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.”
The complete record
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 21 of 44.
“Every appeal is different and every scheme is different. Given the complexity of some of the schemes, getting to a ten-week turnaround time would be good for some of the schemes. I will revert to the Deputy, as I do not have the detail about supplementary welfare appeals. Appeals will also depend on the detail provided. It is not always easy to get the level of detail we need to do an appeal. At the end of quarter 3, the average processing time for all social welfare appeals was 21.2 weeks. I want to get that down. That is why we have made changes, such as assigning the 20 extra people. We have an appeals modernisation project. That was completed in quarter 1 2025, which brings in the online side of things and enhances the experience.”
“I continue to monitor that work in terms of ensuring we get the appeals back as efficiently as possible. There is always a balance between processing appeals and dealing with them. I want to try to make sure we get to a good balance with that and there is no particular scheme that is an outlier. That is why, this year, I have focused predominantly on domiciliary care allowance appeals. We have it down to a situation that I referred to in reply to the previous question.”
“They are 20 permanent staff for the appeals office. You do not just drop somebody into an appeals office. They need training and experience and there is a process in place within the appeals office to do that. It would have taken time for those 20 to be trained up and get stuck in but they are definitely getting stuck in. I also point out that we introduced new social welfare appeals regulations from 28 April. One of the key changes under those regulations is that the time limit to lodge an appeal has increased from 21 to 60 days. A lot more appeals are coming in as a consequence of that. There is also provision for the chief appeals officer to accept late appeals of up to 180 days in certain circumstances. The chief appeals officer continues to monitor the appeals on hand and the appeal processing times.”
“However, the average time to process an appeal at the end of quarter 3 of 2025 was 21.2 weeks, which is lower than the average of 23.5 weeks for 2024. Processing times are continuing to fall and once the backlog is reduced, I expect they will fall back to between ten and 12 weeks, which, given the complexity of the issues the appeals office deals with, is a reasonable timeframe.”
“Recognising that neither of these two factors is likely to change, the chief appeals officer has put in place measures to deal with the increase in appeals registered. Twenty additional appeals officers were assigned in 2025. Considerable progress has since been made, with 44,307 appeals finalised by the end of October 2025. This is a 96% increase in productivity on the 22,610 appeals dealt with by the end of October 2024. As a result, pending appeals volumes have been more than halved from over 22,000 in January this year to about 11,000 currently. They are continuing to fall and I continue to monitor them on a monthly basis. Inevitably, reported processing times increase as the office clears the backlog.”
“I thank Deputy O'Sullivan and I acknowledge his ongoing engagement on this issue. In 2024, the Department's deciding officers and designated persons made almost 3.4 million appealable decisions. Of these, 174,000 claims were disallowed or rejected, representing 5% of all decisions, and 40,684 appeals were registered. This represents just over 1% of the decisions overall. At current registration levels, it is projected we will again exceed 40,000 appeals by the end of 2025. This contrasts with appeal volumes of just over 20,000 in previous years. The increase in appeal volumes is believed to be attributable to two factors. These are demographic factors leading to higher demand for pensions, disability and carer's payments, and the introduction of a simple-to-use online appeals process.”
“The same carer with an income of €138,000 will retain a partial payment. We are determined to get rid of this means test and to ensure proper supports are given to those on the payment.”
“I will revert to the Deputy on the first point regarding multiple people in a home. With regard to pay-related carer's benefit, and as Deputy O'Sullivan knows, we introduced a pay-related jobseeker's benefit earlier this year. I am waiting to do a full 12-month evaluation of the impact of this scheme. It will give me guidance on introducing it for carers and for parental leave. Once again, I emphasise my determination to abolish the means test. The income disregards we increased this year mean that people who have never before engaged with the Department of Social Protection will have the opportunity to receive a full carer's payment. That is why it is challenging to estimate the number of people who will be involved. An income of more than €108,000 for a two-adult household is substantial and it will now get a social protection payment.”
“This latter figure is a very high-level estimate but it gives a sense of the range. This gives a sense of the implications of departing from a means-tested approach. That is why we will be abolishing it in a measured way over a number of budgets. This year's increase of 60% gives a sense of my ambition and determination in that regard. I certainly will be pursuing further increases. To give a little bit of leeway, we must also bear in mind that we have to look after those who are on existing carer's payments to ensure they get support as well.”
“The context of the commitment in the programme for Government is to do it in a progressive manner as part of the annual budget process. We are still finalising budget 2026 in terms of passing the Bill and we have not given a huge focus to 2027 yet. In terms of abolishing the means test for the carer's allowance, the Department has estimated a cost of approximately €600 million. This is based on administrative data. It is derived from the number of people on a reduced rate payment due to means, the number on a half-rate payment perhaps due to an overlap with another social welfare payment, and those who are in receipt of the non-means-tested carer's support grant. This cost, however, could stretch to a potential €3 billion per annum if everybody who self-declared as a carer in census 2022 were to qualify.”
“There are wider implications of departing from a means-tested approach and for this reason the income disregard is being abolished in a measured way over a number of budgets in line with the programme for Government commitment. Given that the scheme is demand led, and given also that it is likely that many people who are above the means threshold will have not previously applied for carer's allowance owing to this, it is difficult to estimate potential inflow from these measures. However, as with other schemes, the number of payments to be made under the scheme is not budget capped and the Department will closely monitor the inflow into the scheme to assess any change in trends. Data on take up will be published in all of our quarterly statistical releases.”
“The budget 2026 measure will benefit those current recipients who are on a means-reduced rate and who will see an increase in their payment rate, and those people making new claim applications subject to a means-reduced rate in 2026. On foot of the increases in the carer's allowance income disregards, a single person who provides full-time care but also does part-time work will next year be able to earn just over €54,000 and receive a full carer's payment. Similarly in a couple household, a person who is providing full-time care and where their partner might earn approximately €108,000 per annum will receive a full carer's payment.”
“I thank Deputies O'Sullivan and O'Connor for the question. The programme for Government contains the commitment to abolish the means test for carers over the life of the Government. Budget 2026 increases the earnings disregard for carer's allowance by €375 to €1,000 per week for a single person and by €750 to €2,000 per week for a couple from July 2026. These are the largest ever increases in the carer's income disregards. They are evidence of my commitment and determination to deliver on the programme for Government commitment. Since 2022 the disregards will have increased cumulatively by €667.50 per week for a single person and €1,335 per week for a couple.”
“We will bring to the table the feedback we get from discussions like this about those forms and the application process. We are constantly ensuring that the appeals process in particular is as efficient as possible. This is why the online process has made a big change.”
“We made a lot of changes in recent years to DCA. In fairness to the Department, there were 29,305 people receiving DCA in respect of 31,628 children in 2015. In 2024, there were 57,319 people receiving DCA in respect of 64,676 children. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that people have that support. We want to make further changes where possible. We have also expanded the payment in relation to DCA to parents of children or babies who remain in hospital immediately after birth. We have doubled the periods for which DCA has continued to be payable for a child who has been admitted to hospital on a full-time basis. As Deputy Daly has said, the changes in income disregard for carers' allowance will also ensure that people get a lot more support. We are committed to supporting parents. The Department is committed to doing that.”
“We have prioritised DCA appeals throughout 2025. There are currently 420 DCA appeals in hand. That figure in January 2025 was 1,700. Of the 420, 92% have been received since August 2025. I have made a very direct decision to focus on DCA appeals. It is going to kick out some other appeals but I really want to make sure that we do these forms properly and that they are not re-traumatising parents who are already in very difficult daily situations.”
“I have actually started the process of looking at all the forms in the Department. This entire office probably engages with all the forms on a daily basis. I would certainly like to get feedback from all the Deputies. We looked at the DCA form during the year. We engaged with DCA recipients and carers' advocacy groups, which improved the process. We provided additional information and online videos. I want to make the process as seamless as possible. I am very conscious of this and I keep reminding the officials in my Department that parents who are applying for DCA are going through really difficult journeys and that we have siloed them and are making their lives very difficult. We want to try to make this as easy a process as possible, bearing in mind that there need to be controls. We need to make this process as easy as possible.”
“Where decisions are overturned on review or appeal, this does not mean that the initial decision was incorrect. A decision can be overturned because the person requesting a review or appeal provides additional information that was not previously made available. Applicants are asked to provide as much detail as possible at application stage. My Department's officials and I are committed to providing a quality service to applicants for DCA. Earlier this year, we extended the MyWelfare service to provide for an online application process. As part of this process, the opportunity was taken to explore the design of the application form to make it easier for applicants. This involved consultation with relevant groups.”
“The medical assessor considers the severity of the child's condition, the expected duration, and the child's associated care needs, and then provides his or her medical professional opinion in relation to the child's eligibility for DCA. This is to aid the deciding officer in making a fair and accurate decision on the eligibility of the child for the scheme. The main reason, to date, for an application for DCA to be unsuccessful is that the application does not show that the child satisfies the medical criteria for the scheme. Eligibility for DCA is not based entirely on the child's disability or diagnosis, but primarily on the impact of the disability or diagnosis in terms of the associated care and attention required by the child compared to another child of the same age without their disability.”
“I thank Deputies Ardagh and Daly for this question. DCA is a non-means-tested payment of €360 per month and is payable in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability. The child must require continuous care and attention substantially over and above that required by other children their age. Applications for DCA are decided by a deciding officer on an individual case-by-case basis and based on the details provided in the application form by the applicant themselves and by the child’s GP or specialist. All new applications for DCA are referred for the opinion of a medical assessor in the Department.”
“In that context, Deputy Heneghan just made an interesting proposal regarding employment opportunities here in the Houses. We need to reimagine what the employment opportunities are for people with disabilities. We are too reliant on older models and I look forward to working with any organisation that can bring solutions to the table in that regard.”
“In relation to poverty, the cost-of-disability payment is going to be very focused on addressing that. As stated, there will be a need to make it as relevant as possible. I want to see us open up our imagination in the context of employment opportunities for people with disabilities and that we offer more opportunities in the digital space and in the creative space. That is why we have made some changes to the wage subsidy scheme to make it more efficient and attractive. We are constantly working to provide opportunities for people with disabilities. During the most recent work and skills week in October, we had a specific careers fair in partnership with AsIAm. That focused on people with autism and the skills and talents they can bring to any organisation. There was a really good response, and I intend to expand on that next year.”
“I am looking at new models in that regard. I saw a really interesting model with the NOW Group in Belfast a number of weeks ago. The NOW Group has prioritised and pioneered the just a minute card initiative for people with disabilities to help them to access services. We have increased the opportunities for those with disabilities to access employment. They are people who bring extraordinary talent and skill to any workplace that is lucky enough to have them.”
“It is important to constantly keep all of the Department's schemes under review and also review what the demand factors are. Work is under way into what a permanent cost-of-disability payment will look like, both in terms of the level of that payment and those who will qualify for it. People's experience of disability is not uniform. There is a challenge in the context of ensuring that those who need it are getting the most accurate payment and most accurate service from the Department. That is what I want to investigate over the course of the coming weeks and months in terms of our negotiations at our strategic focus forum. That will allow us to come back to the House with proposals for a permanent cost-of-disability payment. I am also very focused on increasing opportunities for employment for people with disabilities.”
“These increases will provide for: a €10 weekly increase to the maximum personal rate of payment on both schemes, with proportionate increases for qualified adults and those on reduced rates; the largest ever increases to the rate of the child support payment, at €8 per week in respect of children aged under 12 and €16 per week in respect of children aged 12 and over; the extension of the back-to-work family dividend scheme to people on DA and blind pension; and people moving from DA or blind pension to take up work will be able to retain their fuel allowance payment for five years.”
“In the Revised Estimates for 2025, the expenditure allocation for DA is just under €2.4 billion and the allocation for invalidity pension is €817 million. The total between the two is about €3.2 billion. Looking ahead to 2026, the equivalent figures to be presented to the Oireachtas are €2.6 billion for DA and €800 million for invalidity pension, which is a total of about €3.4 billion. As part of budget 2026, I was pleased to secure an increase in funding of nearly €200 million across both schemes compared with the 2025 allocations.”
“My Department provides a suite of income supports to people with disabilities, including disability allowance, DA, blind pension, invalidity pension and partial capacity benefit. DA is a means-tested payment for people who are substantially restricted from working because of their disability. Invalidity pension is a weekly social insurance benefit payment made to people who are regarded as being permanently incapable of work because of a long-term illness or disability. As is the case with the majority of my Department's schemes, expenditure on DA and invalidity pension is demand led. All applicants who meet the criteria of the schemes are entitled to a payment. There is no budget cap. If necessary, I bring forward Supplementary Estimates to address any situation where demand and costs exceed that set out in the annual Estimates.”
“It also has to be relevant in the context of the costs people incur as a consequence of their disability in order to ensure they will have the support they need. I want to make sure we get it right and that we get some sort of agreement around what it might look like in terms of the level of the payment, but also who should be eligible for it. There is a lot of work to be done, and I am very focused on getting it done in advance of next year's budget.”
“Our focus in this year's budget was on the fuel allowance, in terms of energy support, and on making permanent changes to it and extending it to people on the working family payment. There are 55,000 families on that payment. We have also made changes in order that those on disability allowance who move from that to work will keep their fuel allowance for five years. That addresses some of the cliff-edge concerns to which the Deputy referred. I will certainly discuss Deputy Heneghan's proposals around EnergyCloud and energy costs with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. The exact costs he referred to are going to be the focus of how we ensure the cost-of-disability payment will be permanent.”
“For instance, in this budget, we have brought in a change whereby somebody who is moving from disability allowance or a blind pension who wants to take up work will be allowed to keep their fuel allowance for up to five years after they enter employment. I have asked my Department to ensure that for somebody who moves into a work situation from disability allowance and, for whatever reason, it does not work out, there should be no time lag in getting them back on their payment. I am really anxious that people can take the leap and, though for lots of reasons it does not work out, they know they have the security of accessing that payment quickly and they do not have to go through the forms again. We will be formalising that approach as well.”
“We are very focused on that. As stated, there will be €4 million per week extra in payments and supports to the various schemes for people with disabilities. As discussed with Deputy Murphy, we are beginning the work on introducing a permanent cost-of-disability payment, as committed to in the programme for Government and I have begun the consultation process on doing that. I have asked my officials to ensure we have that process completed with a proposal ready for the Government well in advance of next year's budget. In relation to the issues the Deputy raised regarding the person he mentioned, I have started the work.”
“Across the disability allowance, invalidity pension, blind pension and domiciliary care allowance, over €250 million in additional funding has been made available when you compare the Revised Estimates for these schemes between 2025 and 2026. Sin €4 mhilliúin gach seachtain don chéad bhliain eile. The Department’s disability-related schemes and employment supports are structured to support recipients to pursue employment opportunities. I will come back to discussing that in the next round.”
“In budget 2026, I announced further improvements to the carer’s allowance means test that will be introduced next July. For carers who work, the weekly income disregard will increase by 60%, from €625 to €1,000, for a single person and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers who are part of a couple. This means that means a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €110,000 will still retain their full carer’s payment. Even with an income of €138,000, they would retain a partial payment. Those changes have been generally acknowledged as very positive. As we just discussed with Deputy Murphy, the targeted measures to support disabled people, include a €10 increase in weekly rates, the Christmas bonus and a €20 increase in the monthly rate of the domiciliary care allowance.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Is tuairim shuimiúil é sin agus b’fhéidir go mbeimis in ann é a phlé. That is certainly an interesting idea. I commend the Ceann Comhairle's predecessor, Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, who did a huge amount of work to introduce people with disabilities into employment roles within the Oireachtas. On the question the Deputy asked, the Government recognises the challenges faced by disabled people and family carers and is committed to supporting them. For example, with regard to carer’s allowance, the programme for Government contains a commitment to increasing the disregard with a view to phasing out the means test over the lifetime of this Government. As I discussed with Deputy O'Reilly earlier, that process is well under way.”
“These are permanent payments. They will not have to be renewed every year. Next year, I look forward to expanding those, expanding the eligibility criteria and, most importantly, working on an agreed model, as far as we can, of what a cost-of-disability payment may or may not look like.”
“That is happening. As I said, from next year, €4 million per week extra will be going into permanent payments in various support and payment schemes for those with disabilities. The means test for the disability allowance has one of the highest capital disregards. A recipient can have up to €50,000 in savings and still receive the full rate of payment. During the debate on the social protection Bill yesterday, the Deputy's colleague Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned a cliff edge in this area. That is something I want to work with the Deputies on separately in the context of the annual cost-of-disability payment. I am also trying to work with various groups with regard to encouraging businesses with regard to employing people with disabilities. That is why there will be €250 million extra next year, or €4 million per week.”
“I look forward to consulting with the Oireachtas committees on social protection and disability matters as to what that might look like, who should qualify for it and how it should be paid. That is a commitment we have under the national human rights strategy for disabled people, which was published on 3 December last. I have begun the work already in relation to the strategic focus network. In December, we will begin the work to engage on what the payment will look like. We are very focused on introducing that payment. It will be a key priority as we come into the next budget sequence.”
“What we have already done and what we are going to do over the course of Government is turn those one-off payments into permanent supports in a way that people can plan on a year-to-year basis. This year, as I have said, as a result of the weekly increase in the rate of payment relating to the domiciliary care allowance and the fuel allowance and other changes, there will be an extra €250 million going into permanent supports that will not have to be reviewed every year. That will continue in the next series of budgets. That is why I have started the work on what a permanent cost-of-disability payment will look like. I want it to be annual and incremental, but I am not going to impose a model without consulting with the various disability groups.”
“I will be meeting those organisations during December and I have asked my officials to ensure that I will have a proposal to bring to Government next year in relation to the cost of disability payment ahead of the budget process.”
“As I said, we are increasing the earnings disregard for carer’s allowance by record levels. Across the disability allowance, invalidity pension, blind pension and domiciliary care allowance, over €250 million in additional funding has been made available when comparing the Revised Estimates for these schemes between 2025 and 2026. In addition, the recently published National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 takes a whole-of-government approach and includes a commitment to establish a strategic focus network on the cost of disability, led by my Department. My officials have already held meetings with a number of organisations to discuss the possible structure and content of this network.”
“These measures include: a €10 increase in the weekly rates of payment, bringing the personal rates of payment to €254 per week from January; a Christmas bonus double payment to all persons getting a long-term disability payment, to be paid in December 2025; a €20 increase in the rate of domiciliary care allowance, bringing the rate to €380 per month; and a €5 increase in the fuel allowance, bringing it to €38 per week. Those moving from disability allowance or the blind pension to take up work will now be able to retain their fuel allowance payment for five years. The back to work family dividend is also being extended to this group, where they have children. From January, we are extending the wage subsidy scheme to people who acquire a disability while in employment and increasing the rates paid from April.”
“I thank the Deputy. As he said, the programme for Government commits to introducing a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment. We will introduce and incrementally increase this payment. These commitments will be advanced over the lifetime of the Government, having regard to the policy and budgetary context. In budget 2026, I provided for a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures. We were clear from early this year that there would be no one-off measures in this budget. Not everything, however, in terms of our programme for Government commitments will be done in the first budget. The budget package contained significant targeted measures to support disabled people.”
“I share the Deputy’s concerns and I will be discussing these NAERSA, including around digital literacy and ensuring that people who do have digital challenges and do not have that access to digital will be able access their information. This is something I try to do right across the Department. The establishment of an independent authority separate from the Government is in the best interests of those 750,000 people to make the best possible return for their future. I am confident it will make those decisions in the best interest of the citizens.”
“That is exactly why we have established the structure of NAERSA, which is independent of the Department, with a very successful and experienced team of staff that we are building up now. It has an independent board that represents the interests of workers, employers and the public. Those kinds of operational decisions will be made by NAERSA. In relation to people exiting the scheme, it will be some years before that happens. NAERSA will take full operational control of the scheme and be able to provide that level of information. My focus now is getting it up and running. It is about trying to get an understanding that this is happening and this is why we have information resources available on gov.ie/autoenrolment .”
“They will also have the choice to make whatever investment suits their stage in life, be that high-risk, medium-risk for low-risk investment. Through all that, we will ensure the fees associated with this are understood and transparent. Many people do not have that accessibility or availability in existing pension arrangements.”
“Ireland is the last country in the OECD to introduce auto-enrolment. This is not a good thing. The only good thing about it is we can learn from other products and countries and look at what we need to change here to make sure we do not end up with their problems. We have looked closely at NEST, given its proximity to us. We will observe it and ensure, through NAERSA, which will be independent of the Department and the Minister of the day, that it keeps us relevant. Most importantly, it is necessary to ensure it is as efficient and as accessible as possible. It is not the State's money but each individual’s money. It is money belonging to each of the 750,000 people who are a part of this scheme. They will have access to information through the My Future Fund app online to see where their money is going and its investment.”
“I am committed to ensuring that the fees in My Future Fund are kept low and that they are transparent, accessible and understandable, especially as the prospective participants in the system will be lower- and medium-income earners.”
“They will be the same for all participants regardless of their income or the size of their retirement fund and will, ultimately, provide much better value for money for the participant over the course of a standard retirement planning horizon. In addition to administration fees, there will be some fees for investment management services. These services have been procured through a competitive procurement process conducted under EU rules. That tendering process required fees to be less than 0.1% of assets under management. In this regard, I can confirm that the prices attached to the bids were significantly below the maximum ceiling and represent very good value for participants.”
“The administration fees associated with automatic enrolment are under active consideration as we speak and will be finalised following consultation with the new chief executive of the National Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, NAERSA, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation. I have written to the Minister this week in relation to this issue. As previously announced, the administration fee will take the form of a flat weekly fee rather than a commission based on a percentage of funds under management. In this way, the administration fee will reflect the actual costs of administration, which do not vary with fund size.”
“I thank the Deputy. I take this opportunity to wish him well. I look forward to working with him. This is his first time attending parliamentary questions as his party's spokesperson for social protection. We will introduce automatic enrolment, My Future Fund, from 1 January 2026. The aim is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in our country and to provide workers with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income. There will be two separate fee elements. First, there will be an administration fee, which will cover the collection of contributions, the allocation to the investment plans and the provision of account management services. Second, there will be a separate fee for investment management services.”