Department of Social and Family Affairs (Ireland)
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The Department of Social and Family Affairs (Irish: An Roinn Gnóthaí Sóisialacha agus Teaghlaigh) is a department of the Irish government. The mission of the department is to promote a caring society through ensuring access to income support and other services, enabling active participation, promoting social inclusion and supporting families. It is led by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs.
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[edit] Departmental Team
The official headquarters and Ministerial offices of the Department of Social and Family Affairs are in Áras Mhic Dhiarmada, Store Street, Dublin. The departmental team consists of the following:
- Minister for Social and Family Affairs: Mary Hanafin, TD
- Máire Hoctor, TD – Minister of State for Older People.
- Secretary-General of the Department: Bernadette Lacey
[edit] Overview
In carrying out its mandate the department undertakes a variety of functions including:
The department formulates appropriate social protection policies and administers and manages the delivery of statutory and non-statutory schemes and services. It is responsible for the delivery of a range of social insurance and social assistance schemes including provision for unemployment, illness, maternity, caring, widowhood, retirement and old age. Payments are made to nearly 950,000 people each week with over 1.5 million people directly benefiting from those payments. The budget spend in 2002 was €9.52 billion.
Payments are generally divided into three groups:
- Social Insurance (or contributory) payments which are made on the basis of PRSI Contributions.
- Social Assistance (or non-contributory) payments which are made on the basis of satisfying a means test.
- Universal payments (such as Child Benefit or Free Travel) which are not dependent on PRSI contributions or a means test.
[edit] History
The Department was formed in 1947 as the Department of Social Welfare. Its present title dates from 6 June 2002.
Over the years its name has changed several times, however, the role of the department has remained the same. The department has been known as the following:
- Department of Social Welfare (1947–1997)
- Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs (1997–2002)
- Department of Social and Family Affairs (2002–present)
