| Department of Social Protection | |
|---|---|
| Irish: An Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí | |
| Department overview | |
| Formed | 22 January 1947 |
| Preceding agencies | Department of Social and Family Affairs Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs Department of Social Welfare |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Ireland |
| Headquarters | Áras Mhic Dhiarmada, Store Street, Dublin 1 |
| Employees | 5,175 |
| Minister responsible | Joan Burton, TD, Minister for Social Protection |
| Department executive | Niamh O'Donoghue, Secretary General |
| Child agencies | Citizens Information Board Pensions Board Office of the Pensions Ombudsman |
| Key document | Department of Social Protection Annual Report 2010 |
| Website | |
| welfare.ie | |
The Department of Social Protection (Irish: An Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí) is a department of the Government of Ireland. 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 Protection.
Contents |
The official headquarters and Ministerial offices of the Department of Social Protection are in Áras Mhic Dhiarmada, Store Street, Dublin. The departmental team consists of the following:
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.In 2010 it will be in excess of 13.59 billion
Payments are generally divided into three groups:
The Department was formed in 1947 as the Department of Social Welfare. Its present title dates from 23 March 2010.
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: