Results 1-20 of 16,540 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Cost of Disability: Motion [Private Members] (14 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas le Sinn Féin as ucht an seans cúrsaí míchumais a phlé anocht. I am not opposing the motion put forward by Sinn Féin this evening, but we will take the opportunity to discuss these important issues and lay out much of the work we are doing. We recognise, and it is not exclusive to the Opposition, the additional cost that disabled people...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (9 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Senator Nelson Murray for raising this issue. Given that so many people in County Meath have roots in County Mayo, it is inevitable that there would be strong women there. It is important that the Senator has raised this matter today. The importance of high-quality accessible spaces for community groups is beyond doubt. As the Senator said, we have all witnessed the massive...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Development Projects (9 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I thank Senator Nelson Murray. I endorse everything she has said. Fundraising is important. It is very hard work, but it makes an important contribution, financially and otherwise. If a community buys into a project through fundraising, it will succeed. Speaking of fundraising, it would be wrong of me not to wish our colleague, Senator Costello, every success as she takes to the stage...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: School Meals Programme (9 Oct 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. Under the School Meals Programme, the primary relationship is between the school and supplier. My...

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

Dara Calleary: Matters relating to foster carers, previously foster parents, are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality. This Government acknowledges the important role that carers, including foster carers, play and remains fully committed to supporting them. The State Pension (Contributory) system already provides a range of measures to recognise caring...

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

Dara Calleary: The criteria for Fuel Allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to the Department in as targeted a manner as possible. To qualify for the Fuel Allowance payment, a person must satisfy all the qualifying criteria, this ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment is targeted at those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty, including those reliant on social protection...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (9 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department provides a range of schemes to improve facilities such as playgrounds in communities nationwide. The CLÁR programme provides funding in designated areas for community recreation facilities and amenities, including playgrounds under measure 1 of the programme. I launched the CLÁR 2025 programme on 4 April last. I expect to announce the successful measure 1 project...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (9 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 364, 365 and 366 together. The RRDF fund 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. To date, RRDF funding of €593 million has been allocated for 243 projects across Ireland, of which, over €17 million has been...

Written Answers — Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht: Departmental Funding (9 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 my Department does not have a specific funding scheme for operational facilities for the organisation you reference, there may be an avenue of support available under the LEADER programme or the Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) operated...

Financial Resolutions 2025 - Financial Resolution No. 5: General (Resumed) (8 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: It is obvious that the budget is getting the interest of all the parties of the House. I am proud to be able to serve in Cabinet and to present my first budget as Minister for Social Protection and for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. I will deal with each Department separately within my speaking allocation. In the Department of Social Protection, we have secured...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Pension Provisions (8 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income. The new system - to be known as My Future Fund - will commence from 1st January 2026. The...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Oct 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 conditions. Following their application for DA, the person concerned was issued an information...

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

Dara Calleary: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The evidence provided does not indicate that the person concerned was available for full time employment at the time the claim was made. The person concerned will be...

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

Dara Calleary: The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies. My department provides assistance to eligible households in the immediate aftermath of emergency weather events under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme. The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is to prevent hardship by providing financial support to people whose...

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

Dara Calleary: Anyone in receipt of Disability Allowance, Blind Pension or Partial Capacity Benefit is considered to meet the disability criteria for any of my Department’s schemes to support the employment of disabled people – Work and Access, Wage Subsidy Scheme, Employability, WorkAbility, and the WAM programme. Each scheme or support has different criteria for people who are not in receipt...

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

Dara Calleary: Carer's Benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention. To qualify, the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions, employment conditions, show that they are providing full-time care and attention and show that the care recipient requires full-time care and attention. ...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (7 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. 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 responsibilities. To...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government has 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. In terms of phasing out the means test, it is important that we make progress in a way that is sustainable, and which balances the allocation of the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Support Services (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has commenced work on a successor to the current employment services strategy, Pathways to Work Strategy 2021-2025. This new strategy will aim to carry on from the success of its predecessor which has focused on removing barriers to employment, providing tens of thousands of training and education places, enhancing the Public Employment Service, providing incentives to...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud (7 Oct 2025)

Dara Calleary: My Department has an effective data governance framework in place to ensure that it meets its obligations as a data controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 in respect of its data sharing activities. This includes putting in place specific Data Sharing Agreements in respect of the sharing of data with other Departments and agencies. My...