Parliamentary questions

662. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current status of a carers allowance application for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61611/25]

663. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason the back to education allowance does not allow for a second Erasmus year (details supplied); if he will consider changing the scheme to allow for a second year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61631/25]

664. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to expanding the criteria of the occupational injuries benefit scheme to include healthcare workers that are suffering with long-Covid symptoms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61637/25]

665. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Social Protection the level of foresight or future planning that operates within his Department; who is responsible for long-term planning; the input these individuals or teams have into Departmental policy and practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61669/25]

666. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of hours spent implementing the means-test for carer's allowance; the cost of this work to implement the means test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61694/25]

667. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department will detail the reason the recent liquidation of a company (details supplied) has led to its employees not being able to avail of social welfare for 30 days, when they are owed wages and monies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61712/25]

668. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Social Protection the rationale for the significant disparity between the rate of illness benefit, currently €244 per week, and the rate of jobseeker's benefit which can be up to €450 per week; and if consideration will be being given to reviewing the illness benefit payment rate to ensure parity and adequate income support for persons who are unable …

669. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of invalidity pension applications that are submitted for appeal annually; the percentage success rate of those appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61727/25]

670. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection if the overpayment being taken from the weekly supplementary welfare allowance of a person (details supplied) can be reduced to avoid hardship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61754/25]

671. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the merits of expanding the fuel allowance to include all persons over the age of 70 that live alone; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61835/25]

672. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently in receipt of fuel allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61836/25]

673. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of fuel allowance, by year since 2016, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61837/25]

674. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the annual cost to the Exchequer to maintain the existing fuel allowance payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61838/25]

675. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the research he has carried out into the cost of expanding the fuel allowance to a larger cohort of people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61839/25]

676. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently in receipt of the fuel allowance that live alone; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61840/25]

677. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently in receipt of the fuel allowance that are over the age of 70; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61841/25]

678. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection given the ongoing housing crisis, if his Department will consider adjusting the means assessment criteria for social welfare claims to allow for deductions in respect of rent and mortgage payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61917/25]

679. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to remove the requirement for an application to have an underlying entitlement to jobseeker’s allowance for those seeking to qualify for the back to work enterprise allowance, where said applicants have previously satisfied the nine month qualifying period on jobseeker’s benefit; and if he will make a statement on the mat…

680. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to payment of fuel allowance to polio survivors (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61953/25]

681. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide, for each age bracket (details supplied) the total and average annual income PRSI contributions recorded for Irish residents in the latest year available; and where possible to provide equivalent data for previous years to show lifetime cumulative contributions, by cohort [61962/25]

682. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department will consider introducing an emergency winter payment to offset the extra cost of disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61966/25]

683. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department will explain the reason a parents carers allowance is under review for a person (details supplied); f his Department will provide an update on this review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61971/25]

684. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in County Clare has not received their disability allowance payment for the past two weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62031/25]

685. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Social Protection to reconsider the decision to make farm assist a credited benefit so that participants do not lose out on contributions while in receipt of this payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62041/25]

686. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a breakdown of the number of people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's benefit, per Intreo area, and per age group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62143/25]