Results 1,301-1,320 of 15,365 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 includes a commitment for the Department of Social Protection to "Consider and prepare a report for Government on the potential application of the benchmarking approach to other welfare payments". In response to the recommendations from the Commission on Pensions, a series of reforms to the State Pension system were announced in September 2022....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is a new social insurance income support, linked to previous earnings, which has replaced the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme for people whose first day of unemployment is on or after 31 March 2025. A commencement date is required for the introduction of any new scheme. The Commencement Order provides that this scheme comes into operation on 31 March 2025....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (9 Apr 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 named person was awarded Jobseekers Allowance on the 18th of February, 2025 effective from the 10th of February, 2025....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (9 Apr 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 payment is available to anyone who needs it and qualifies, whether the person is currently receiving a social welfare payment or working on a low income. Entitlement...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (9 Apr 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 average time for Carer's Allowance Appeals for the period 1 January - 31st March 2025 is 18.5 weeks. The waiting times for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (9 Apr 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 19 March 2025. CA was awarded on 4 April 2025 and the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Irish Sign Language (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 166, 167, 168 and 169 together. The Irish Sign Language (ISL) Act 2017 assigns responsibilities to the Minister for Social Protection in relation to the funding of a scheme of accreditation for ISL interpreters (Section 7) and the provision of funds to facilitate ISL users with access to specific events, services and other activities, as specified in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Electric Vehicles (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Department actively encourages the use of environmental transport through the provision of electric vehicle charging points. We hope that this will in turn encourage the use of electric vehicles, thereby reducing the environmental impact of car emissions on both our customers and staff. The Department does not procure the infrastructure for electric vehicles - this is a matter for...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Irish Sign Language (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Irish Sign Language (ISL) Act 2017 assigns specific responsibilities to the Minister for Social Protection in relation to the funding of a scheme of accreditation for ISL Interpreters (Section 7) and the provision of funds to facilitate ISL users with access to social, educational and cultural events and services (including medical) and other activities as specified in guidelines (Section...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Rural Schemes (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme over €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects. In line with Government Policy, Town and Village Renewal Scheme funding approved in 2024 placed particular emphasis on...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as trails, walkways, cycleways, blueways and bridleways in rural areas. Last year, funding of over €20.3 million was announced for 221 projects under measures 1, 2 and 3 of the 2023 ORIS scheme. €1.27 million was approved for 13...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Irish Sign Language (9 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The schemes and programmes operated by my Department do not involve the direct provision of services to the public. As such, the Department does not have extensive engagement with the public in terms of service delivery and, in that context, does not have a specific Irish Sign Language (ISL) strategy. My Department is committed to providing an appropriate service to everybody, including those...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (8 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Senator Comyn for raising this issue. I wish her well with her 5 km on Easter Monday. We agree on the importance of community centres. They are where we go for community activities, events, social supports such as she referred to, and social interaction. They are home to many of our cultural, sporting and social support clubs. They are also where communities come together in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (8 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I would certainly be delighted to take up the Senator's invitation. We had a very good visit in October. I am happy to go back and meet the Moneymore committee. It sounds like a fantastic committee. Once again, I wish the Senator every success on Easter Monday.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Inspections (8 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I can confirm for the Deputy that there is a Memorandum of Understanding between my Department and An Garda Síochána which provides for the secondment of members of An Garda Síochána to my Department for the purposes of detecting and investigating social welfare fraud. The Memorandum of Understanding requires that any data exchange between my Department and An...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 657 and 662 together. Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is a new social insurance income support which has replaced Jobseeker's Benefit for people who become fully unemployed from 31 March 2025 and who satisfy the conditions for the scheme. Pay-related benefit means that a person's rate of payment will be linked to their previous earnings, subject to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Home Help Service (8 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. In addition to these primary payments, my Department also provides a range of other payments on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary in nature and cannot be made available to those who are not in receipt of a primary payment. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (8 Apr 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 Data (8 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: As of 31 December 2024, there were 18,316 customers aged 66 years and above and receiving Half-Rate Carer's Allowance. Following clarification from the Deputy on the exact nature of the proposed measure, my officials are seeking additional data to provide the cost as soon as practicable.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My colleague the Minister for Health has lead responsibility for the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024. This legislation encompasses the regulation for the first time of a wide range of practices undertaken in this jurisdiction, including domestic altruistic surrogacy. It also provides for the regulation of future surrogacy arrangements undertaken by Irish residents in other...