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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“I will not comment on individual cases, but we seek to support families such as that who are in need. In order for us to do that, there will always be rules to ensure that schemes are targeted and that we have the resources to meet the scheme. As I said, we are answerable to the Committee of Public Accounts and the C and AG in that regard. They have said the reviews have to continue to ensure that the right payments are being made and that the right people are getting supports from the Department. As I said, however, we will ensure that repeated requests for information are minimised and, where a review happens, that it happens in as quick a way as possible. In the context of the number of payments being made across all schemes by the Department, the number of reviews is actually relatively small.”
“We are very aware of the important role family carers play in society but, equally, we have to balance that awareness and that concern for those carers with a duty to ensure that those in receipt of social welfare payments meet the criteria and receive the correct payment. I absolutely assure the Deputy we will continue our work on minimising repeated requests for information.”
“I congratulate the Deputy on her appointment as Leas-Chathaoirleach of the coiste. Means reviews are an important part of control mechanisms. The C and AG and the Committee of Public Accounts have told us that these reviews need to continue not just for control but also to avoid a situation, such as happened in the UK, where people unwittingly amass very significant overpayments, which had to be recouped and caused very difficult situations for families. We will ensure that repeated requests for information are minimised and that every effort is made to conduct and complete those reviews as quickly as possible to avoid undue stress. We do not want to cause undue stress.”
“Means reviews form an important part of my Department's control mechanisms to help ensure people are in receipt of the correct amount. It is important to remember that reviews can lead to increases in payments to recipients as well as reductions. My Department undertakes periodic reviews to help minimise incorrect payments.”
“Significant changes have been made to the carer's allowance means test in recent years. From July, there will be a further increase which will see the weekly income disregard rise from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or a partner. This amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €292.50 and €585, respectively, since June 2022. These increases make the scheme accessible to more people and may increase payment rates for those currently on a reduced rate. A carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €69,000 will still retain his or her full carer's payment. The same carer with an income of €97,000 will retain a partial payment. Before the disregards were increased in June 2022, these figures stood at €37,000 and €60,000, respectively, for a two-adult household.”
“The carer's allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently more than 100,000 people in receipt of carer's allowance. Expenditure in 2025 is estimated to be over €1.24 billion. My Department also provides other supports for carers which are not based on a means assessment, including the carer's support grant, carer's benefit and domiciliary care allowance. Carer's allowance aims to provide income support to those whose earning ability is greatly impacted by their caring responsibilities and who need income support. 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 this Government.”
“I am absolutely with the Deputy in terms of the rural dwellers pilot. It would be good to get that up and running. It may feed into any work I have just suggested about the three schemes and their interaction.”
“Without being cheeky enough to suggest a work programme for the committee, as regards the interaction of CE, RSS and Tús, I would love to engage with Members on that or to hear what they could come up with on it. Deputy McGuinness has raised an important point that the schemes have evolved over the years. It would be good to maybe stand back and look at them to see if they are delivering for the participants. We know they are delivering for communities, but the profile and the needs of participants have changed, and I want to make sure they are delivering. I will leave that to Deputy O'Reilly and Deputy Wall. Maybe it is something to work on. As regards the RSS, I have examined fully the RSS review group that was commissioned by the former Minister of State, Joe O'Brien, and I am finalising some work within the Department on that.”
“As I said, their work is so important, not just for the communities that benefit but also for those on the schemes. I want to make sure they are as relevant and as up to date as they were when they were started.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as sin. Tá sé seo tábhachtach. The schemes have a lot in common; there are a lot of differences, though. All the schemes - CE, Tús and RSS - were set up with different priorities and different cohorts in mind, initially achieving different things but as they have evolved doing many of the same things. I am definitely looking at all the schemes. They play a vital role. As I look around, there is not a Deputy in the House who does not understand that role. It is a vital role for communities but especially for the participants. I acknowledge in particular the work of supervisors in all three cohorts: CE, RSS and Tús. I have been delighted to be able to make some changes as regards their positions.”
“These changes have resulted in an increase of approximately 500 in the number of participants in CE in the past 12 months. I assure Deputies McGuinness and Ó Snodaigh that I am keeping the eligibility criteria, durations and referral process under active review. Personally, I no longer see CE as a labour market intervention. It is much broader and wider than that and has a much bigger impact. I am asking my Department to look at it in a much broader context than the labour market perspective that has traditionally been taken.”
“CE also supports important and essential local community services. A number of changes have been made to support CE sponsors in the recruitment of participants. Provision has been made to allow participants who reach 60 years of age to remain on a CE scheme until they reach the State pension age. Flexibility has been granted to sponsors to retain existing participants for extended periods in cases where a replacement cannot be recruited immediately. There have been changes to the eligibility criteria to extend eligibility to the adult dependants of those in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and there has been a pilot scheme to extend eligibility to over-50s who are in receipt of credits or a combination of credits and jobseeker's benefit.”
“Tuigim cé chomh tábhachtach atá na scéimeanna seo. Tá siad ag déanamh an-jab i ngach cuid den tír. Tosóimid le CE agus beimid in ann RSS agus Tús a phlé ar ball. Community employment schemes make an extraordinary contribution right around the country. I have engaged with many of the schemes over recent months since my appointment as Minister. There are currently 19,693 participants and 1,223 supervisors on 810 CE schemes across the country. Government investment in CE will amount to some €370 million in 2025. This is an investment in communities and in people right across our island. The objective of CE is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long-term unemployed people by providing valuable work experience and training opportunities within their local communities as a stepping stone to employment in the open labour market.”
“I absolutely guarantee it will be considered. I fully understand the pressures those in receipt of DCA are under. We want to enhance their lived experience. It will be considered, in line with other commitments within the programme for Government. It is a commitment within the programme for Government and will be delivered on within the lifetime of this Government. I note the Deputy's strong support for the measure. We will continue to work with her on it.”
“We are expanding the scheme on a planned and budgeted basis. The expansion that will be implemented from September is currently being rolled out within the Department. People are receiving correspondence about that companion pass. This will be one of the biggest expansions of the scheme in its history.”
“I fully recognise the importance of DCA. That is why we in the Department have put such a focus on it. We have particularly focused on trying to reduce the waiting periods for appeals and applications. I fully understand how important it would be to extend free travel to include those in receipt of DCA for many reasons, including medical and social appointments. Regarding free travel, we are currently focused on implementing the decision made in budget 2025 to expand the free travel companion pass to everybody over the age of 70. As of next September, everybody over that age will be able to avail of a free travel companion pass. Last July, we expanded the free travel scheme to support people who were medically certified as being unable to drive for a period of 12 months or more. This includes people with epilepsy, for example.”
“I understand the importance of the scheme, particularly for children who are in receipt of DCA, as regards access to appointments and leisure activities. It is a priority we will be maintaining a close eye on.”
“Based on an additional 65,000 children benefiting, it is estimated that extending free travel to include those children would cost in the region of €7 million in a full year. It is not possible to deliver all of our programme for Government commitments at once and the extension of this scheme, along with other potential budget measures, is being considered in the context of the budgetary resources available. I am positively disposed to this measure and I note the Deputy's support for it but it will have to be looked at in the context of other priorities. At this time when we are quite far out from the budget, we are not in a position to make any commitment as to whether the measure will be included in budget 2026.”
“I thank Deputy Butterly for her question. The free travel scheme provides free travel on our main public and private transport services for those who are eligible. There are over 1 million customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on the free travel scheme in 2025 is €107.6 million. The programme for Government has committed to examining an extension of free travel to include children who benefit from the domiciliary care allowance. DCA is a non-means-tested payment of €360 a month per child. In addition, all recipients of DCA qualify for the carer's support grant in June of each year, which is worth €2,000. If the free travel scheme were to be extended to include children benefiting from DCA, it is estimated that some 65,000 children would benefit from the measure in 2026.”
“I have really focused on reducing the delays in the processing of applications and appeals for that payment. From May to June, we have reduced by half the number of appeals on hold, which will assist families who qualify for the allowance. I will continue to keep a laser focus on that payment in particular. That will address the first cohort of people to whom the Deputy referred.”
“We recognise that the cost of living is still incredibly challenging. Not all the measures we have taken have been one-off measures. The hot school meals and free schoolbook schemes are continuous improvements that will directly assist in reducing child poverty. The expansion of the hot school meals scheme, in particular, was not recognised in the SILC data. Deputy O'Reilly and I are at one on the importance of targeted payments. The child support payment and the threshold for the working family payment increased significantly in budget 2025. Those measures are very much targeted at families and children who are currently under the most pressure. Deputy McGuinness spoke about resilience. The first measure to point to in response is the domiciliary care allowance.”
“We are very focused on that challenge, which is why we made the biggest ever social protection package available in budget 2025, the impact of which is not reflected in the SILC data.”
“Tuigim go mór cé chomh dáiríre is atá an fhadhb seo. Is é sin an fáth go bhfuil a lán oibre déanta ag an Rialtas. We fully understand the challenges but a lot of work has been done in this space. The ESRI has shown, backing up Deputy O'Reilly's view, that direct social transfers by way of child-related cash and in-kind payments have lifted an estimated 157,000 children out of income poverty and 94,000 out of consistent poverty. I have given the background to the SILC data not to avoid any responsibility but to point out the issues. The consistent poverty rate for children reduced from 7% in SILC 2022 to 4.8% in SILC 2023 before increasing to 8.5% in SILC 2024. However, until eight to ten years ago, that rate was always above 10%, fluctuating up to nearly 13%. Pointing out fluctuations is not saying we do not have a challenge.”
“I spoke about the focus on the working family payment and child support payment and the impact the increases in those payments will have. We will continue to support those kinds of targeted payments to those on the lowest incomes, as well as measures in other areas that are brought forward by the Department. Our actions will be guided by a new child poverty reduction target and by the work of the Taoiseach in this area.”
“I expect that when the data begins to reflect the budget measures from 2023, 2024 and 2025, which include significant increases in the child support payment, double child benefit bonuses, free school meals, free schoolbooks and the newborn baby grant, we will see an improvement. To be clear, even in that context, we have work to do. In fact, a huge amount of work is already under way. We are looking beyond the data to fully understand the real challenges we face. We had a very good discussion at the social inclusion forum recently and will do so again at the pre-budget forum in July. We want to ensure payments are targeted, as the Deputy said, and reaching the people who really need them. I have already gone through a number of measures this morning, particularly with Deputy Heneghan.”
“I am aware of the report the Deputy referenced and I share her concern regarding the data from the 2024 survey on income and living conditions, SILC, presented in the report. However, as I said earlier this morning, the data does not fully capture many of the Government actions in recent years to address child poverty. SILC asks people each month to provide income and poverty status data for the previous 12 months. This creates a timing issue in that the SILC 2024 data does not include the impact of many of the measures announced in the budget of October 2024 and does not fully include the impact of measures announced in October 2023 or, indeed, October 2022. The budget measures announced in 2023 and 2024 involved the largest ever social welfare packages, which will take some time to be reflected in the SILC data.”
“It has done so on a confidential and personalised basis, with full respect for people's situations at this very difficult time. We will continue to work to ensure that support is made fully available.”
“Yes, jobseeker's pay-related benefit has been in place since March of this year and will apply. We have already received quite a number of applications - over 10,000 - so that is very much in place. Furthermore, the experience of MyWelfare.ie and people being able to apply online gives us a quicker turnaround and ensures that people do not have any major gaps in their income. There are also wider supports available through Intreo for those who may be made redundant, including training supports and assistance to seek future employment. Many of the workers have been with the company for a long time. For people who have not had to seek a job for some time, there is backup and support available in terms of preparation and training. That is very important and valued work the Department is doing.”
“Our primary concern is for the workers and their families. We want to minimise difficulties as much as possible at this very difficult time.”
“Yes. There is a long tradition with this company. There were previous short-term layoffs in 2023 and there was engagement at that time with the Department of Social Protection. There was departmental engagement on 9, 10 and 12 June of this year. We have been notified that there will be a number of redundancies but we will engage with each person. Intreo staff will provide a personalised service to each affected person. Our teams are more than willing to work to provide information on the immediate income support options that are available as well as the training and reskilling options that people may be interested in. We want to ensure that what is a very traumatic experience is made less traumatic if possible. I am more than happy to work with any representatives in the area to make sure that is happening.”
“Those affected should note that the easiest and quickest way to apply for a jobseeker's payment is online at MyWelfare.ie . We remain open to working with workers and union representatives in Wellman International, particularly at this very difficult time.”
“In addition, a team from my Department stands ready to meet the workforce, either virtually or in person, to ensure speedy access to income supports, support them into alternative employment, and access appropriate education, training and development options. We have discussed extensively this morning the jobseeker’s pay-related benefit, which is now available and provides a maximum weekly payment of €450, which will help people through this period of uncertainty. My Department has a range of employment programmes and schemes available to support customers to return to employment or start their own business. When people move onto a jobseeker's payment, the Intreo employment services team works with them to provide one-to-one support focused on what they need to assist them to remain in the workforce.”
“I thank the Deputy for his question. I am very well informed of the situation at Wellman by the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth. There is significant uncertainty for the employees, their families and the wider community and our thoughts are with those workers. Our priority within the Department of Social Protection is to ensure that affected employees receive access to all necessary supports. Notification of collective redundancy from the company concerned was received by my Department on 6 June. An official from my Department's employer relations team made contact with the company on the next working day so as to provide the affected staff with information on income, redundancy entitlements and employment supports. A meeting with workers took place this week.”
“Whatever we do will be targeted and focused on those most at risk of poverty and those in consistent poverty. I welcome the Deputy's acknowledgement that there are other Departments involved in this effort as well. We need to work on it collectively.”
“That is our intention. The work of the Department is to help those who are struggling. To give the Deputy a sense of the complexity of this, one of the considerations in the ESRI proposal was to amalgamate the working family payment with the child support payment but that would result in people losing out on what they are getting at the moment. If we are to do this, people cannot lose out. We have to look at expanding the working family payment and the child support payment as part of targeted measures. Anything we do in this space needs to be targeted and focused on those on low incomes, particularly workers. We have to ensure that people do not get a lower payment under a new system than they are currently getting. That could be an unintended consequence of some of the work we have seen today.”
“Táimid ag obair ar an two-tier payment. We are looking at that but there is quite a lot of work involved and it is a complex issue to examine. In the meantime, budget 2025 had targeted increases in the one-parent family payment and the jobseeker's transitional payment, which increased by €12 per week. The weekly rate of the child support payment, which is very important in this space, increased by €8 to €62 per week for those aged 12 years and over and by €4 to €50 for under-12s. There is also a €60 increase in the weekly income threshold for the working family payment, particularly targeting low-income workers. The child support payment and the working family payment are particularly targeted and focused. I am very conscious that we have a lot of work to do on child poverty.”
“We are also looking at work done by the National Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Taxation and Welfare. We will be considering all this work in the context, not only of budget 2026, but of our revised child poverty target.”
“These schemes provide targeted assistance that is directly linked to household income and thereby they support low-income families with children. Addressing child poverty is a key priority for the Government. That is why the programme for Government includes a range of measures to support children and their families. One such commitment is to explore a targeted child benefit payment and examine the interaction this would have with existing targeted supports to reduce child poverty. Existing supports include the working family payment and the child support payment. We are progressing this work and have regard to a wide body of evidence, including the work undertaken previously by the ESRI and what was contained in the presentation it made to the Oireachtas committee yesterday.”
“Mar is eol an Teachta, child benefit is a monthly payment to families with children up to the age of 16. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their nineteenth birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability. It is paid in respect of almost 1.3 million children. Expenditure on the scheme in the current year is estimated at more than €2.2 billion. In addition to child benefit, families on low incomes may be able to avail of other social welfare payments, such as the child support payment with primary social welfare payments, which is €62 per week for those aged 12 and over, and €50 per week for under-12s; the working family payment for low-paid employees with children; and the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance.”
“Other Departments also have work to do in supporting carers. This is not just the responsibility of the Department of Social Protection. Other Departments are involved in supporting full-time carers, family carers and those who work in the care industry. Across government, we will be keeping a focus on this.”
“I assure the Deputy that we are working on the plan and on what will be involved, not only financially but also in other ways, in the context of abolishing the means test, and we will continue to do so. I also highlight that a great deal of work has been done to support long-term carers. The long-term carer's contribution scheme ensures that people who have been full-time carers for at least 20 years will get contributions to cover the gaps in their records in order to allow them to qualify for the contributory State pension. That is beginning to take effect with carers who would otherwise have lost their contributions and not got any recognition for their work. We are fully committed to phasing out the means test, but I am conscious that there are other supports and issues we need to improve on.”
“As stated, there are other supports for family carers. The carer's support grant was the highest ever. It was paid out on 5 June with an investment of €334 million.”
“I reiterate our full support for carers. I fully recognise the gender impact caring has. Deputy Ardagh is right to highlight that. It is important to look at the progress made on disregards in recent years. I want that to continue and for more people to qualify for the payment. The carer's support grant, which was paid at the beginning of June, is not subject to a means test. It is paid out. We are working through all the issues that were highlighted by the Deputy to get an effective costing for the phasing out of the means test and the other issues she highlighted. We will continue to do that. In the context of budget 2026, I intend to seek the support of my colleagues to once again substantially increase the income disregards. That will be done in the context of the budgetary negotiations.”
“It is important that we make progress in a way that is sustainable and that balances the allocation of available budgetary resources. That is why we have committed to a measured and phased approach over a number of budgets. We are beginning our work on budget 2026 in the Department, and this will be a priority I intend to achieve over the lifetime of the Government.”
“A number of significant changes have been made to the carer’s allowance means test in recent years. From 3 July, there will be further increases that will see the weekly income disregards rise from €450 to €625 for a single person and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner. This amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €292.50 and €585 weekly since June 2022. From July, carers in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €69,000 will still retain their full carer's payment. Even with an income of €97,000, they will retain a partial payment. These increases have made the scheme accessible to many more people and may increase payment rates for those currently on a reduced rate.”
“The carer's allowance is the main scheme by means of which my Department provides income supports to carers in every community. As the Deputy will be aware, more than 100,000 people are in receipt of carer's allowance. Expenditure on the scheme in the current year is estimated to be more than €1.24 billion. Carer’s allowance provides an income support to people whose earning capacity is substantially reduced because they cannot work full time due to their caring responsibilities. It is means-tested to target the support to those most in need. In the programme for Government, we set out an ambition to significantly increase the income disregards for carer’s allowance with a view to phasing out the means test entirely during the lifetime of this Government.”
“They come with experience of managing and processing claims. I visited the social welfare appeals office last week to meet these officers and see their work at first hand. They are all very focused and are working hard to reduce any backlogs. The domiciliary care allowance is a good example of where a focused effort has reduced the backlog by almost half in just over a month.”
“In recent weeks, I took the time to try to visit all the Department's regional offices in which many of these claims are dealt with, including our head office in Dublin. I met all the staff, and they are doing absolutely fantastic work. We have nearly 7,000 members of staff across the Department of Social Protection, many of whom are managing these claims and turning them around as quickly as possible. Where there are information gaps, we try to address them as quickly as possible. We are investing significantly in technology to try to assist that as well. As the Deputy said, we have tried to change the language and make it more inclusive, but if there are places where that is not happening, we will address that. The Department and our staff are very committed to doing that. As stated, we have appointed 20 extra appeals officers.”
“We have set a time of six weeks with regard to carers and disability in the context of the turnaround of applications. It is important that we get the fullest possible information from people in support of their claims. The more information we have, the quicker we will make decisions.”
“I thank the Deputy for his feedback. We discussed this matter in the context of preparing a reply to his question. We are putting a huge number of resources into dealing with appeals. We have 20 extra staff who have been assigned to the appeals unit. They have been trained up and are working. The number of domiciliary care appeals decreased from approximately 1,200 in the middle of May to just over 600 by the middle of this month. The majority of those 600 cases relate to appeals made in April, May and this month. I will be focusing the extra resources in the appeals unit on carers in order to ensure that any backlogs are addressed. I do not have a figure at the moment. However, no claim should take up to a year to assess. If there are delays of that nature, the Department and I want to hear about them.”