Dara Calleary
Mayo · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“Agriculture is the backbone. We have all been in the Mansion House today, or everyone has said they were anyway. Energy security is key and crucial. Everybody wants energy security but nobody wants wind energy. We have to strike a balance and get a real discussion, but food security is most important.”
“While we have gaps there, we are addressing them. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has announced the minor injury units, which will take the pressure off major hospitals and ensure services are available.”
“Recent figures from the CSO show that there is a 5.8% increase in the number of people living in rural areas between 2016 and 2022. In areas classified as highly rural and remote, the increase was 6.4%.”
“Enterprise Ireland is investing in Irish-owned, Irish-founded companies. Similarly, 59% of IDA investments were located outside the Dublin region. We will continue to work, looking at the progress we can make through the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and, as Senator O'Loughlin said, through supporting our local enterprise offices.”
“That is something we do daily and they are used where is necessary. The plan will be supported by ambitious, clear, practical and measurable actions. I have spoken to some of the funding programmes available within my Department.”
“Táim tar éis cuairt a thabhairt ar gach ceantar Gaeltachta chun plé fairsing a dhéanamh leis na pobail sin chun a fháil amach uathu féin cén cineál tacaíochta ar féidir a chur ar fáil dóibh chun cabhrú leo. Táim chun leanúint ar aghaidh leis an obair sin sa bhuiséad le teacht agus na buiséid eile.”
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Every one of 2,162 lines we hold for Dara Calleary, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 13 of 44.
“I have asked my officials to prioritise this work. Subsequently, I launched a public consultation process on how a cost-of-disability payment can best be delivered. We launched it last Friday, and it will run until 7 April. As I said earlier to Deputy Hayes, I encourage maximum participation in this project across the House. I encourage any interested parties to visit gov.ie/cod , where they will find guidance on how to engage with the consultation in whatever format best suits them. We have already received some 80 submissions. Following on from that consultation, on 13 May, I will chair a cost-of-disability strategic focus network summit.”
“I thank the Deputy. The Government recognises the significant additional costs that disabled people are facing in their daily lives. We are committed to improving outcomes for disabled people by reducing more permanent measures. The programme for Government includes a range of commitments to support disabled people, including a commitment to introducing a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment. In addition, under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which was developed with significant input from disability groups and advocates, it was agreed to establish a strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability. While this is led by my Department, it includes other Government Departments in what is a cross-government endeavour, as well as disabled people, their families, carers and advocates.”
“We also expanded the fuel allowance this year for the first time to working families. As I said, that kicks in from this week. We have made the changes. It is very focused on targeted areas. I hear the Deputy, however, and I hear him in the context of budget 2027. Perhaps he might have a good chat with our colleague, the Minister for public expenditure, in relation to that too.”
“I will certainly take on board the Deputy's request. He is definitely in early but there were other Deputies even in ahead of him this morning for budget 2027 priorities. I will point out in the context of budget 2026, however, that €12 billion has been allocated for pension payments. Many people who are living alone are predominantly pensioners. That €12 billion is an increase of just over €700 million from the 2025 Revised Estimates. The investment in pensions, as we discussed at committee yesterday, is nearly 42% of the Department’s overall allocation. In terms of the choices we had to make, this year we went for a weekly increase in the overall pension rate and across all the weekly welfare payment rates. We increased the fuel allowance in the context of energy costs and the weekly rate of the fuel allowance.”
“We have shown cause over the past number of years, and it will be looked at in the context of the budgetary allocation for 2027.”
“We are certainly conscious from our day-to-day experience with our own families, but also from our constituencies, that the cost and the cliff for those living alone, particularly those who have suffered bereavement or separation, is particularly tight. We are very conscious of that. That is why there has been such a big increase in it since 2019. I also want to ensure that people are aware there are other supports available that they may not be aware of in terms of the household benefits package and the fuel allowance, which we increased in budget 2026. A person who is in receipt of a pension and who qualifies for the living alone and fuel allowances also receives the telephone support, which is an extra €2.50 per week. We look again at the costs on a 2026 basis ahead of budget 2027.”
“Any future changes to the rate of payment for the living alone allowance would have to be considered in the overall budgetary context. We are not yet in budgetary season but, certainly, it is an area that many Deputies, including Deputy McGrath, have raised with me. However, it will have to be looked at in the context of the overall budgetary envelope that is available to us in 2027.”
“The living alone allowance is also available to those who are under 66 who live alone and who are getting disability allowance, the invalidity pension, the incapacity supplement or the blind pension. The rate of primary and secondary payments to pensioners, and their adequacy, are considered in the context of the annual budgetary process. In doing so, the Government considers evidence from a wide range of sources, including agencies such as the Central Statistics Office, CSO, and also research submitted by advocacy groups around this. The data shows the cost of living for a single person is more than the individualised cost of two people living together, as the Deputy said. For this reason, the living alone allowance is available to those in receipt of qualifying payments.”
“I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue. As he knows, the primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet basic day-to-day income needs. In addition to those primary payments, we also provide a range of other payments that are considered secondary in nature. The living alone allowance is one of those secondary payments. It is not a scheme or stand-alone payment but rather a supplement to certain primary social protection payments for those who are in receipt of those payments and who are living alone. The current rate of living alone allowance is €22 per week. It has increased by over 144% since 2019, when it was just €9 per week. The majority of the recipients of the living alone allowance are those who are over 66 and who are getting a pension from our Department.”
“We will be engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and we will have further engagement with the Branch Managers Association in relation to those outcomes. Quite a number of Deputies have been in touch with me in recent days about this. We are very focused on it. I very much appreciate the fantastic work they do.”
“We will continue to work on activation. I am focused on targeted activation. It is important that we give people the opportunity to remain connected and qualified for the labour market. It is something I am very focused on doing, and I thank our Intreo colleagues. In relation to the branch office managers, as the Deputy knows, we have 55 social welfare branch offices at various locations, including 24 in the southern region, 11 in the northern region, 17 in the midlands and west region and three in the eastern region. We have received correspondence, and we are engaging with the branch manager representative groups in relation to a review of their remuneration arrangements. My officials are engaging around that.”
“I thank the Deputy and Senator Anne Rabbitte for their engagement with me around redesigning community employment, Tús and the rural social scheme, RSS, to ensure that they offer opportunities to people. As I said earlier, we are currently finalising a new draft of pathways to work. That will look at all the labour market challenges we face, because our biggest enemy is complacency, and we must ensure that our labour market and supports are relevant to the conditions in the market today.”
“I thank the Deputy and join him in acknowledging the superb work being done by our Intreo teams across the country. We will have work and skills events around the country next week. I encourage every Deputy to help to promote those events and to attend the events to see how they work. We are more than happy to show them. We have already had a good discussion this morning about youth employment and the work we are doing with Intreo, and the tailored, individualised employment support that Intreo provides. As the Deputy knows, with the youth guarantee of the European Union, we are pledging to provide a good quality offer of employment, education or training to those under 30 within four months of them becoming unemployed. We are focused on delivering that. We are focused on identifying appropriate training opportunities for young people.”
“During 2025, Intreo employer relations hosted 12 recruitment events and careers fairs in Charleville, Mallow, Millstreet and Fermoy, at which there were a wide range of supports on offer in further education, training, upskilling, work placements, programmes such as the work placement experience programme, community employment and Tús, to support people to obtain or retain employment.”
“In January 2026, there were approximately 2,700 people on the live register in the Mallow, Newmarket, Macroom, and Kilmallock areas. This is comparable to 2025, when there were also 2,700 people on the live register. I will arrange for detailed tables of recipient and live register numbers to be sent to the Deputy. The public employment service, Intreo's employer relations team, offers a wide range of locally based services to assist employers, including engaging directly to assist with recruitment activities, and by hosting local recruitment events that connect employers to jobseekers through a mix of in-person events and online webinars.”
“I thank Deputy O'Shea for his question. The total number of recipients of jobseeker's payments has remained generally steady over the last 12 months in both Cork and Limerick. In Cork, it varied between 11,700 and 13,700 over the year, while in Limerick, it varied between 5,200 and 6,000. At the end of January 2026, in Cork, there were approximately 12,100 recipients of jobseeker's payments. Figures were broadly the same in January 2025, with around 12,100 recipients. In Limerick, there were 5,800 recipients of jobseeker's payments in January 2026. In January 2025, there were 5,300 recipients of jobseeker's payments. Regarding the specific areas the Deputy mentioned, the CSO publishes breakdowns of the live register by office each month.”
“I pay tribute to the Department of education and the school meals unit of my own Department. They work incredibly hard and give guidance and support. The contractual relationship is between the school and the supplier, which is important. I make the point to Deputy O'Reilly that I hope, once we finalise the report of our dietitian, to engage with organisations based on having her report and analysis of the potential. As I said, I am open to anything as long as it provides nutrition, but my personal preference is for local.”
“I assure Deputy Hayes that the nutrition side is being closely monitored. Coming back to the overall discussion about suppliers, my preference is for local suppliers. That could be meals on wheels. Deputy O'Shea is with us. The Duhallow community food project is also a very good model. It is locally produced. This day last week, I was in St. Munchin's Community Centre in Limerick, where they do extraordinary work. We saw the food being prepared there. I do not mind whether it is private or public. I think it should be local and, most importantly, nutritious. With our dietitian, we are developing a tool to allow us to do more audits, to actually get into schools and to see what is being served, because what is on a menu may be different from what is being served. The contract is with the school, which does the contract with companies.”
“The main findings of that interim report, which were based predominantly on looking at menus, is that at least 66% met at least three of the five standards looked at in the initial look. Some 80% contained adequate carbohydrates that did not include foods high in fat, salt and sugar. One of the issues is around fruit and vegetables and how available they are. That was very hard to decipher from the menu. We will have the full report by the summer and I look forward to discussing it. In regard to our role as a Department, we are also developing an inspection tool. We are getting into schools. We did 400 school inspections last year and another 100 desktop inspections.”
“The dietician has been working since September and she has completed an in-depth review of school meal supplier menus and their compliance with nutritional standards. The nutritional standards have been in place since 2019, since the inception of the programme. They were developed by the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, the HSE, Safefood and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. There are 16 standards in total - 13 relating to food and three relating to drinks. The interim report is based effectively on desktop, so we are now beginning, with colleagues from the Department of Social Protection, the process of getting into schools and looking at what is being delivered.”
“She is under the clinical supervision of the Department of Health and is undertaking an in-depth review of school meals supplier menus and their compliance to nutritional standards. We also last year launched the summer holiday hunger initiative, which supported 42,000 children. I am very focused on the nutritional standards of the hot school meals. There are 16 different standards and we will get a chance to discuss the full details of those during supplementary questions.”
“Overall, I welcome the Deputy’s support for the success of the programme but we have more to do and we will continue to strive for improvements. The budget for any hot school meals programme this year is €289 million. To assist in improving the programme, my Department has established an inter-departmental working group, including the Department of Health, the Department of Education and Youth, the Food Safety Authority and the Department of children, to oversee and make recommendations. Last year, I instructed suppliers to remove fats that are high in saturated fat, sugar and salt. Previously they had been permitted once a week and only when chosen by parents. We have also seconded a CORU-registered dietitian, funded by my Department, for the school meals programme.”
“I thank the Deputy. I have to say that when I was appointed Minister for Social Protection, I did not think a lot of my time would be spent on school meals. It is one of the most popular programmes and most debated in the House. That is a good thing and we want to get it right. In 2019, there were 37 schools and 6,600 children who were eligible for hot school meals. Today, all 3,200 primary schools and 550,000 children are eligible for hot school meals. There are 3,700 schools around the country which are eligible for the full supports; meaning 3.4 million school meals per week, delivered by more than 300 suppliers, including community-based suppliers. Deputy O’Reilly has championed the role of meals on wheels.”
“I am open to ideas from everybody in the House in relation to the schemes of the Department, how we design them and the application processes for them. We had a good discussion at the social protection committee yesterday around some areas and on how we can improve them. We are going to working on that as well.”
“Absolutely. We want to try to have a Department that helps people who have to manoeuvre through these conditions. One of my frustrations in public life is the way we silo people. That day needs to go in terms of the Department of Health doing one job, the Department of Social Protection doing another and the Department of disability doing another. That is why we are taking a whole-of-government approach to the summit on the cost of disability on 13 May. I am working with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and other colleagues to identify silos that are making people's difficult journey even more difficult. Those diagnosed with rare diseases have enough challenges to deal with without the State getting in their way and making that journey and challenge even more difficult.”
“To come back to the meeting we had yesterday, we had a small discussion about the design of forms and the application process. That is something we are going to pursue. I am happy to engage with the Deputy in relation to that.”
“I am happy to engage with the Deputy and the rare diseases group around those issues and the proposals the group may have in relation to the systems within the Department. As I said in my response, we provide a range of supports for people who are unable to work due to illness or disability, and that includes people with rare diseases. Eligibility is not dependent on the type of rare disease but on how that disease impacts on a person’s ability to work and earn an income. The scheme already supports persons to work where they can. That is why we have an income disregard for the disability allowance. That income disregard is €527.60. That allows the person to work part-time within the confines of their condition if it affects their ability to work.”
“My Department is leading on this initiative but we also include other Government Departments in what is cross-government endeavour. It goes without saying that those who represent disabled people, disabled people themselves and their families, carers and advocates are also involved, and will play a full part in the consultation and in the summit on 13 May. I have launched a public consultation process on how a cost-of-disability payment and the strategic focus network can be best delivered, and I look forward to engaging with the Deputy and with the rare diseases group in the Oireachtas, through Deputy O'Sullivan, around supports that can be done there.”
“They can mean that a person is unable to work or only able to work part-time. My Department's income supports are designed to support a person to work where they can. For instance, disability allowance has an income disregard. This means a person can earn up to €527.60 and still keep a portion of their payment and the associated secondary benefits. In addition, those who are on illness benefit for longer than six months or who are on invalidity pension can transfer to partial capacity benefit where they can work, earn unlimited income and still keep a percentage of their payment. Under the national human rights strategy for disabled people, which was developed with significant input from disability groups and advocates, it was agreed to establish a strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability.”
“I thank Deputy Roche for his question. My Department provides a range of income supports for those who are unable to work due to illness or disability, including those with rare diseases. These include non-contributory payments that are based on a needs test, such as disability allowance, but also contributory payments that are based on PRSI contributions, such as invalidity pension. Eligibility for these supports is not dependent on the type of a rare disease a person has but on the extent to which the particular condition impairs or restricts a person's capacity to work. The purpose of these payments is to provide income support for those with a condition that limits their ability to earn an income. Rare diseases present unique challenges, and these differ from person to person.”
“A total of €486 million has been allocated for fuel allowance, with €230.5 million for the household benefits and the extension of the fuel allowance to those on the working family payment from this month on. This the first time the fuel allowance has gone to people on low incomes, which I particularly welcome.”
“I agree. I am happy to have an engagement with the CRU but, obviously, it is not statutorily responsible. We could have an engagement in the context that I do not have any role but I do think this is an important issue. There needs to be some sort of understanding of the pressure families and homeowners are under with these pay-as-you-go meters. There can be situations of what the Deputy calls microdisconnections where people are left without power and heat, with minimum notice. I will engage with the CRU around this and will emphasise the need for further engagement in this space. I will also engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, who is generally very constructive on these issues. I want to point out that we have made investments in this area.”
“As we discussed at the social protection committee yesterday, we have additional needs payments but we need to work on the consistency around those payments and I will work with the Deputy on that.”
“In relation to getting access to supports, I certainly want to work with the Deputy on that, particularly for the pay-as-you-go meters. I would be concerned about the rates that are charged on those meters. I will engage again with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on this. We increased the fuel allowance by €5 from the 1 January this year. That is a weekly payment of €38 for 28 weeks, which supports over 460,000 households with their energy costs and that will be an investment of €486 million. The household benefits package in 2026 million will be further €230 million. The heating supplement is there to assist people with exceptional heating costs. We had a good discussion at the disability forum yesterday about improving information and getting more information out about the heating supplement and I will be acting on that.”
“I recognise the challenges people using them face. I do not want a situation where people are without power unnecessarily. Supports should be given and made available to them. I look forward to working with the Deputy on this issue.”
“That being said, our primary role as a Department is to provide financial support to those households that require help with energy costs. As regards to income supports, my Department provides a range of schemes to assist with costs. We have increased the fuel allowance this year. We have increased the qualification for the fuel allowance to those on the working family payment, which will kick in from this week on. Other forms of assistance include the household benefits package, the heating supplement and additional needs payments. I will engage with the Deputy in relation to the experience we discussed at committee yesterday. Arising from that engagement, I intend to update the guidance we issue to our offices around these pay-as-you-go meters, in particular. I also deal with them in my own constituency office.”
“I thank the Deputy. She was going to send me some details in relation to the case yesterday because I want to make sure that situation does not arise again. The lead role in relation to the engagement with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities or energy providers in relation to pay-as-you-go meters is a matter for the Department of climate. While we have no function in this space, it is an area that we support people in. The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment has advised that the electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a EU regulatory regime whereby electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised and competitive. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities is an independent statutory regulator and is accountable for the performance of its function to the Oireachtas.”
“Going back to the reports from the Department of Finance and the future skills group I mentioned earlier, I want to ensure we have appropriate training and appropriate opportunities in place for people regardless of where they live in the country.”
“I agree. We want to avoid people, particularly at a young age, falling into that poverty trap. We want to keep them connected to the labour market, which we all agree is changing rapidly. That is why extra payments are given to those in training and on work experience. As I said, we are working on a new Pathways to Work strategy. We have had over 430 submissions. We had five stakeholder forum events across the country. We have also met our colleagues in government and in other agencies of Government. We are developing the draft document. I am certainly very much keeping an eye on the changing pattern of labour and the challenges of labour. As a former Minister of State at the Department of enterprise with a particular interest in the digital space, I am very much looking at where those trends are going.”
“As outlined, a young jobseeker participating in education or training can receive up to the maximum personal rate. For participants in the workplace experience scheme, the weekly rate increases to up to €369. We certainly will be focusing on Pathways to Work, which I will have a chance to talk about in my reply to a later question.”
“I assure the Deputy I do not want to give off any suggestion of the person she mentioned. We want young people to remain connected to the labour market, to avail of the employment and training opportunities and, more importantly, to avail of opportunities that are suited to their skills and interests as opposed to going through generic schemes. We went through the options earlier, including Springboard and the new changes to the Tús scheme. We want to ensure young jobseekers can receive a higher payment if they participate in training and employment programmes. I know that 99% of them want to do so but there can be challenges in terms of transport and accessing appropriate courses. We are trying to address those challenges as well.”
“As part of that strategy, I am determined to ensure that young people continue to be prioritised through education, training and employment supports. Accordingly, and in line with the reinforced youth guarantee, my Department continues to work to ensure young jobseekers receive a good-quality offer of employment, education or training within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving education. The current approach strikes the right balance in supporting young people into employment. I have no plans to change the rates for young jobseekers at this time.”
“My priority, rather than adjusting payment rates, is to give young people the best possible chance to participate in the labour market, as we have just discussed. Supporting young people to take up employment, education and training opportunities can enhance their employment prospects over time, as well as their ability to earn an adequate income to support themselves and their families into the future. If young jobseekers participate in education or training, they receive up to the maximum personal rate of jobseeker's allowance of €254. If they participate in a work placement experience programme, that weekly rate can increase to €369. As I said previously, we are currently finalising our work on the successor to the previous Pathways to Work strategy.”
“Age-related rates apply to persons aged between 18 and 24 in receipt of a jobseeker's payment. However, young jobseekers can receive the full adult payment if they participate in training and employment programmes. This is the correct approach, which will help to minimise the scarring effects that extended periods of activity can sometimes have on the long-term prospects and well-being of young people. Age-related rates are not applied to all young adults. Exemptions apply to those with dependent children, those previously in the care of Tusla or living independently and those in receipt of State housing supports such as the housing assistance payment, HAP. At the end of January 2026, 11,850 people were on reduced rates of €163.70.”
“We are well away from any budget preparations or commitments but, as I continue to assure the Deputy, it is my priority and we will go into the process looking to deliver it. The proposal we deliver will be one that is owned and shared by those with disabilities and their families, carers, representative organisations and advocates.”
“As I said, we are focused on a permanent payment, not a temporary payment from budget to budget. We are focused on getting the design right and on involving as many voices as possible to ensure we consider as many ideas as possible in order to get it right. We had very good and constructive discussions about this with the disabled persons' organisations yesterday. We want to ensure the summit in May is a practical, focused and business-like event. Certainly for me, it will not be a tick-the-box event. We genuinely want to hear from people and get their input into the design of the payment. We will use all the feedback from that process during the budget 2027 discussions. At that point, it will be my priority.”
“They continue to pursue an emergency winter payment but my focus is on fulfilling the programme for Government commitment to introduce a permanent payment rather than a temporary, one-off, year-to-year payment.”
“Supports are available but we want to do a lot more on this. That is why we are putting a huge amount of work into a permanent payment. The cost-of-disability summit in May will produce a briefing paper. I intend to bring that to the Government as part of the budget 2027 negotiations. We are only at the end of February and the budget negotiations are not yet under way. This issue will be my priority going into those discussions. I invite Deputy Hayes and all the political parties to take part in the submission process, as Deputy O'Reilly has indicated she will do, and to put forward their views on what a permanent cost-of-disability payment might look like and how it should be structured. We had a very good engagement with the groups yesterday.”
“To date, we have had over 80 submissions and we have tried to design the consultation to ensure the biggest accessible format available. We are open to input.”
“I met representatives of the disability consultative forum yesterday, which gave me an opportunity to engage directly with them on many of these issues. Last Friday, 20 February, I launched the public consultation process on how a cost-of-disability payment and a strategic focus network summit can best be delivered. It will run for over six weeks and will close on 7 April. We are inviting members of the public to participate in the consultation by submitting written, video or telephone contributions. That consultation is open to everybody, with particular encouragement for disabled people and their families and carers, disabled persons' organisations and representative groups. I encourage any interested party to visit gov.ie/cod .”