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208. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of carers allowance who are providing care to a person aged 65 years and over, in each of the years 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50067/26]

209. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of carers allowance who are providing care to a person aged 65 years and over, nationally and in County Cork, in each of the years 2021 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50069/26]

211. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of carer's allowance who are providing care to a person aged 65 years and over, nationwide and in County Cork, in each of the years 2021 to 2025, and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50108/26]

214. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of carer's allowance who are providing care to a person aged 65 years and over, in each of the years 2021 to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50170/26]

215. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of carer's allowance who are providing care to a person aged 65 years and over, nationally and in County Cork, in each of the years 2021 to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50172/26]

482. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason the provision does not extend to applicants who were required to sell or leave a previous home due to it no longer being suitable for a family member with a disability or additional needs who plan to obtain a derelict home but do not have the funds to start the work and refused mortgages through the b…

533. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider an increase in the rate of carer’s allowance in Budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49031/26]

539. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on a carer's allowance application for a person (details supplied). [49185/26]

253. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to banks that have refused to take carer's allowance payments into account when calculating household income and when assessing mortgage applications; if this is standard practice across banks and lending institutions; the actions he will take to ensure this practice is ended; and if he will ma…

222. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 344 of 18 June 2026, to clarify if capital allowances, such as business-related expenses are deducted from self-employed income for the carer's allowance means test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48217/26]

2. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will immediately abolish the income limit for carer’s allowance in view of the 2024 general election promises and the recent report regarding the difficulties experienced by carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46523/26]

22. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the progress his Department is making in relation to the phasing out of the means test for carer's allowance as committed to in the Programme for Government. [46036/26]

28. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will commit to fully abolishing the restrictive means test for carer’s allowance. [46328/26]

66. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people he expects to benefit from the forthcoming increase in income disregards for the carer’s allowance; the plans for further changes in Budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46039/26]

68. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the average processing times for carer's allowance, disability allowance, and domiciliary care allowance applications; the number of applications awaiting decision in each scheme; the average time taken to determine appeals in each scheme in 2025 and to date in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46257/26]

69. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps that will be taken towards abolishing the means test for carers’ allowance in the Budget; if he has considered abolishing the means test for disability allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46272/26]

77. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the evidentiary requirements for carer’s allowance applications and reviews; if he will examine whether carers are being asked to repeatedly provide medical or supporting documents already held by the Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45626/26]

85. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the analysis his Department has carried out on the eligibility of low-income farmers for carers allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46270/26]

87. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will examine the impact of inflation and cost of living on the real value of the carer’s allowance and disability allowance, particularly for recipients who experience a different cost of living due to the cost of their disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46201/26]

94. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of carers in Cavan and Monaghan that are currently in receipt of the carer’s allowance; the equivalent figures for each county in 2020; the further increase in the numbers of recipients he expects in each when forthcoming changes to income disregards take effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46239/26]

95. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has assessed the impact of the means test for carer’s allowance on family carers; whether the findings of any such assessment will inform consideration of further changes to the means test as part of Budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46275/26]

337. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline a clear timeline for the abolition of the means test for carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46437/26]

344. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection to clarify if capital allowances are deducted from self-employed income for the carer's allowance means test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46502/26]

365. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated first year and full year cost of expanding the carer’s allowance threshold by 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% respectively. [46604/26]

394. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the first year and full year cost of increasing carer's allowance by €5. [46763/26]

Forgive me but I am still none the wiser. Following on from the budget announcement, I submitted a parliamentary question to the Department. It told me that the budgeted €10 million only covers existing recipients. By implication, the 3,000 people the Department estimates will benefit from the measure are people who are already in receipt of carer’s allowance. Am I right on that? Presumably, the …

I thank Deputy Roche for raising this matter. I know he is a vocal advocate for carers and those being cared for. As he rightly said, the programme for Government includes a number of measures to support carers, including a commitment to phase out the means testing for the carer's allowance by increasing the income disregard in each budget, with a view to phasing out the means test during the life…

It is my first time seeing the Minister of State sitting on the Front Bench. I congratulate her. She is a fine representative for Carlow and it is great to see her in the elevated office of Minister of State. I will make a few comments as part of this debate. I am glad that the programme for Government includes as a priority the abolition of the means test for carers. It is only right. It is sham…

The acid test of the bona fides of the Government on carers and caring is the immediate abolition of the carer’s allowance. This has been the demand of Family Carers Ireland for years and was promised by all political parties in the run-up to the last general election. It was understood that the means test would be abolished within the first 100 days of this Government coming into office but we ar…

My office has been inundated with telephone calls from worried carers in receipt of carer's benefit and carer's allowance. A number of them received letters from the Revenue this week and last week telling them they are liable for tax. Does the Minister accept many of these carers were unaware there was a tax payment due or a burden upon them? Will his Department consider exemptions and thresholds…

This Bill keeps those who are on low pay and those who are compelled to live on social welfare in further poverty for another year. I will first deal with the auto-enrolment system, which leaves out those earning below €20,000. It may be the case that they will not accumulate a huge pension over their working life, but people earning below €20,000 are entitled to have the same rights as those who …

Home support services are vital for our older people, people with disabilities and their families. They allow individuals to live independently in their communities and their homes and help to reduce pressure on hospitals and residential care settings. Despite ongoing investment, the home support system in Ireland is facing deepening challenges that require urgent policy attention and sustained re…

I welcome this motion. The carer's allowance is a hugely important issue that needs to be addressed. The means test must be scrapped. Members of this Government should hang their heads in shame. In the run up to the recent general election, the Government promised to scrap the means test. Four months after the election, absolutely nothing has been done. There is no plan, detail or timeline. The Go…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. This is far from a Bill that deserves commendation. It is a shameful Finance Bill. It is one that abandons workers for those at the very top. If the Minister was out canvassing, meeting people on the streets or at their doors, they would tell him straight up that they have never felt it as bad and that the Government has abandoned them. The Government has chosen deli…

Every supermarket shelf, pharmacy stock-room and construction supply chain relies on trucks moving safely and affordably across the country. When haulage costs rise, we all pay the price. Hauliers face extreme cost pressures with volatile fuel costs and rising insurance premiums. They are also struggling with the increasing general cost of living alongside the rest of the country. The Government …

I want to be really clear. The Minister talked about the increase we have seen in renewables. I accept we have seen a large increase but the reality is that is not going to households. That renewable energy is going straight into data centres which are paying half what domestic users are expected to pay for their electricity. So, this is not a good news story for Irish households. It means the Gov…

As stated, we will have a planned approach to this in the context of 2026. In every budget, we publish a distributional analysis. There is a consideration of well-being. A whole range of indices are published by the Departments of Finance and public expenditure. We have committed ourselves to progressive budgeting over the next number of years. We are also committing ourselves to returning to a mo…

I commend Sinn Féin on its motion. As the Minister knows, it has been long recognised that having a disability comes with significant additional financial pressures that include the cost of therapy, equipment and transport. Despite repeated calls from advocacy groups over many years to introduce a cost-of-disability payment, the Minister’s Government decided not to implement this measure in budge…

In the spirit of Deputy Doherty having raised an important issue on a point of order, I will respond to what he has said and will then take time to respond to his additional question. I agree with him that what is happening with regard to the flotilla is a very serious matter. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste are currently in New York, concluding their work at the United Nations annual assembly. They h…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue. I refer to the long period people have to wait for a social welfare appeal to be decided. As the Minister of State knows, this places huge stress on individuals and families who are waiting for decisions to be made. Invalidity pensions, domiciliary care allowance and carer's allowance are some of the applications subject to very lengthy …

I do not think I have ever praised Deputy Michael Healy-Rae but it is great to see him on this side of the House. After the election, everyone had a mandate to sit here. Some chose to come over here, make a difference and not speak out of both sides of their mouths but only from the side that could deliver and lead on policy. I welcome hearing the Deputy speak as a Minister of Government. Fair pla…

Independent Ireland brought this motion before the House in order for the Government to see common sense. Independent Ireland recently received the chairmanship of the Committee on Budgetary Oversight. The first thing the committee will look at is the cost of healthcare in this country and the value it gives for money, including the overspends. We will not discuss the National Children's Hospital …

I absolutely acknowledge the work of carers, which we see at first hand, and that is why it is also important we acknowledge the extent of the improvements the previous Government brought in for carers over recent years. We introduced the long-term carer's contribution scheme in January 2024, which allows a person who has been a full-time carer for an incapacitated dependant for 20 years or more t…

I thank the Minister. I will go back over the criteria for free travel. One can get a free travel pass if one is in receipt of disability allowance, blind pension, carer's allowance or invalidity pension. Leaving out the domiciliary care allowance is an anomaly in itself. It is quite unfair. The domiciliary care allowance is provided to parents and guardians of children under 16 who have a severe …

We did take interventions in the budget to support people. In this Dáil we did not provide energy credits to anybody, but we did take a decision to bring in a range of targeted measures for those most in need. There is a legitimate debate on how best to do that and we have that debate back and forth across the floor. However, we introduced a social protection package of over €1 billion. We increas…

I welcome the debate on this Bill, which provides for a very important and significant change to social welfare payments. It is an overdue change and one that is most welcome. I commend Mr. John O'Meara on the ruling on his case at the Supreme Court following the death of his long-term partner to whom he was not married. Ireland has changed dramatically in recent decades and mostly for the good. …

I thank all the Members for their very helpful and informative ideas and contributions. We will certainly take many of them on board. The Appropriation Bill 2025 sets an amount that we appropriate for supply of services of €91.5 billion. This reflects the Estimates voted by the Dáil over the course of this year, including Revised, Further Revised and Supplementary Estimates. In gross terms and ta…

Like many Members of this House, I speak not only as a public representative but as a former councillor and as a parent of three young children. I regularly meet parents of children with disabilities. What they tell me is clear; the system is not working for them. The programme for Government commits to progressively increasing the domiciliary care allowance, DCA, and to phasing out the means test…

Those opposite do not like when I compare what is happening here with the place where they are in government. We are also taking an important step towards removing the means tests for our carers. A big move was made yesterday in that regard. This is something that everybody in the House supports. Concrete action was taken yesterday in relation to that. We are reducing the rate of VAT relating to…

I note that the Environmental Protection Agency received additional funding in yesterday's budget. That is welcome, but we know from recent events that it is not all about funding when it comes to its powers. It is also about the willingness of the EPA to impose serious consequences on entities or individuals that cause damage to our natural world. The Minister will be aware of the catastrophic Bl…