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127. 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. [8014/25]

144. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to a system whereby those who on carer’s allowance, and who are working, are able to provide information on their working hours on a more regular basis to the Department avoiding unintentional accrued debts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6983/25]

149. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the average waiting time for an appeal for a carer's allowance; the average time for each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8582/25]

152. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will progress as quickly as possible the proposal to abolish the means test in respect of an entitlement to carer’s allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8464/25]

294. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will abolish means testing for carer’s allowance, as per the Programme for Government, at the earliest possible date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6861/25]

316. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection when the means testing for carer’s allowance will be abolished; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8961/25]

573. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update and a proposed timeline, as per the commitment in the Programme for Government, when the means testing for carer’s allowance will be abolished. [7190/25]

587. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will take steps in relation to the case of a person (details supplied) who is being denied carer's allowance on the grounds that they receive a fostering allowance from a fostering agency that is not funded under section 38 of the Health Act 2004, but the agency has a contract with Tusla; if this anomaly will be addressed; and …

602. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to phase out the means test for carer's allowance within this Government; the proposed timeline for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7838/25]

611. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider reviewing the criteria for the working family payment to assess the impact of including carer’s allowance as reckonable income, and particularly in cases where one parent is engaged in seasonal employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8051/25]

612. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider reviewing the criteria for the working family payment to assess the impact of including carer’s allowance as reckonable income, and particularly in cases where one parent is engaged in seasonal employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8051/25]

268. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person in receipt of carer’s allowance (details supplied) who works the allowed 18.5 hours per week in the day time, will be allowed to also engage in part-time online study course at night time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6818/25]

479. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made in relation to a carer’s allowance application (details supplied) after the person was awarded domiciliary care allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5498/25]

482. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection whether or not carer's allowance is halted for those receiving maternity or parental leave; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5597/25]

491. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of disallowed applications for carer's allowance in 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5815/25]

497. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update and proposed timeline for the removal of the means test for the carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5992/25]

224. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection to address the means review of carer’s allowance (details supplied) as this family had a full review only a short time ago; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5305/25]

232. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on an appeal for carer’s allowance which is under a section 317 review will issue to an individual (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5343/25]

235. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will abolish means testing for carer’s allowance, as per the Programme for Government, at the earliest possible date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5359/25]

199. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason for the delay with a carer’s allowance application for a person (details supplied); and when the applicant can expect to receive a decision. [4975/25]

202. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if carer’s allowance will be approved for a person (details supplied). [5049/25]

408. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision on a carer’s allowance appeal for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4285/25]

415. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on a carer’s allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4705/25]

418. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Social Protection when the means test is scheduled to be scrapped for the carer’s allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4718/25]

152. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the carer’s allowance appeal by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3616/25]

This May Day, we come together to honour the generations of workers who fought for fairness, dignity and decent pay and to recommit ourselves to that same struggle today. It is also a day to hold the Government to account for its betrayal of those very workers. Let me be brutally honest: the Government, including the Minister, has been shamefully untrustworthy when it comes to workers' rights. Bef…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to address the House on the Second Stage of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill. The publication of this Bill meets a commitment in the programme for Government 2025 – Securing Ireland’s Future to update the Child Care Act 1991. This is one of a set of Government commitments with a view to strengthening the Child and Family Agency, Tusla…

I welcome the fact that the Luas Finglas extension railway order was granted by An Coimisiún Pleanála in October 2025. This marks a major milestone in the progress of a project long in the making and long overdue. The project involves extending the existing Broombridge Luas green line to Charlestown, which will add four new stops at St. Helena's, Finglas south, Finglas village, St. Margaret's Road…

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions today. It is an honour to stand before the House on International Workers' Day, a day dedicated to recognising the invaluable contribution of workers across Ireland and the world. As Minister of State with responsibility for small business and retail, I acknowledge and celebrate the hard work, dedication and resilience of our workforce, which forms …

On behalf of the Social Democrats, I welcome this Bill to finally regulate home care services. The Social Democrats have long advocated for a statutory right to home care and this regulatory framework is an important element of that. As it stands, home care services remain unregulated, despite the vast majority of home care hours being funded by the HSE. While State-provided and State-funded home …

-----to wish Troy Parrott and our boys in green all the best of luck tonight in Prague. We are all hoping for a hat-trick. Tá cruachás na gcostas maireachtála ag éirí níos measa, go háirithe ó thaobh tionóntaí de. The cost-of-living emergency is getting worse. The measures the Government announced mean the cost of living will remain stubbornly high for workers and families who cannot make ends me…

I thank Deputies Tóibín and Lawless and Aontú for bringing forward this very important motion. As every TD will tell the Minister of State, we are meeting people across our constituencies who are doing everything society asks of them. They get up early in the morning, go to work, pay their taxes, raise their children and contribute to their communities. However, despite doing everything correctly,…

I am glad to get the opportunity to speak this evening. I want to clarify something in relation to the carbon tax. A question was raised here yesterday about the carbon tax by Deputy Doherty. It was stated that there was to be a vote held last night. There was no vote. I never voted for the carbon tax. Subsequent to that, another Sinn Féin Member put up a question on his phone to see what way woul…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion and the Government for not opposing it. All of us, on the doors and in our email inboxes, have heard and read the same stories time and again. It is a huge part of why I got involved in politics and I think that would resonate with a lot of people here. They are the shocking cases of families, young children and adults left behind by the system an…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the Government is acutely aware of, and concerned about, the impact of rising prices on Irish households, and it is also aware of the high cost of energy prices and the wider impact of the cost of doing business for firms, particularly small firms; — in relation to Irish households, th…

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this good motion and the Before We Die campaign for putting this on the political agenda. For too long adults with intellectual disabilities and their parents have faced the future with dread, not knowing what will happen to them after their parents pass away. The awful fear is that after they die, the adult child will go from a life where the best…

We have intentions to further strengthen the powers of the CCPC and we look forward to working with people across this House in relation to that. I agree with the Deputy on that point. I also agree with him on there not being a need for a universal energy credit anymore. I agree that TDs do not need energy credits. There are people who need assistance. We can debate this and different parties will…

I thank all of the people involved in home care and all of the home helps around the county of Kerry and around all of the other counties. I know the great work they do in the confined time and space they are given to do it. While I welcome regulation, and the Bill states it will ensure home care is regulated and standards are in place for all home care support for all who need it, the question I …

I thank the Members for their contributions. There were 27 contributors in total and they spoke on a range of aspects of this issue. I welcome the general support for the Bill in terms of regulation. To recap, the objective of the proposed legislation is to improve the safety and quality of support services by ensuring that registered home support providers do not operate below the standards set b…

I welcome this new community pharmacy agreement. We have a particular problem in Ireland whereby allied health professionals have not been able to operate to the top of their licence for many decades, whether that is a physiotherapist within a hospital setting or indeed a pharmacist within the community setting. While this agreement makes progress in this regard, it could go much further. A secon…

I congratulate the Minister of State. They say love is blind and marriage is an eye-opener. We in Sinn Féin believe in a tax system that is fair. As part of this, inheritance tax is an important tool to tackle inequality and invest in public services to deliver a fair society. However, the current system is highly discriminatory towards beneficiaries of estates left by people with no children. T…

I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak on the new programme for Government. Having read the document from start to finish, it is my firm view that it fails to provide for transformative change. Over the 162 pages, most of the commitments are vague, notional or regurgitated. There are very few new ideas and it is completely devoid of the promised new energy. Instead, what we get is more o…

As we near the budget announcement next week, there is no doubt about the demands on the Government with the cost-of-living crisis, with families and the elderly severely squeezed financially at this time. Tillage and dairy farmers are under enormous pressure. Independent Ireland has also called for the abolition of the carer's means test. One thing Independent Ireland has called for in the past …

Migration has become a touchstone issue in Irish public discourse. Too often, it is used as a wedge issue - a tool to divide communities, to stoke fear, to sow hate and to distract from the Government’s failures. In my experience, people who come to Ireland from abroad make an enormous contribution to our society. They work alongside us in hospitals and care homes, in our schools, in construction,…

I am deeply disappointed by the response. We believe the Organisation of Working Time Act is the correct legislative mechanism for this. What makes this different from carer's leave, maternity leave or paternity leave is that this is a short period of leave of no more than a day, sometimes a morning. This is not extended leave. This is not leave for weeks or months. The Minister of State feels dif…

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk again on this social welfare Bill and auto-enrolment. We are hoping that in a very short time, the means test for carers will be abolished altogether. As I understand it, if you are caring for someone with a disability you are actually living their life. That is what many loved ones are doing. They have no choice in the matter. They do not think about it; t…

I welcome biodiversity but I also welcome biodiversity in the right areas and places. I also welcome safety on roads. On biodiversity, the laws that have been passed in this country never took into account people travelling. This is where I have a major issue with some of the laws on wildlife and biodiversity: as regards safety of lives. Roads where two vehicles could once travel are now closing i…

I dtús báire, admhaím go bhfuil deacrachtaí ann agus go bhfuil teaghlaigh faoi bhrú maidir leis an gcostas maireachtála, go háirithe de dheasca an chogaidh san Iaráin. Is léir go raibh drochthionchar ag an gcogadh sin ar phraghsanna. Tá sé sin soiléir. Tá an-chuid déanta ag an Rialtas, áfach, chun an brú sin a ísliú agus chun cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt do dhaoine. Faoi dheireadh na bliana,…

I thank Deputy Seamus Healy for tabling this excellent motion. People Before Profit obviously fully supports it. Next week, though it was supposed to be today but was cancelled because of the orange weather warning, Seamus, People Before Profit, Sinn Féin, other left Independents, the Social Democrats and the Labour Party will be launching the affordable Ireland campaign. That is a campaign that w…

In last October's budget of €9.4 billion, the Government made the very cruel decision to leave disabled people worse off by €1,400. Since then, life has become so much harder for everybody, but all the more so if one is a disabled person who has fallen further and further behind. Our Dáil motion yesterday called on the Government to do two things. First, to deliver an emergency €500 cost of disabi…