Results 1,121-1,140 of 14,252 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Fuel Allowance is a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. The payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) is paid from late September to April to assist households with their energy costs. Fuel Allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long term social welfare payments with their heating needs. The person concerned...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pensions Reform (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 contains a commitment to develop a benchmarking approach for use in adjusting the value of State pension payments. The approach proposed by the Department, known as the smoothed earnings approach, was subsequently endorsed by the Pensions Commission. In 2022 following on from the work of the Pensions Commission, Government decided that the Minister...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Feb 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. Two applications for CA were received from the person concerned. The person concerned was approved CA from 05 May...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Feb 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: Social Welfare Code (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 657 and 761 together. The main income supports to carers provided by the Department of Social Protection are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending on these payments is expected to amount to over €1.9 billion in 2025. The Carer’s Allowance is the main...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizens Information Services (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: As you are aware, the Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body, under the aegis of my Department, that is responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice (including money and budgeting advice) and advocacy services on a wide range of public and social services. As you will be also aware, CIB delivers on this remit through providing some services directly and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. While the recently signed regulations (S.I. No. 749/20) prohibit the use of public funds to assist with the purchase of a new stand-alone fossil fuel boiler, it must...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (5 Feb 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. My Department has engaged with a number of schools that have been unable to secure a hot meals...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (5 Feb 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. In 2023, my Department published an independent evidence-based Evaluation of the School Meals Programme...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (5 Feb 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: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. The scheme is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The purpose of an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) is to help meet essential expenditure which an eligible person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income. Departmental records show that the person concerned applied for an ANP on 07/01/2025 to assist with the cost of home heating oil. This claim was disallowed on the basis that the person concerned is currently in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Feb 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: Social Welfare Code (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: My department provides the Domiciliary Care Allowance which is a monthly non-means tested payment to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability and requires care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. From January 2025, the rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance increased from €340 to €360 per month....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The main income supports to carers provided by the Department of Social Protection are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending on these payments is expected to amount to over €1.9 billion in 2025. The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Feb 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. An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 03 December 2024. A request for further information...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Services Card (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: The photograph on the Public Services Cards (PSC) must be refreshed every 10 years to ensure the efficacy and reliability of the PSC as proof of identity. This is in line with other photo identifications such as passports, driving licenses and in keeping with internationally agreed guidelines on photo IDs. My Department provides an on-line PSC renewal service through MyWelfare.ie for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has tried to make contact with your office a number of times in order to ascertain the correct PPSN for this customer. They were unable to trace the customer accurately without the PPSN. Should you wish to re-submit this Question with the correct PPSN we can provide you with an answer.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (5 Feb 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 Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Septic Tanks (5 Feb 2025)

Dara Calleary: Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. The scheme is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation and...