Results 1,361-1,380 of 15,365 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (3 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. In 2024 the average time taken to process an appeal was 23.5 weeks. The average processing time at end of March 2025 is 20.9...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (3 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...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (3 Apr 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. A specific standard was set for School Meals under the Nutritional Standards for School Meals and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (3 Apr 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. The Department provides the funding for the meals directly to the school. All schools who wish to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (3 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The average time in weeks to process applications and appeals for the specified schemes for the period 1 January - 28 February 2025 are set out below. The waiting times for appeals measure the time from when the appeal was registered to the latest decision on the appeal, or when the appeal was withdrawn by the appellant. This can include revised decisions. Such revisions can lengthen the...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Control of Dogs (3 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: A high level stakeholder group was established in 2024 to consider the policy and legislative matters currently under the remit of my Department, specifically the Dog Control Acts and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act. The stakeholder group meets regularly and its remit includes considering the need for legislative change. This requires in depth analysis and consultation to ensure...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Local Authorities (3 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023- 2027 was published in November 2022. A key action in the Strategy is the development of a County Outdoor Recreation Plan to reflect the priorities of the national strategy in each county. This will create a more strategic approach and ensure that available funding and resources are better aligned with...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (2 Apr 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. The Department provides the funding for the meals directly to the school. All schools who wish to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Strategies (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, is a whole of government strategy with a five-year timeframe which aims to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion is an overarching statement of Government strategy, which acknowledges the range of sectoral plans already in place that...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Weather Events (2 Apr 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 affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. Humanitarian assistance is available in three stages. Stage 1 of the HAS is available to people while they are directly impacted by the storm. It targets people who...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Weather Events (2 Apr 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 affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. According to the records of the Department, the person concerned applied for a HAS stage 1 payment to assist with the additional costs incurred as a result of Storm...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 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: Weather Events (2 Apr 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 affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. Humanitarian assistance is available in three stages. Stage 1 of the HAS is available to people while they are directly impacted by the storm. It targets people who...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 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. It is a condition for receipt of CA that the carer cannot be engaged in employment/self-employment or training/study....

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 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 a medical assessment, a means test and the habitual residency condition. I can confirm that the Department received an application for DA from the person...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension (WCP) is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. The number of claimants, or recipients, who were separated or divorced before being widowed as requested by the Deputy are shown in the attached Table. It is important for the Deputy to note that while the Department does hold records...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Meetings (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I have held two Minister/Management Board meetings since I took office as Minister for Social Protection. The details and attendees of both these meetings are outlined below. I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. Minister/Management Board Meetings Year Date Attendance Other Attendees 2025 20th February ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a suite of income supports. These include insurance-based schemes, based on Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions, and means-tested social assistance schemes. Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension (WCP) is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. The pension remains payable while you...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Living Alone Increase is a weekly payment, which is not means tested. The Living Alone Increase is an additional payment made each week to persons who live alone and are in receipt of certain Social Protection payments. These payments include recipients, 66 or over, of State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s, or Surviving Civil...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Urban Development (2 Apr 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 351 and 352 together. Launched in 2022, the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. TCF supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland by setting out a framework to facilitate and resource the regeneration of Irish towns...