Results 141-160 of 16,736 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Budget 2026 (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The LEADER programme is co-financed by the European Commission under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), through the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development. It is a multi-annual programme, with allocations being linked to a programming period set at EU level, rather than an annual basis. The total amount of funding allocated to LEADER for the period of 2021-2027 is €250...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Men's Sheds (16 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I believe that the emergence of Men’s Sheds and Women's Sheds has been a very positive development for communities across Ireland and I am fully committed to supporting Men's Sheds and Women's Sheds in the valuable work they do. My Department provides funding to Men's Sheds and Women’s (Sister) Sheds under various funding supports, including:The Local Enhancement Programme...

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

Dara Calleary: Loneliness and rural isolation are significant challenges, particularly for individuals living in remote and disadvantaged communities and those living alone. These issues have clear implications for physical and mental health outcomes. Addressing the issues of rural isolation and loneliness requires a range of responses across a number of Government Departments and agencies. This includes...

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

Dara Calleary: My Department and agencies actively engage in securing and administering EU funding to support rural and community development and the Gaeltacht. A number of EU-funded programmes will be open through the Department and its agencies over the next six to twelve months. These include: PEACEPLUS programme (2021 – 2027): With a total value of €1.1 billion, this programme funds...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2026 (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: For September 2025, 49,917 people were receiving Working Family Payment with 3,729 of these in households where Fuel Allowance is currently awarded on another claim. Exact numbers and breakdowns of Working Family Payment recipients who will benefit from the extension of Fuel Allowance to the Working Family Payment will be available when the measure comes into effect in 2026. The county...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2026 (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. As part of Budget 2026, BSCFA was extended to children aged 2 and 3 years. It is estimated that this will support an additional 35,000 children. BSCFA is a means-tested...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2026 (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly in-work support which provides an income support for employees on low earnings with children. To qualify for Working Family Payment, the customer must be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment and have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them. Budget 2026 included an increase in the income...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2026 (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Budget 2026 increased the earnings disregard for Carer’s Allowance by €375 to €1,000 for a single person and by €750 to €2,000 for a couple. This amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €667.50 and €1,335 respectively, since June 2022. The measure will benefit both those current recipients who are on a means-reduced rate and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2026 (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The estimated first-year cost of increasing the Carer's Allowance income disregard to €1,000 for a single person and €2,000 for a couple in 2026 is €10 million. This measure will take effect in July 2026. The costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and the associated revision of the estimated number of recipients.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly non-means tested payment to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability. The child must require care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. Eligibility is not based on the disability or diagnosis, but rather on the impact of the disability in terms of the level of care and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 217, 218, 219, 220 and 221 together. 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. Under the School Meals...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Artificial Intelligence (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department is currently examining the potential future use of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) technologies. This has involved active participation in several stakeholder groups, such as, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment's working group on the implementation of EU AI Act. My Department follows the "Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2026 (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 223, 224 and 225 together. As part of the annual budgetary process, my Department engages with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to agree the level of expenditure required to carry out existing functions in the following year, prior to the introduction of any new Budget measures. This is referred...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Partial Capacity Benefit allows a person who is in receipt of Illness Benefit for 26 weeks, or Invalidity Pension to enter or return to employment or self-employment and to continue to receive a partial or full payment. The personal rate of payment of Partial Capacity Benefit is based on a medical assessment of a person’s restriction regarding their capacity for work, whether the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Funding (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Foodbanks play an important role in many local communities in providing food to people who can't afford the food that they need. The European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) Food and Basic Material Assistance programme in Ireland is a continuation of the EU Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) programme. This supports EU countries’ actions to provide material assistance...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Fuel Allowance scheme is a means tested payment to assist pensioners and other long-term social welfare dependent householders with their winter heating costs. In addition to the means test, applicants must satisfy a number of eligibility conditions including living alone or only with other qualifying person(s). To assess entitlement, Deciding Officers must have sufficient...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Inquiries (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Carer’s Allowance is a means-tested payment for people who are providing full-time care to someone who needs significant support due to age, physical or learning disability or illness, including mental illness. The main objective of the Carer’s Allowance payment is to provide an income support to carers whose ability to earn is substantially reduced because of their caring...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Budget 2026 (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: As part of the annual budgetary process, my Department engages with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to agree the level of expenditure required to carry out existing functions in the following year, prior to the introduction of any new Budget measures. This is referred to as the "Existing Level of Service" (ELS). ELS funding...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (15 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 allocated to the Scheme. On 7th August last, I was delighted to announce €14 million in additional funding for the 2025 scheme. This brings the total amount...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Rural Schemes (15 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways, water-based recreation sites and mountain trails. Since 2020, funding of over €94 million has been approved for almost 1,300 projects nationwide. I was delighted to announce funding of €8.7 million...