Results 1,001-1,020 of 16,746 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (16 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, administered by my Department through the local Community Welfare Services (CWS), was activated on Thursday 23 January 2025 to assist householders affected across the country by Storm Éowyn. The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS) is operated in 3 stages. The majority of payments made to people to date as a result of Storm Éowyn have been Stage...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Children in Care (16 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 164 and 165 together. This Government acknowledges the important role that carers, including foster carers, play and remains fully committed to supporting them. That is why I was really pleased to announce that Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance eligibility is being extended to include children for whom Foster Care Allowance is being paid. The...

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

Dara Calleary: The Living Alone Increase is an extra payment for people on social welfare payments who are living alone. A breakdown by county of those receiving the Living Alone Increase at the 31st December in each of the years 2021-2024 is provided in the table below. It is not possible to provide the expenditure associated with the Living Alone increase as expenditure is recorded under the primary...

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

Dara Calleary: The Telephone Support Allowance is a weekly payment for people who live alone and are already in receipt of certain other social welfare payments. It is paid at a single rate of €2.50 a week. The number of recipients of Telephone Support Allowance by county at the 31st December in each year from 2021 to 2024 is provided in Table 1 below, and overall expenditure in these years is...

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

Dara Calleary: Parent’s Benefit was first introduced in 2019 with an initial entitlement of 2 weeks per parent. By July 2023, the entitlement increased to 7 weeks per parent and as of August 2024, 9 weeks of Parent’s Benefit is available to each parent. Since its introduction, the weekly rate of Parent’s Benefit has been increased in line with Budget announcements. Most recently, as...

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

Dara Calleary: The breakdown by county for the number of people in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) for more than 2 years.My officials have commenced work on a successor to the current employment services strategy, Pathways to Work Strategy 2021-2015. 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...

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

Dara Calleary: The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a key disability employment support provided by my Department. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to people with disabilities through a subsidy. Last year, my Department published a review of the Wage Subsidy Scheme, following a public consultation. The review made six recommendations to make the scheme more flexible and...

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

Dara Calleary: In line with the Programme for Government commitment, my Department is examining a new Working Age Payment which will ensure that individuals always see an increase in income when they work or take on additional hours. An outline of a proposed approach was previously published as part of the strawman consultation process on the introduction of new pay-related benefit. My officials are...

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

Dara Calleary: As announced in Budget 2025, from the 1st January 2025, the Fuel Allowance qualifying conditions for those aged over 70 were extended to those aged over 66 and the means threshold increased to €524 for a single person and €1,048 for a couple. In December 2024, there were 221,459 recipients aged 66 and over in receipt of Fuel Allowance. Under the new criteria, the number...

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

Dara Calleary: As at end June 2025, there are 28,468 people aged under 66 years in receipt of Widow’s / Widower’s / Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension. As at end June 2025, there are a further 973 people in receipt of Widow’s / Widower’s / Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-Contributory) Pension. Illness Benefit is the primary short term income support...

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

Dara Calleary: The parties to Government have agreed a number of commitments that are to be achieved over the lifetime of the Government, some of which are relevant to my Department. The Deputy can be assured that I am determined to deliver on these commitments and will take the opportunity afforded at budget time each year to progress them as far as possible. The Deputy will understand that not everything...

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

Dara Calleary: Self-employed contributors pay class S PRSI at a rate of 4.1%. This is 11.15 percentage points lower than the combined employer and employee contribution of 15.25% made in respect of employed contributors. However, self-employed contributors do have access to over 90% of benefits available to employed contributors. The Programme for Government includes an action to explore the option of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Care Services (16 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The key role of the Department of Social Protection is to provide income supports where there is an income need. My Department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending on all these payments to carers in 2025 is expected to...

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

Dara Calleary: A person aged between 65 and 66 years of age may only receive Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit if they have not retired from employment as they must meet all the conditions for receiving Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit including being available for full-time work and genuinely seeking work during their 65th year. Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds continues to be the appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Citizens Information Services (16 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body under the aegis of my Department, that has an independent mandate to provide information, advice and advocacy on a wide range of public services. CIB itself is governed by an independent Board of Directors. The Citizens Information Service (CIS), in turn, comprises of eight regional companies that are funded by CIB to deliver...

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

Dara Calleary: My Department places great importance on making sure we have people in roles and is actively recruiting to fill any existing vacancies. Listed in the table below are current vacancies within my Department from Administrative Officer grade and above; I expect these to be filled in the coming weeks. Grade Number of Vacancies ...

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

Dara Calleary: Tá tábhacht nach beag ag baint le hinfheistíocht sa réimse digiteach, d’fhorbairt na Gaeilge agus do phobal a labhartha. Tá maoiniú suntasach ceadaithe ag mo Roinn do thionscadail éagsúla, i réimsí éagsúla den earnáil dhigiteach; tá na mór-réimsí sonraithe sa tábla thíos: ...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: Gabhaim buíochas leis an mbeirt Seanadóir as ucht an leasaithe seo. I do not propose to accept the amendments. As I said during the Dáil debate, it is not appropriate to include commitments to produce reports in primary legislation, particularly legislation that is as complex as the Social Welfare Consolidation Act and this Bill. With respect to the specific issues, as...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025: Committee and Remaining Stages (15 Jul 2025)

Dara Calleary: With the Acting Chair's indulgence, I will make a few remarks. I thank the Senators for their consideration both at Second Stage and at the Stages this evening, including Senators Rabbitte, O'Donovan, McCormack and Ruane, whose contributions were really instructive. As we all know, this legislation will bring a very important change for hundreds of people who are directly affected by the...

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

Dara Calleary: The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is a whole of Government strategy, with a five-year timeframe, that 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, published in January 2020, is an overarching statement of Government strategy, which acknowledges the range of sectoral plans already in...