It is not tangential. It is really crucial that we get consistency of information and a certain level of information and engagement. I will revert with regard to that. During quarter 1 of this year, nearly 9,000 disability allowance decisions were accepted and approved so we also have to look at the overall approval rate, which continues to be quite high. I will follow up with engagement with the various organisation…
TDs / Dara Calleary
Dara Calleary
Minister for Rural and Community Development and the GaeltachtMinister for Social Protection
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
234,885
words spoken in the chamber
234,882 as a minister, 3 as a TD
406
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 896 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 42 |
| March 2025 | 66 |
| April 2025 | 12 |
| May 2025 | 140 |
| June 2025 | 43 |
| July 2025 | 32 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 46 |
| October 2025 | 40 |
| November 2025 | 42 |
| December 2025 | 42 |
| January 2026 | 43 |
| February 2026 | 74 |
| March 2026 | 31 |
| April 2026 | 45 |
| May 2026 | 46 |
| June 2026 | 40 |
| July 2026 | 37 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 45 |
| October 2026 | 30 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 735 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Mayo 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Rural and Community Development 23 January 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister for Social Protection 23 January 2025 to 1 June 2025
- office Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht 2 June 2025 to now
- office Minister for Social Protection 2 June 2025 to now
I am certainly very aware of the situation and very much acknowledge the work of our branch managers around the country in the delivery of our services. The introduction of auto enrolment in January 26 2026 sought to address the employee pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland in order to provide all employees with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income. As the Deputy knows, each social we…
I can assure the Deputy there has been a lot of engagement from my Department's branch office support unit with both branch manager associations. Over the course of 2025, both associations expressed their intentions to seek a request for the review of the remuneration package. The representative group of branch managers submitted its formal request and case to the Department in May and the branch manager association …
I thank Deputy Wall for his question.
The Government recognises the important and valuable role of family carers and we - myself in particular - are committed to continuing to improve the supports available to them.
Carer's allowance provides a personal rate for the carer with additional increases for child dependants. If the carer is providing full-time care to more than one person, the rate payable is increased b…
We also engage with the carer organisations and we look forward to engaging with them on their work yesterday and at our annual carers' forum, which is being held next week on 7 May. This gives carers and carers' organisations a chance to engage directly with not just myself but also with officials from across the Department and a range of budgets. We also have our pre-budget forum as a Department on 1 July, at which…
That is a very sensible proposal and those who care depend on heat and very high energy usage in terms of washing machines, tumble dryers, electrical equipment, beds, etc. I will look at that and see what the reason is. We introduced carers as a qualifying payment for fuel allowance a number of years ago. We will do some work to make sure those who are supposed to get it are getting it.
As I said, this year we expan…
I thank Deputy Callaghan for her question.
As part of budget 2026, I announced a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures, which included a €10 weekly increase across social welfare schemes from 1 January 2026. This raised the maximum personal rate of State pension contributory to €299.30 per week and non-contributory to €288.00 per week.
These increases were set above the prevailing consumer price i…
I am not saying that it is not going to be possible to do anything. We are obviously not in the budget situation yet, but I am very aware of the pressures people are under and that those pressures will increase during the winter. That is why, in the context of our initial €750 million response, we have made it clear that we may have to produce further responses. However, it is important that we give ourselves the abi…
I agree, particularly in relation to the fixed nature of pensioners' incomes and the challenges they face. They will be a priority for me in the context of budget 2027. I assure the Deputy of that, not just in the context of 2026 but also with regard to the increased energy costs they will face. I am very much aware of their need to have security.
In respect of information, unfortunately, we will not be able to do t…
I thank Deputy Boland for her question. As she acknowledged, parents' benefit provides nine weeks' paid leave to parents during the first two years of a child’s life or following adoption. Any proposal to extend the period of leave is a matter for Deputy Foley, who has legal and policy responsibility for family leave as Minister for Children, Disability and Equality. My Department has legal and policy responsibility …
As the Deputy knows, the programme for Government has a commitment to introduce pay-related parent's benefit. We are looking at that. We introduced pay-related jobseeker's benefit in March 2025. That has just finished its first year of operation and I am undertaking a full review of it. We will learn from the lessons of pay-related jobseeker's benefit what we can do before we carry out a consultation later in the yea…
I agree and I think we have done that. This year, the fuel allowance has been extended to those on the working family payment. It is the first time the fuel allowance is available to those who are also working. That means that 50,000 extra people now qualify for the fuel allowance payment. We also ensured that it was backdated to 1 January so that the 50,000 or so families with children would receive a lump sum payme…
Hear, hear.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teach as an deis seo chun labhairt faoi Ár dTodhchaí Thuaithe and the consultation process that is coming to an end in relation to the development of Our Rural Future, the new national development policy. I will provide the House with an update on what we have delivered under the policy over the past five years but I also want to hear, as we finalise the consultation process on the new Our Ru…
Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí go léir tráthnóna inniu. Cé nach bhfuilimid ar aon intinn ar gach rud, is léir nach bhfuil ach dea-rún ag gach duine anseo i leith thodhchaí níos dóchasaí a chruthú do cheantair agus do mhuintir thuaithe na hÉireann. Is ceart - agus tá sé soiléir - go bhfuil bród ag gach duine as a gceantair thuaithe, as ár n-oidhreacht thuaithe agus go háirithe as ár bpobal tuaithe. Is cuid lárnach …
I move:
That, notwithstanding anything in the Order of the Dáil of 5th February, 2025, or in the Order of the Dáil of 24th March, 2026, setting out the rota in which Questions to members of the Government are to be asked, Questions for oral answer following those set down to the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, shall be set down to Ministers in the following temporary sequence:
Minister for Health
…
I move:
That, notwithstanding anything in the Order of the Dáil of 5th February, 2025, setting out the rota in which Questions to members of the Government are to be asked, Questions for oral answer following those set down to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, shall be set down to Ministers in the following temporary sequence:
Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastru…
We very much acknowledge the pressures that people, small businesses and many communities are under at the moment. Families are working hard and doing everything right but continue to experience huge uncertainty and challenge. We hear that and have acted, not just with the package this week and the other package a number of weeks ago, but also in the budget. Some 470,000 people now receive the fuel allowance. For the…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Is fiú a thabhairt faoi deara go dtiteann freagracht as cúrsaí tithíochta ar bhonn ginearálta ar an Roinn Tithíochta, Rialtais Áitiúil agus Oidhreachta agus nach bhfuil ach ról tánaisteach ag mo Roinn féin i mbeartas tithíochta. É sin ráite, tá soláthar tithíochta dóibh siúd atá ina gcónaí agus ag obair sa Ghaeltacht thar a bheith tábhachtach dom. Go deimhin, tá tithíocht riachtanach…
Aontaím leis an Teachta. Tá an obair sin ar siúl. Bhí cruinniú agam le príomhfheidhmeannach an údaráis. Tá liosta déanta agus tá muid ag déanamh oibre ar an liosta sin faoi shuíomhanna cosúil leis sin. Níl sé chomh éasca sin, áfach. I roinnt de na suíomhanna sin, tá cúrsaí séarachais agus uisce réasúnta láidir, ach níl aon seirbhísí i suíomhanna eile.
Maidir le ceadúnais pleanála sa Ghaeltacht, i mbliana, bhí 53 tea…
Tá muid go léir le chéile air seo. Is é sin an fáth nach ndeachaigh muid i gcoinne an rúin mar tá sé tábhachtach go bhfuil guth láidir sa Dáil seo faoi thithíocht sa Ghaeltacht. Tá muid ag oibriú uirthi. Tá a lán freagraí ann, agus tá sé sin tábhachtach. Bhí cruinnithe agam leis na príomhfheidhmeannaigh sna húdaráis áitiúla. Chuir mé brú orthu agus chuir mé an scéal seo os a gcomhair leis na sonraí sin a fháil. Déanf…
I thank Deputy McGuinness for raising this question.
We are very aware of rising energy costs, which are being driven by the global uncertainty caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. These are affecting everybody in society, including communities and civil society organisations. This week, the Government agreed on a €250 million package to alleviate the impact of the rise in energy costs caused by this c…
There was consensus on the vote and Sinn Féin was the only party to oppose the reduction in excise duty. Every other party in the House supported it. A total of 467,204 people will get fuel allowance and there is an extension of four weeks. That is an investment of €71 million. The majority of the recipients of the fuel allowance payment live in rural counties. That is €152. My understanding, which I will clarify for…
In relation to the LEADER companies, I assure the Deputy that they have substantial administration budgets. We are working with them closely to make sure they invest it. As I said, we continue to monitor the position and we will continue to do that. We can do that because we have a strong economy. We can do that because we have made decisions that are sensible and evidence-based over many years. The €250 million inve…
The Deputy is a super sub today.
Under my Department’s rural development investment programme, a range of schemes provide capital funding with a focus on the economic and social development of our rural areas. The schemes do not, however, include a specific focus on the provision of hotel accommodation. A limited number of projects have been supported by the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, and the tow…