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704. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection the improvements being introduced in regard to the carer’s allowance; when the means test will be abolished; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6058/26]

696. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider changing the maximum hours a person can work (currently 18.5 hours per week) when qualifying for carer's allowance (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3742/26]

703. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection if travel expenses such as an employee's mileage is taken into account when being assessed for carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4043/26]

7. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps being taken to ensure that parents who are aged 66 years and above and caring for children with lifelong disabilities retain the rate at which they are paid their carer’s allowance and concurrently receive the State pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2827/26]

32. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeframe for abolishing the means test for carer's allowance applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2519/26]

68. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to remove the means test for carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1778/26]

69. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection when the means test for the carer’s allowance will be abolished; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2322/26]

37. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to provide details of the changes to the way in which income from carer's allowance is assessed for tax in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2621/26]

1531. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection if the guardian’s payment will be abolished; and if foster carers allowance will be available to those in informal kinship care arrangements [74316/25]

1536. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will receive a final decision in respect of their carers allowance application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74518/25]

1537. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the waiting time for a final decision for an applicant to the carers allowance section after all requested documentation and relevant medical reports have been submitted by the applicant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74519/25]

1545. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the merits of eliminating the means test for the carer’s allowance; the research his Department has carried out into this proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74849/25]

1564. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current status of the carers allowance review for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1183/26]

2082. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Health the reason carer's allowance is taken into consideration when applying for a medical card; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74089/25]

2217. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health if consideration has been given to disregarding carer's allowance, either in full or in part, for the purposes of secondary benefit assessments such as medical cards; if not, the reasons for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74720/25]

2218. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health the number of discretionary medical cards awarded in the past three years to applicants whose income exceeded the threshold due to receipt of carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [74721/25]

2219. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health if she will review the current medical card income thresholds for those over 70 years of age, particularly in circumstances where household income includes carer's allowance and where there are high, recurring medical expenses; and the proposals to amend the existing assessment criteria. [74722/25]

540. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection when the carer's allowance payment and arrears will be issued to a person (details supplied) following successful appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73399/25]

556. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the proposed timeframe for abolishing the means test for carer's allowance applications. [73843/25]

244. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will give due consideration to changing the current discriminatory practice which grants a half rate of carer’s allowance to recipients of maternity benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70681/25]

532. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which carer's allowance and disability allowance will be taxed from 1 January 2026 onwards; the differences which will be between tax procedures in 2025 and 2026; the impact this will have on welfare recipients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [69130/25]

571. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason people who are means tested for carer’s allowance are then means tested for free legal aid when applying to the Circuit Court for the decision making representative order. [70121/25]

577. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made in relation to carers allowance for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70293/25]

892. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health the reason carer’s allowance is taken into account for the over 70 medical card income assessment, as its inclusion is putting many people over the income threshold for a medical card and is a disincentive to take up important caring, duties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [69297/25]

376. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 502 of 18 November 2025, the advice she would give to a teacher who has moved schools in the past 12-months but, due to their child’s illness, are forced to temporarily leave work and cannot qualify for carer’s allowance. [67757/25]

I will try to cut it short to allow others to come in. I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 35, inclusive, together. I established the disability unit in the Department to bring about a renewed focus and urgency and out of a desire to drive progress on disability issues. The unit's first programme plan, published in September, outlines how the unit will drive the delivery of the Government's ne…

It is about the record level of funding for disability and health services, making sure we were able to increase the State pension and ensuring more people qualify for the carer's allowance. People in the Deputies' constituencies benefit from those measures.

This relates to the commitment given in the programme for Government to phase out the means test for the carer’s allowance. I am genuinely struggling to understand the timeline the Minister has in his head. He told me, via a parliamentary question, that it will cost more than €600 million. He has only budgeted €10 million for next year, which is a partial year, so it works out at €20 million. By t…

I cannot give the Deputy that breakdown immediately but I will try to get it to her. I think she is just looking for a breakdown. It is hard to know because many people, who are not currently in receipt of carer’s allowance and never submitted an application because they did not qualify, will now apply. As I said, expanding the threshold to include couples with an income of €104,000 means there wi…

I know the Minister’s ambition is to abolish the means test. I am not disputing that but if he cannot tell me how he is going to do it, he will forgive for being somewhat sceptical about the commitment. It is a little bit like the however many thousand houses the Government was going to build. That was an ambition as well. Ambition is not going to put money in the bank account of carers or bring t…

I thank the Minister for the tone of his reply. It was really important because this is about compassion, fairness and efficiency. The fact that such a high proportion of decisions are overturned on appeal suggests that the initial assessment process is not working as it might. It does create unnecessary stress and pressure on parents who are already under additional pressure. I also want to recog…

We made a lot of changes in recent years to DCA. In fairness to the Department, there were 29,305 people receiving DCA in respect of 31,628 children in 2015. In 2024, there were 57,319 people receiving DCA in respect of 64,676 children. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that people have that support. We want to make further changes where possible. We have also expanded the payment in relatio…

79. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who will gain from the changes in the means test for the carer’s allowance announced in budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62283/25]

In budget 2026, recognition was given, as the Minister just outlined, to the massive contribution that family carers make in Irish society. Progress has been made, albeit not as quickly as some may have liked. Nonetheless, I know that more needs to be done. I have listened to the Minister intently this morning and over recent months. I welcome the fact that the Minister has reiterated here once ag…

I am following on from what my colleague Deputies have already said about the care of the offspring of people who are getting older and have no certainty around what is going to happen when they are not here any more. It is a major challenge within the community. It seems like a cliff edge. When you die, you get a residency. That is not good enough. There has got to be planning around that, and it…

No, I am conscious of others. Deputy Dempsey raised the issue of transition from child services to adult services and that there was an absence of early planning for that. She also made the comment that parents were told that therapies would not be available in transition. That is not acceptable and respite should not be withdrawn. In the disability unit that I have established, a key workstream …

This Bill proves again that the Government is completely out of touch with ordinary people. The Government obviously lives in a bubble in this House. Is it that it does not know or does not care that there is a cost-of-living crisis? Families are struggling to make ends meet, grocery prices are through the roof and we have some of the highest energy prices in Europe, yet there is not a single cost…

Budget 2026 has come at a time of global uncertainty with risks of tariffs and instability on the European Continent. This is a budget that seeks to invest in our future while securing the jobs, prosperity and stability that families and businesses depend on today. I also recognise that the programme for Government outlines progress on issues such as reducing childcare costs and college fees and r…

During a debate on the Private Members' motion on abolishing of means testing for the carer's allowance, I referred to the sale of St. Mary of the Angels in Beaufort. I am happy to confirm I have received correspondence from St. John of God stating that there is no sale and that the organisation has not signalled any intention to sell the property. I welcome the clarification and I and the familie…

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 Michael Cahill - to discuss progression of the Killarney bypass. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - to discuss school transport issues in Cork North-Central, Dublin Fingal, Kildare South and Louth. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - to discuss th…

The Taoiseach gave a commitment to phase out the means test for carer's allowance over the lifetime of the Government. It allocated €10 million for a half year in the budget - and €20 million for a full year. The Department of Social Protection tells us that it is going to cost €600 million to phase it out. At the Government's current rate, that would take 30 years. My question is a simple one. Ho…

There has been a 60% increase in the carer's allowance weekly income disregard.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I begin by offering our deepest condolences again to Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison, the parents of young Harvey Morrison Sherratt. I have spoken, as have my colleagues, with Gillian previously and we are thinking of them today, as indeed we are thinking of all the parents of children with scoliosis and spina bifida who have faced unconscionable delays and obs…

I welcome the statements on the budget. Like others, I recognise that this is the first of five budgets in this cycle. The key premise and most important thing about this budget is that it is about safeguarding the economy and protecting jobs. That is central to us having the most high-functioning economy in the whole of Europe. That had to underpin any decisions that were made. Previous speakers…

I give a warm welcome to the yellow bellies. Fáilte isteach, ladies. For all of the Taoiseach's big talk about phasing out the carer's allowance means test over five years, we got the truth of his position in last week's budget. Instead of allocating the €133 million that would be required for this phase-out, only €10 million was allocated for next year. At this rate, it would take 30 years to re…

It is accepted that persons with disabilities and their families face a much higher cost of living than people generally. A Government-commissioned report prepared by Indecon in 2021 confirmed this. It reported the additional cost at between €9,500 and €12,000 per annum. Research by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice put the additional cost at about €244 per week. A study this year by t…

I welcome the opportunity to examine measures taken in budget 2026 on Tuesday, the first of five budgets expected in this new Dáil term. It aims to steady the economy in challenging times, invest for the future and improve services that families rely on. It attempts to balance day-to-day pressures with long-term capital investment in housing, hospitals, schools and safer streets. Housing funding …

Budget 2026 is about protecting and supporting jobs in the face of turbulent economic headwinds. As the first of five budgets that will be delivered over the lifetime of this Government, of course we cannot achieve everything we wish to at once and there will always be more that we can do. However, the permanent incremental measures that are outlined in this budget will go a long way towards provi…

Of this, €102.4 billion is being allocated for the next five years, an additional €23.9 billion on what was previously allocated in the NDP. A further €10 billion in equity and fund releases is being provided for megaprojects in water, energy and transport. Crucially, a significant element of Government policy in the housing market is to "crowd in" investment from the private sector. The State can…

The disabled community is reeling in the aftermath of this budget. People are sharing ideas online of how they are going to spend the extra tenner a week. They are absolutely gutted by what the Government did. The Disability Federation of Ireland has called it a major setback. The Government's argument that it is providing services instead of allowing people to live independent lives is utterly in…