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383. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection to revise the approach to the income disregards for the means test for the carers allowance (details supplied). [53805/25]

110. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on an application for carers allowance (details supplied); if he will expedite same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52527/25]

606. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeframe to process carer's allowance applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51218/25]

618. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if foster carers who foster with a private agency are being refused the carers allowance based on the fact that they are fostering with a private agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51282/25]

620. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the abolition of the means test for carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51314/25]

87. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans for phasing out the means test entirely for the carer’s allowance during the lifetime of this Government, as per the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51028/25]

118. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the policy whereby a person in receipt of the State pension is only entitled to half-rate carer’s allowance, even when continuing to provide full-time care; and if he accepts that this creates an inequity compared to younger carers who are entitled to the full rate. [50003/25]

120. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress made on removing the means test for carer's allowance; whether a timeline will be outlined for the removal of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50506/25]

123. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the abolition of means test for carer's allowance. [50775/25]

139. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the appeals process and criteria for carer's allowance and disability allowance, in light of cases where families providing full-time care have been refused supports despite clear evidence of need, particularly in rural areas where access to services is limited (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on …

148. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Social Protection his assessment of the impact to date of improvements to the carer's allowance means test. [50673/25]

150. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in Kilkenny currently in receipt of the half rate carer’s allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50593/25]

153. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a costing for increasing the carers allowance by two percent, in line with inflation, ten percent and 20 percent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50462/25]

167. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to significantly increase the income disregards for carer’s allowance in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50585/25]

174. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Social Protection if the Department is currently evaluating increasing the carer's allowance in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50595/25]

303. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if he plans on abolishing the means-test for the carer’s allowance in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50024/25]

406. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the correspondence (details supplied); if a decision regarding a carer’s allowance application could be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49694/25]

416. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Social Protection to consider awarding a half carer’s allowance payment to persons who are caring for family members in an almost full-time capacity to provide the care required for a person in between care hours approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50237/25]

421. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people who will receive an increase in their carer's allowance payment when the changes to the means test takes effect in July 2025, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50466/25]

797. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of the Programme for Government commitment to “continue to significantly increase the income disregards for carer’s allowance in each budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the Government”; the work carried out to date to progress this commitment; his plans with respect to the upcoming Bud…

798. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Social Protection the justification for only allowing persons to qualify for half-rate carer’s allowance in instances where they are in receipt of a contributory State pension (details supplied); his views on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49180/25]

541. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance the status of any plans to recategorise carer's allowance such that it is no longer taxable or reckonable as income for the purposes of means assessment. [46184/25]

1342. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if a second carers allowance application for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44969/25]

1347. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if a carer's allowance application for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45047/25]

1383. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the increase in income disregards for carer's allowance as committed to in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46206/25]

91. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection when the means test for carer’s allowance will be abolished; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20503/25]

I understand there was a review of the carer's allowance.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I welcome the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025, which essentially proposes to allow flexibility to employees regarding the ability to work on until they reach the State pension age. Aontú has raised this important issue on a number of occasions. Currently, as the Minister of State rightly recognises, the system is deeply flawed. It…

I welcome the opportunity to address this issue. It makes sense to amalgamate the Policing Authority and the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, provided that there is strong oversight. Some of the flaws have been highlighted by previous speakers and I am not going to go over them, but it is important that, by and large, the Garda get policing in this State right. Since police forces need to have many po…

I commend my colleague, Deputy Wall, and his staff on all of their work in producing this important motion. I especially commend the young carers who are with us in the Visitors Gallery this evening, and who shared their powerful testimonies with us in the audiovisual room this afternoon. They should not have to be here, but the reality of our broken system of care is what makes this motion so nec…

My constituency of Dublin South Central has one of the highest percentages of residents with a disability. We know that households with a disabled member are more likely to be in poverty. Several communities here are chronically disadvantaged and children can be seen minding parents, especially in cases of mental health issues and addiction, which sadly often go hand in hand. In my previous role a…

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion regarding young carers. Sixty-seven thousand children - let us call them what they are - provide regular care for adults. They do so in an unpaid capacity. It is a burden young people should not have to face that impacts their development and, often, their mental health. One in four of them goes to school hungry and without food because the…

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Labour Party as an rún seo. Fáilte to all the young carers, those from Family Carers Ireland who are in the Visitors Gallery and those watching. I support this crucial motion because for too long, young carers in this country have been invisible as they work in their homes providing vital assistance to loved ones in their families and communities. The sac…

I thank the Labour Party, including Deputy Wall, for bringing this motion to the floor of the House today to give us a chance to recognise the young carers in our society who contribute so much. I also welcome those who are in the Gallery today. I am particularly interested in the quality public services which are essentially lacking in our society. That requires very much from family and informa…

I thank the Labour Party for bringing this very important issue onto the agenda for discussion. I note the Government side is not opposing it and thank it for that. There have been quite a number of studies carried out on this area in Ireland, but the research has not really been acted on. Family Carers Ireland has provided a wealth of information to Members here today and have provided a lot of …

Independent Ireland will also be supporting this motion on young carers. I thank the Labour Party for putting forward this very important motion. It is astonishing to think we have 67,000 young carers in this country. We have given them nothing but lip service over recent years, which is an injustice to those young people. Many of them are in the Gallery and were in the audiovisual room earlier. W…

I thank speakers for their contributions today to this very important debate, which both celebrates and highlights the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women not just in Ireland but across the globe and highlights the challenges to achieving gender equality. International Women's Day has been celebrated since 1911. The theme for this year is accelerate action. It speaks vol…

The Government is committed to dealing with the means test in respect of the carer's allowance and it will be in the next budget that progress on that front will commence. We will have to wait until budget time and the lead-up to the budget on that issue. It is a very important issue that is in the programme for Government and all parties to the programme for Government are very committed to doin…

84. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to abolish the means test for the carer’s allowance; if this will be phased out; if he can provide a detailed timeline for it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9019/25]

We have been clear that we will increase the income disregards for carer's allowance in each budget. It is our intention to phase out the means test during the lifetime of this Government. We were clear on that in the programme for Government and I am clear on it as Minister for Social Protection. I value the work of carers, which is incredibly important, but I would be wrong to say we will do th…

86. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Social Protection the detail of how and when he intends to implement the Programme for Government commitment to abolish the income limit for the carer’s allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8927/25]

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and wish him well in the Department. Both Government parties in their election manifestos committed to the abolition of the means test for the carer’s allowance. The public believed when those parties formed a Government that the means test would be abolished, if not immediately then certainly in the 2026 budget in October. There seems to be no clari…

I welcome the independence of the appeals office. It is a great system whereby we get a second opinion, and it is something I have used during my time as a public representative. I have always found the appeals officers to be very helpful. With regard to the new appeals procedures, does the Minister have any indication of what the timelines for appeals will be or what he is working towards? That …

95. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans for phasing out the means test for the carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8262/25]

I too congratulate the Minister on his recent appointment and wish him the very best going forward. Carers do great work and a provide a great service for the State. In that context, means-testing for the carer's allowance should be phased out. What are the Minister's plans for the phasing out of the means test?

Following budget 2025, the carer's allowance income disregard will be increased to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple from July 2025. How many additional carers are now likely to qualify on the basis of this change? Does the Minister intend to increase the disregard year on year, over five budgets?

Last week it was reported that more than 14,000 children are waiting for an assessment of need. As is the same with everybody else I am sure, one of our constituents has a son who was diagnosed with a moderate intellectual disability and had an assessment of needs conducted in 2016. The family was informed he required psychological, speech and language, and occupational therapy but he has never re…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh - To discuss requests from clinical consultants for treatments that fall outside the range of services routinely commissioned. Deputy Michael Murphy - To discuss the means test for the carer's allowance as it appli…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Séamus McGrath - To discuss Garda resources and station opening hours in south Cork city division. Deputy Martin Daly - To discuss the development of the regional national rehabilitation unit at Roscommon University Hospital. Deput…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Pat Buckley - To discuss the ongoing health and safety crisis at Shandon Bells in Cork city. Deputy Paul McAuliffe - To discuss the programme for Government commitment to extend the use of 2015 taxis. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore - To …