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 36 of 44.
“My Department is engaging with officials in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and in my other Department of Rural and Community Development as well as local authorities, which are important in this space, to allow us to deliver collectively on the recommendations in the RSS review. Most importantly, we will continue to engage with the farming and rural development organisations. I am aware that, despite the fantastic work of the scheme and its supervisors and so-called implementing bodies, there are vacancies in schemes all over the country. I know those can be filled if we have the right flexibility. There are vacancies and schemes all over the country that I know can be filled if we have the flexibility.”
“I thank Deputies Cahill and Conway-Walsh for their remarks. Regarding the review, we have fully implemented five recommendations. Actually, I had a meeting yesterday with officials on the remaining ones, including extending eligibility to people not directly engaged in farming or fishing but who have a connection to a rural community and the issue of two people accessing it. I have asked them to come back to me on those issues. Regarding Deputy Cahill's comments on biodiversity, we are committed to exploring opportunities with key stakeholders that will provide options for grant funding for green initiatives and to further explore options for those who wish to volunteer their time to local services.”
“Once again, I highlight and thank RSS participants, supervisors and implementing companies throughout the country. I intend to work hard on this. Finally, I endorse the remarks of Deputy Cahill in respect of former Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív and his work in this space.”
“Officials are engaging with other relevant Departments and agencies as part of this process. Some of the recommendations we are exploring in this process include the recommendation to extend the RSS on a pilot basis, with 250 places to be made available to rural dwellers who, although not engaged in farming or fishing, are over 50 and are on a relevant social welfare payment. I have asked my officials to expedite that particular work. The other recommendations are to allow a couple engaged in farming or fishing to both access the scheme and to extend the scheme to those engaged in farming or fishing who may not be the holders of a herd number or a fishing license but who have what is termed a defined connection to the farming or fishing enterprise. I am very aware of the extraordinary contribution the RSS makes.”
“I am happy to report that a number of the recommendations are being implemented, including from this year replacing annual contracts with the provision of three-year contracts to existing RSS participants. Instead of the current annual review process, the renewal process will now be undertaken at three-yearly intervals for those under 60 years of age while existing RSS participants who reach the age of 60 will not be subject to any further review of means or circumstances until they exit the scheme at the age of 66. The implementing bodies have also been asked to explore options with people who are exiting the rural social scheme to encourage them to participate as volunteers within the company, in particular those who have reached 66 years. I am continuing to explore options to implementing the remaining recommendations.”
“I thank Deputy Cahill for his question. As he said, the rural social scheme plays an important role in the life of rural communities. I wish to highlight and thank every participant, supervisor and sponsoring company for their work in this space. The RSS provides an income support and part-time employment opportunities for farmers and fishers who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who may be underemployed in their primary occupations. A review of the RSS was published in July 2024 in Newport, County Mayo, with 19 key recommendations to address the sustainability of the rural social scheme to further add to its flexibility.”
“I agree with the Deputy. In our preparation for responding to his question, I have asked that we do more work in terms of reaching out to people who may qualify but who may not know. Those figures strike me as low. The Department has been doing a lot of work in this space in terms of trying to bring the scheme to people's attention. Maybe with the support of colleagues across the House, we can do that by way of newsletters and so on. We will be doing more work this year to draw people's attention. Many carers may not realise that they can now qualify for a contributory pension or may not have had the chance to actually see that they do. We will be proactive in trying to bring people's attention to it.”
“Application forms for the contributory State pension issue to people who have not applied for their pensions. Details of people who were awarded 20 years or more long-term carers contributions and the numbers being awarded a full rate and reduced rate State pension are included in the table going to the Deputy. Long Term Carers Contributions and State Pension (contributory) Figures @ 19/04/2025 Customers awarded 20 years or more Long Term Carers Contributions Customers awarded 20 years or more Long Term Carers Contributions who are 66 years of age or more Customers awarded full-rate State Pension (contributory) that include Long Term Carers Contributions Customers awarded reduced-rate State Pension (contributory) that include Long Term Carers Contributions 2,608 1,763 774 681 I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.”
“We have had this discussion a few times today and the Government acknowledges the important role that carers are playing and we will continue to support them in that role. The enhanced State pension provision for people who have been caring for an incapacitated dependant for 20 years or more was introduced on 1 January 2024. If a person had more than 20 years of caring for an incapacitated person, long-term carers contributions are included in his or her pension calculations. An online application for long-term carers contribution is available through mywelfare.ie . My Department continues to review State pension contributory applications where customers are awarded long-term carers contributions for 20 years or more and are in receipt of a reduced rate or payment.”
“We may be able to look at an additional needs payment or some sort of support because nobody should have to make a choice like that between protecting her health and getting essential healthcare and having the food that is essential to that health. If the Deputy gives me the details, we will be more than happy to work with her on this.”
“I agree with Deputy Burke and we will try to do that. Not just during Covid, but during Storm Éowyn we saw the real value of local groups, hubs and services. With my other hat of rural and community development, I am working within the Department on supporting those local hubs and services. The timing of hospital appointments frustrates me. Even if a person was able to use public transport, the timing of a hospital appointment in Galway or any regional centre does not often reflect where that person has to travel from. More work can be done in facilitating people who are in a position to use public transport to use it, or even those with their own transport not to have to come in during rush hour, adding to the stress of the appointment. Regarding the specific case, I am happy to work with Deputy Conway-Walsh's office.”
“That is on the basis and data we have available from a number of resources, including the CSO and the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, which shows the cost of living for a single person is slightly more than the individualised costs of two people living together.”
“For the record of the House, the eligible payments are the State pension, the widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension, the widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension under the occupational injuries benefits scheme, the incapacity supplement and the deserted wives benefit. The living alone increase is also paid to people aged under 66 who live alone and are in receipt of the disability allowance, invalidity pension, incapacity supplement or blind pension. There are no circumstances where the living alone allowance can be paid to people who are not in receipt of a primary qualifying payment from my Department or who do not meet the living alone eligibility criteria.”
“I endorse the Deputy's comments, particularly regarding rural poverty. I will keep a laser-like focus on it during my time in the Department. I commend the work done by organisations such as Local Link, which is expanding its footprint to address the exact kind of loneliness the Deputy has just referred to. The living alone allowance, or the living alone increase as it is formerly known, is available to those who are in receipt of the qualifying payments. It is a living alone allowance, not a scheme or stand-alone payment. It is a supplement to a primary social protection payment of €22 per week made to people aged 66 or over who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone.”
“As part of the budget planning process, I will continue to consider any improvements that can be made to ensure these benefits are continued in a targeted manner so that the vulnerable people who need them are getting the support. As the Deputy will be more than aware, any future decisions will have to take account of the availability of financial resources.”
“These measures include a new means threshold of €524 for a single person and €1,048 for a couple. In addition, the amount of capital disregarded in the means test for fuel allowance was increased from €20,000 to €50,000. Savings of more than €50,000 are assessed on a proportionate basis only. Other measures include the weekly means threshold for those aged under 70 has increased by €80 to €200 above the appropriate rate of contributory State pension. Disablement benefit and half-rate carer's allowance payments are now disregarded when assessing means for fuel allowance purposes. Disablement benefit no longer disbars a household from receiving the fuel allowance payment. Budget 2025 has also allowed for carer's allowance to be considered a qualifying payment for fuel allowance since last January.”
“I thank the Deputy for his question. As he knows and referred to, the programme for Government has committed to protect core welfare rates while ensuring that available resources are targeted at vulnerable groups. The programme for Government includes a commitment to examine key ancillary benefits such as the fuel allowance, household benefits package and living alone allowance to support vulnerable groups. This is an ongoing activity as part of my Department's budget planning each year. For example, there have been a number of expansions under recent budgets to the fuel allowance payment which will make it more available to vulnerable cohorts. In January 2023, enhanced fuel allowance measures for people aged 70 and over were introduced. In budget 2025, these enhanced fuel measures were extended to all those aged 66 or older.”
“Some 3,000 referrals have been made through the early engagement process for further education or employment supports. We have also, as referred to earlier, launched the WorkAbility programme, which is co-financed with the EU employment, inclusion, skills and training programme. In 2024, more than 1,400 people engaged in projects supported by WorkAbility. That gives a sense of the work under way across the country. However, we have much more to do. I have determined that my Department will do its part. Other Departments need to do so too. That is why the Government is focused on a new national disability strategy.”
“I thank the Deputy. Since the Government was elected, we have prioritised the Cabinet committee on disability, which is chaired by the Taoiseach and meets monthly. It is addressing a range of issues, including income, but also services and supports. We had a discussion with Deputy John Connolly earlier about the wage subsidy scheme to assist employers and encourage them to employ people with a disability. We will be relaunching the reformed wage subsidy scheme next week and giving people information. In our Department, we are in the early stages of the early engagement process, which proactively seeks to assist disabled people who wish to return to work and to give them supports through specially trained Intreo staff. All engagement on this is on a voluntary basis.”
“Building on that, progress my Department will now lead on the introduction of an annual cost-of-disability payment, as committed to in the programme for Government. We are currently examining the best way of delivering on this commitment within the overall budgetary context. The Deputy can be assured that we will prioritise this payment in budget discussions with our colleague, the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Jack Chambers.”
“The Government, under the Minister, Deputy Foley, has prioritised the development of a new national disability strategy, a cross-governmental strategy that will have a focus on improving access to services and bringing down the extra costs I referred to. Alongside this, in the programme for Government, we have committed to introducing a permanent annual cost of disability support payment. That annual cost of disability support payment will build on progress made over the last number of years, where we took steps to recognise the additional costs associated with disability. In the last three budgets, we brought forward an extensive range of cost-of-living support measures to support people with disabilities and their families.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an cheist. The Indecon report on the cost of disability, commissioned and funded by my Department, found that the extra costs of disability are due to a number of factors, including higher costs of healthcare, transport, education, housing and other services that arise because of a higher level of dependence on these services by people with disabilities. In that context, the report noted that addressing these costs was not simply a matter of a higher welfare payment but would need to incorporate improvements in the delivery of and access to these services and others.”
“The purpose of that proposed change would be to take advantage of real-time PAYE information, to move away from the days of a work approach to an income-based approach. That will ensure that a person will always be better off taking up employment. As I said, I want to publish draft proposals which will allow for a full consultation with all stakeholders, including the Oireachtas. I congratulate the Deputy on his appointment to the Oireachtas committee on social protection, rural and community development in advance of any final agreement on the working age payment.”
“Absolutely. As I said to Deputy O'Connor earlier, we want to ensure that the social protection system is work-friendly and the welfare traps which inhibit people from taking up work are removed. I highlighted earlier that if a person on jobseeker's payment receives an offer of part-time work, he or she can end up worse off financially if his or her hours are spread over the whole working week rather than concentrated in three days or less. That is an anomaly I want to address. A proposed potential model of a working age payment would change the basis of the current payment structure so that a person's payment would be based on a percentage of the difference between their income and a specified threshold for the family type.”
“That person will work with a jobseeker on a one-to-one, confidential basis to encourage, support and assist him or her in securing employment and to develop an agreed personal progression plan which is based on a person's needs and skills that he or she has or may need to adjust or improve to become job ready. It will support jobseekers with curriculum vitae and interview preparation. It provides access routes to work experience and employment opportunities. Our Intreo partners provide a service to employers by promoting the Department's schemes and supports and assist employers with filling vacancies. They also provide access routes to education and training where skill gaps which have been identified can be fulfilled locally within Offaly or in the region.”
“Absolutely. We had a discussion on a previous question, asked by Deputy James O'Connor, about the introduction of the commitment in the programme for Government to introducing a working age payment. That is important to ensure that people who transition from a welfare support payment to work are not worse off. I will be focused on that. As I said, we will publish a number of potential models and look for feedback over the coming months. Regarding the transition, working through the Intreo offices and our Intreo partners, we want people to get the services of an employment personal adviser or a job coach.”
“The Department works closely with employers to help them fill vacancies and to place unemployed jobseekers and other welfare recipients, including people with disabilities, into these vacancies. In Offaly, 14 jobseeker events took place during 2024, ranging from recruitment events to information sessions and to date in 2025, five events have taken place, including two recruitment events for healthcare and construction. The Intreo teams in Tullamore and Edenderry are available to assist customers in their transition to employment and will assess the appropriate support having regard to the individual’s skills, education and employment opportunities. I want to take this opportunity to thank the staff in my Department for their ongoing work in Offaly. I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.”
“These externally contracted services are provided through offices in Tullamore, Edenderry and Birr. As the Deputy will be aware, one of the largest Intreo partner providers is headquartered just across the county border in Roscrea. Employment personal advisors engage with jobseekers on a one-to-one basis to develop a personal progression plan, which will identify steps the jobseeker must take to support them to progress to sustainable employment. There is a range of supports on offer, including further education, training and upskilling options, financial support such as the training and support grant and programmes like the work placement experience programme, community employment and Tús.”
“I thank Deputy McCormack. Our national employment strategy, Pathways to Work, sets out the Government’s approach to supporting jobseekers to prepare for, access and take up employment opportunities. In line with this strategy, my Department’s Intreo employment services throughout the country engage with jobseekers to support them to find work. The Government has provided in excess of €657 million for employment supports in 2025. A total of 2,930 people in Offaly were on the live register in March 2025. Intreo staff in Tullamore and Edenderry, together with the Department's service partners, Intreo partners, offer an individualised employment service to these customers. The externally contracted employment service provision provides the Department with additional support capacity to meet current and future needs.”
“The Deputy raises a very important point. My Department's focus is on improving the income supports that are being made available to carers and improving the support that we as a Department can give to them. In terms of our aging population, we have to work with our colleagues in the Department of Health to ensure that we align all of our plans in this space. That is something I am more than happy to work on with the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, in terms of a shared approach by both Departments. That would be a very worthy endeavour. In our Department, we have carer's information. The Department of Health has information on needs, as the Deputy will know from his time in that Department, in terms of the health needs of the aging population and what will need.”
“I value each and every one of them, not just for the what they are doing for the State but for communities around the country, their families and the people they care for. While I have the privilege of being a Minister for Social Protection, I will work to ensure that our Department does everything it can to protect and engage with carers. We will have direct engagement with carers from all over the country in the carers forum during May.”
“I will clarify it for the Deputy after the debate. We are looking at everything. I will not accept the contention that we do not value carers. We absolutely do value them. We have shown through a number of initiatives in recent years that we do so. There have been initiatives in successive budgets and contributions around income disregards and the carer's support payment. We have introduced insurable credits. That shows that people who have cared over many years can now get a contributory State pension, something they could not do before the introduction of that measure. I will revert to the Deputy on the report. We had engagement with carers' organisations yesterday on their agendas, not just in the social protection space but across other Departments. We will work with colleagues across Government on carers to improve their lives.”
“I have already gone through the income disregards which will increase from €450 to €625 for a single person and from €900 to €1250 for a carer with a spouse or partner. Since June 2022, a cumulative increase in the disregard is €292.50 for a single carer and €585 for a carer who is part of a couple. That shows a direction of travel on this. I am determined to continue the work of my predecessor, Heather Humphreys, in this regard.”
“I assure the Deputy that we absolutely value the work of carers. That has been shown by the work done on the income disregards, which will take effect this July, in recent years and the introduction of the long-term carer's contribution scheme in January 2024. Under that scheme, a person who has been a full-time carer for an incapacitated dependent for at least 20 years, or 1,040 weeks, can get long-term carer's contributions to cover gaps in their contribution record. This will allow them to qualify for a contributory State pension. That is the first time this has happened. The carer's benefit payment has been extended to the self-employed. We have also introduced and increased the carer's support grant to €2,000, the highest rate that payment has ever been.”
“This means that a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €69,000 will still retain their full carer's payment and even with an income of €97,000 will retain a partial payment. As the Deputy said, the programme for Government commits to continue this process. We will significantly increase the income disregards for carer’s allowance in each budget with a view to ultimately phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the Government.”
“In common with other social welfare payments, the primary objective of the carer’s allowance payment is to provide an income support to people who experience a contingency that means that their capacity to earn an income from employment is significantly reduced. Carer’s allowance is means-tested and does not require any social insurance contributions. Means tests are used within the social welfare system to target the support to those most in need in a manner that is progressive in terms of income distribution. The income disregards for carers are already the most generous in the social welfare system and are being further improved. This July the weekly income disregard will increase further from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner.”
“In future, I will make sure we have the answers as Gaeilge for the Deputy. We are very aware of the key role that family carers play. The main income supports to carers provided by my Department are carer’s allowance, carer’s benefit, domiciliary care allowance and the carer’s support grant, which will account for over €1.9 billion of my Department's budget in 2025. The carer’s allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to carers. There are currently 99,256 people in receipt of carer's allowance, which accounts for €1.24 billion of my Department's budget.”
“I have already met with a number of groups in this space pointing out many anomalies in the system we need to address to assist lone parents. As the Deputy said, it is a very challenging role. I have engaged with the groups and unfortunately it seems there are systems that are not helping them. I am determined to address those anomalies to make sure that there is support in place for lone parents who do such an important job right throughout the country.”
“I should also highlight a number of changes that have been made to assist lone-parent families in recent budgets. Within the context of the programme for Government, we are looking at a range of reviews of supports for lone-parent families. We are currently preparing a work plan to implement that commitment.”
“This payment rate is €244 per week compared with €360 per month for domiciliary care allowance, meaning that payments into the household will increase by over €8,400 a year. The person formerly in receipt of the one-parent family payment can move to the jobseeker’s allowance payment, which is paid at the same rate as the one-parent family payment, or, alternatively, where such a person is providing full-time care, they can apply for full-rate carer's allowance. In the latter case, the person can work 18.5 hours a week and retain the payment. It is not necessarily the case that the family of a child who has an ongoing disability which requires their parent to provide full-time care will inevitably experience a reduction in payment. However, if there are cases where that is happening, I will certainly work with the Deputy to address that.”
“I thank the Deputy for his question. I take it that it concerns people in receipt of the one-parent family allowance, domiciliary care allowance and the half-rate carer's allowance in respect of a child who is turning 16 this year. Of the approximately 10,200 people currently in receipt of both the one-parent family payment and half-rate carer's allowance, approximately 390 will cease being in this position during 2025 due to the age of their youngest child. However, it is important to note that at age 16, the person for whom the half-rate carer's allowance or domiciliary care allowance was being paid becomes eligible to apply for the disability allowance in their own right.”
“We will absolutely engage across the House on proposals in this space. People are being disincentivised from moving from the welfare system into work because of anomalies that should no longer exist. With everybody's input, we can do that, hopefully by the end of this year.”
“As stated, we will be introducing a working-age payment to remove inconsistencies and anomalies in the current jobseeker's payments that are discouraging people from taking up employment. One of the proposed models is to change the basis of the current payment structure in order that a person's payment will be based on a percentage of the difference between their income and a specified threshold for the family type. The purpose of that change would be to take advantage of real-time PAYE information and to move from the days-of-work approach to an income-based approach. That would mean that a person should always be better off by taking up employment. However, I will be publishing draft proposals for full consultation with stakeholders and Oireachtas committees before we agree any final design of what a working-age payment might look like.”
“If Deputy O'Reilly would like to drop me a line on that, I will follow up on it. I know more than most the value of school caretakers, particularly to the teachers. I congratulate Deputy O'Connor on his appointment as Chairman of the employment and enterprise committee. I look forward to working with him. In that context, we need to ensure that the social protection system can be worker friendly. Welfare traps which are inhibiting people from taking up work need to be removed. For instance, if a person on jobseeker's allowance receives an offer of part-time work, they can end up worse off financially if their hours are spread over the entire week rather than concentrated over three days or less. That is an anomaly I want to address.”
“In addition, the Department supports employment transitions through the part-time job incentive scheme, which facilitates part-time employment for up to 24 hours per week, and through the working family payment.”
“The first year is paid at the full rate and the second year is paid at 50%, which means that they receive an in-work welfare payment to supplement employment earnings. Third, people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance can opt to return to education and training, or to move into self-employment, and continue to receive a welfare payment. For the full duration of their training or education course, they receive the full rate of payment. If they take up self-employment, they receive a full payment rate for the first year and 75% for the second year. Jobseekers who take up a work placement programme, community employment or Tús placements, also receive an increase in their payment rate and can continue to receive any secondary benefits.”
“In the meantime, a number of arrangements are in place to incentivise and encourage people in receipt of the jobseeker's allowance scheme to take up work or to engage in training and development programmes to prepare for work. First, a person in receipt of jobseeker's allowance is allowed to work for up to three days per week and continue to receive a partial payment. The first €20 of earnings per day is disregarded with the balance of income assessed at 60%. A person can also retain secondary benefits, such as fuel allowance, subject to meeting the relevant means test. Second, under the back to work family dividend scheme, people taking up full-time employment retain the child support element of their payment for two years.”
“I thank the Deputy for his question. The programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce a new working-age payment to simplify and address those inconsistencies in payment arrangements, which face people who return to work from a jobseeker's payment. An outline of the proposed approach was published as part of the consultation process on the introduction of a new pay-related benefit. I am particularly pleased to say that was introduced at the start of April. I acknowledge the considerable work of the Department of Social Protection in getting that over the line. We are proceeding to develop a more detailed consultation process on the working-age payment model. I will launch this consultation later this year.”
“I commend groups such as Open Doors that are working very hard to promote the scheme, to encourage employers to address what, in many cases, are genuine concerns but in other cases are issues that can be deal with, and to encourage a greater take-up of the scheme. I am not happy with the take-up of the scheme and want to see it expanded. The subsidy rate is a budgetary issue. We will engage with the Minister for public expenditure on that in the context of budget 2026.”
“I endorse the Deputy's remarks on employability and Work West. A number of groups in this space are doing very important work. We will launch the reviewed and renewed scheme next week. We will seek to work with employers' organisations and various groups throughout the country to promote the scheme and the benefits for an employer in having somebody with a disability, who will bring that life experience, on his or her team. I recommend colleagues on all sides look at our Department's promotional work and videos on this, which highlight some of the companies throughout the country that do this and its value both to the employer and, most importantly, the person with a disability.”