community Welfare Service generally adopts a three-stage approach. •...