Results 121-140 of 16,746 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Social Isolation (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Addressing the issues of rural isolation and loneliness requires a range of responses across a number of Government Departments and agencies. This includes developing rural transport links, tackling social exclusion and addressing disadvantage. My Department has a number of schemes that help to address rural isolation and loneliness, often focussing on the value of communities and social...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 123 and 136 together. The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) is a major capital investment programme which seeks to support large-scale, ambitious projects which can achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. Last week, I announced €20.5 million in RRDF funding for 30 projects across rural Ireland under...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is committed to supporting thriving communities across the country through a range of funding initiatives. Over the past three years, my Department has allocated in the region of €13 million in funding to County Longford. My Department’s funding programmes have delivered significant capital investment in County Longford, example: Under the Town and Village...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Regeneration Projects (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 125 and 127 together. The Town and Village Renewal Scheme was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. The scheme which sees local authorities work with communities throughout the country, primarily targets funding at rural towns and villages with populations of less than...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My department implements a wide range of schemes and supports which are available to community organisations and other groups across the country. While there is not a scheme specifically for community festivals, there may be an avenue of support available under the LEADER programme. Funding under the 2023-2027 LEADER programme is not targeted at any particular group or sector or activity...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Local Improvement Scheme or LIS is a key support to rural communities in improving non-public rural roads and laneways that are not typically maintained by local authorities. Since 2017, the government has provided almost €184 million to local authorities under the Scheme. On 7th August last, I was delighted to announce €14 million in additional funding for the 2025...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: RAPID stands for Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development. It was a focused initiative by the Government to target the 25 most concentrated areas of disadvantage in the country. The original RAPID programme ran from 2001 and closed to new applications in 2011. In line with the current Programme for Government commitment, I was delighted to announce funding for the...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Local Improvement Scheme or LIS is a key support to rural communities in improving non-public rural roads and laneways that are not typically maintained by local authorities. Since 2017, almost €184 million has been provided to local authorities under the Scheme. On 7th August last, I was delighted to announce €14 million in additional funding for the 2025 scheme....

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Irish Language (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides capital assistance to Irish Language and Gaeltacht organisations to provide or upgrade community and language facilities through its Clár Tacaíochtaí Pobail agus Teanga. This programme aims to strengthen the Gaeltacht’s language and community infrastructure and recognises the particular importance of early years Irish medium facilities in the...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Community Welfare Services (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention programme overseen by my Department. This is a national programme that is delivered in both rural and urban areas by Local Development Companies (LDCs) to help those in the greatest need. SICAP supports individuals and community groups who face disadvantage,...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: An Teanga Gaeilge (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Tar éis phróisis chomhairliúcháin a rinneadh in 2014, aithníodh an 16 baile seo a leanas mar Bhailte Seirbhíse Gaeltachta faoi réir pleananna teanga a bheith comhaontaithe leis na pobail áitiúla i gcomhréir leis na critéir pleanála teanga faoi Acht na Gaeltachta 2012:Daingean Uí ChúisLeitir CeanainnCathair na...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Claim processing figures for the living alone allowance are published in my Department's Annual Statistics Report where they are combined with figures for the increase for those living on a specified island; separate statistics for these allowances are not readily available. In 2024, there were 19,492 claims registered for Living Alone Allowance and Island Allowance. 2,675 claims were...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Cost of Living Issues (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Means tests and income thresholds are kept under regular review and a number of significant changes have been made in recent years. In particular, a number of changes to means testing were introduced which provided for higher income disregards. These disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, a certain level of income from that work...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The key role of the Department of Social Protection is that of providing an income support for people in specific circumstances that limit their ability to earn an income. These include unemployment, illness, disability and caring responsibilities. These payments recognise that people in these situations either cannot work or can only earn a limited income. The supports are designed to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Gender Recognition (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The process by which a person may change their gender from male to female or female to male is set out in the Gender Recognition Act 2015 (the Act). The Act provides that a person can apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate to have their gender recognised by the State. The process involves the completion of a paper application, which includes a statutory declaration duly witnessed by...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The person concerned applied for Invalidity Pension on 1st March 2024. Their application was refused on 7th May 2024, on the grounds that they are not permanently incapable of work due to an illness or incapacity and for no other reason. The person concerned submitted an appeal on 21st May 2024. Having considered all of the available evidence, the Appeals Officer found that it had not...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2026 (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which my department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently almost 103,000 people in receipt of this payment and projected expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in 2025 is over €1.24 billion. The Programme for Government has set out a timeline which commits to significantly increasing the income...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 265 and 267 together. Carer’s Allowance is a means-tested payment for people who are providing full-time care to someone who is incapacitated. It is designed to support carers whose ability to earn is significantly limited due to their caring responsibilities. By its nature, the means test takes account of the income a person or couple has in...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government has clearly set out a timeline which commits to significantly increasing the income disregards for Carer’s Allowance in each Budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the Government. As part of Budget 2026, we are increasing the income disregard for a single person by €375 per week to €1,000. That’s an...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Carer's Allowance payment is an income support for those carers who cannot earn adequate income in the open labour market due to their caring responsibilities. In this regard the Carer’s Allowance forms part of the system of social assistance supports that provide payments based on income need. There have been regular calls by carers and their representative organisations for...