Department of Social Protection

What this means

• The Department of Social Protection is an Irish government body that runs social insurance and assistance schemes, paying out pensions, jobseeker's payments, child benefit, and carer's and disability payments.[source]
• The State pension age has been kept at 66, a commitment the department has already delivered, protecting older people from having to work longer before receiving their pension.[source]
• Work is under way to introduce pay-related jobseeker's benefit, which would link unemployment payments more closely to a person's previous earnings.[source]
• The department is working to significantly increase the Carer's Allowance income disregard, which would let carers earn more before their allowance is reduced.[source]
• Hot school meals are being extended to all primary schools, a commitment still in progress that affects families relying on the scheme for children's nutrition.[source]

Direct impact (6)

• owns statutory mandate
  Provision of social welfare income supportsMandate
• responsible for commitment
  Extend hot school meals to all primary schoolsCommitment
• responsible for commitment
  Maintain the State pension age at 66Commitment
• responsible for commitment
  Significantly increase the Carer's Allowance income disregardCommitment
• responsible for commitment
  Introduce pay-related jobseeker's benefitCommitment
• holds role: Minister for Social Protection
  Dara CallearyOfficeholder

Indirect impact (5)

Two-hop relationships traced through the entity above. Useful for spotting downstream knock-on effects.

• holds role: Minister for Social Protection → holds role: Teachta Dála2-hop via dara-calleary
  Dáil ÉireannBody
• holds role: Minister for Social Protection → holds role: Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht2-hop via dara-calleary
  Department of Rural and Community DevelopmentBody
• holds role: Minister for Social Protection → responsible for commitment2-hop via dara-calleary
  Expand Local Link rural transport servicesCommitment
• holds role: Minister for Social Protection → responsible for commitment2-hop via dara-calleary
  Target balanced regional population growthCommitment
• holds role: Minister for Social Protection → member of party2-hop via dara-calleary
  Fianna FáilParty