Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
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Seat of the department above the Dublin bus terminal | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 22 January 1947 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Ireland |
| Headquarters |
|
| Employees | 6,539 |
| Annual budget | €25.1 billion (2021) |
Minister responsible | |
Department executive |
|
| Website | Official website |
The Department of Social Protection (Irish: An Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí) is a department of the Government of Ireland, tasked with administering Ireland's social welfare system. It oversees the provision of income support and other social services. It is led by the Minister for Social Protection.
The official headquarters and ministerial offices of the department 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.
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 allocation for 2021 is €25.1 billion. Prior the dissolution of FÁS in 2013, the department took over its employment support functions.
Payments are generally divided into three groups:
The department provides its services through a network of 126 Intreo Centres and Branch Offices throughout the State and, increasingly, through its Mywelfare.ie portal.
Intreo Centres, launched in 2012, were a rebranding of the Social Welfare Offices around the State, updated to reflect the Department of Social Protection's new responsibilities when it brought in some 1,700 staff from FÁS and the HSE's Community Welfare Service.[2]
In August 2019, the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) found the Department of Social Protection's processing of personal data during the issuing of Public Services Cards (PSC) for use in transactions between a person and a public body other than the department itself to be illegal.
The commission also found that the blanket and indefinite retention of documents and information provided by people applying for a Public Services Card violate data protection law. The Data Protection Commission has given the department three weeks to stop all processing of personal data where a PSC is being issued solely for the purpose of a transaction between a member of the public and a public body, meaning that the data held on more than three million card holders must now be deleted.[3]
The department was created by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1946 as the Department of Social Welfare. This took effect in 1947 with James Ryan as the first Minister.
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 22 January 1947 | Establishment of the Department of Social Welfare[4] |
| 22 January 1947 | Transfer of Social Welfare[5] |
| 15 October 1947 | Transfer of Social Welfare from the Department of Local Government[6] |
| 3 October 1966 | Transfer of Labour to the Department of Labour[7] |
| 12 July 1997 | Renamed as the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs[8] |
| 27 July 2001 | Transfer of Charities from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform[9] |
| 19 June 2002 | Renamed as the Department of Social and Family Affairs[10] |
| 25 June 2002 | Transfer of Community Affairs to the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs[11] |
| 1 May 2010 | Transfer of Family Affairs and Social Inclusion to the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs[12] |
| 2 May 2010 | Renamed as the Department of Social Protection[13] |
| 1 January 2011 | Transfer of Redundancy and Insolvency Payments from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation[14] |
| 1 September 2017 | Transfer of Labour Affairs and Labour Law from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation[15] |
| 2 September 2017 | Renamed as the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection[16] |
| 1 January 2018 | Transfer of Community Services Programme to the Department of Rural and Community Development[17] |
| 14 October 2020 | Transfer of Employment Affairs and Employment Law to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation[18] |
| 21 October 2020 | Renamed as the Department of Social Protection[19] |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Department of Social Protection (Irish: An Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí) is a department of the Government of Ireland, tasked with administering Ireland's social welfare system. It oversees the provision of income support and other social services. It is led by the Minister for Social Protection.
The minister of state at the Department of Social Protection is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Social Protection of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the minister of social protection. A minister of state does not hold cabinet rank.
Department of Social Welfare may refer to: Department of Social Protection in Ireland, named "Department of Social Welfare" 1947–1997 Ministry of Social Development (New Zealand), named "Department of Social Welfare" 1972–1998 Social Welfare Department, Hong Kong Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippines
The minister for social protection (Irish: An tAire Coimirce Sóisialaí) is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Social Protection. The minister for social protection since January 2025 is Dara Calleary. He is also Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Mae Jemison, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.