Parliamentary questions

405. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding any product or service that has been acquired by his Department from an Occupied Palestinian Territory; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49633/25]

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]

407. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will ensure that the Pathways to Work strategy includes dedicated funding for disability-related transport costs, beyond the free travel scheme, to reflect additional costs faced by persons with disabilities, including those in rural areas, and to provide parity with the Access to Work (NI) scheme, which covers extra approved t…

408. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider funding and resourcing a national umbrella organisation for supported employment, to provide staff training, best practice standards, policy development and coordination between supported employment service providers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49700/25]

409. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider making the wage subsidy scheme more flexible by reducing the current minimum requirement of 15 hours per week, to enable persons with disabilities who may only be able to work fewer hours to avail of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49831/25]

410. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department examined the contributions made by a person (details supplied) when they applied unsuccessfully for a pension. [49833/25]

411. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will ensure the new national child poverty target published 10 September 2025 is made publicly available on gov.ie; the reason it has not been available publicly between the 10 and 15 of September 2025 (inclusive); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49899/25]

412. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason it is not standard practice across the board in the Department’s research, data collection and reports to account for the at risk of poverty rate both before and after housing costs; the reason the Department does not always measure the at risk of poverty rate after housing costs; and if he will make a statement on the…

413. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated increase to the WFP threshold included in the base projections for Government expenditure contained in the APR and the Summer Economic Statement; to what level; if increases to thresholds are taken from ELS or new measures; the estimated additional cost of increasing WFP thresholds by 10% or €70.05; and if he will ma…

414. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who were in receipt of living alone allowance and subjected to a review by his Department in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [50015/25]

415. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review a claim and medical reports for a person (details supplied) with a view to approving the application, given the person has been in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance for a long period of time and two GPs continue to deem the person unfit for work; if a general practitioner appointed by his Department wil…

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]

417. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide details of the pension security for persons who remain at a disadvantage due to unpaid caring responsibilities; if his Department will carry out fresh analysis on the class and gender impacts of this feature of the social protection system; and if he will report on his stakeholder engagement in respect of same sinc…

418. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the time it takes to reactivate the PPS numbers for returning Irish emigrants, compared with the timescale involved in creating PPS numbers for the first time. [50294/25]

419. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection to consider increasing the fuel allowance thresholds for those in receipt of the contributory State pension and the non-contributory State pension in advance of Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50359/25]

420. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection when the weekly household income limit for back to school clothing and footwear allowance was last increased. [50380/25]

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]

422. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of families who have benefitted from the newborn baby grant since it was introduced, by county; if he has any plans to review the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50467/25]

423. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount of expenditure on off-site storage solutions for the past five years to date; if he will provide a breakdown of items (details supplied) not stored in his Department on annual basis. [50500/25]

424. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has reviewed the current eligibility criteria for the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, in light of concerns raised regarding foster families; if he will now consider removing the means test requirement including the need to be in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment for foster carers, to ensure that al…

286. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the role his Department plays in setting, monitoring, and enforcing nutritional standards for food served on school premises, including canteens and vending machines; and to provide copies of any circulars, compliance audits, and sanctions issued since 2020. [49463/25]

287. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection to list every post-primary school that applied for participation in the hot school meals or school meals scheme and that was refused or deemed ineligible since 2022, with reasons; and to explain the evidence base for excluding post-primary pupils when England, Finland and the United States apply standards or programmes across older c…

288. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide the full text of any memorandum of understanding or governance agreement with the Department of Social Protection and the HSE regarding school-meal delivery on school premises, including responsibilities for safeguarding, allergens, and food-safety inspections; and if none exists, the reason for the governance gap. [49465/…

289. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of pupils regularly present who do not collect a school meal when it is available, by school and term since 2023; the Department’s plan to address stigma, timing and menu acceptability barriers; and to cite any pilots to improve uptake. [49467/25]

290. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection to confirm whether he will bring forward primary legislation establishing a pupil entitlement to a nutritious school meal with statutory nutrition standards and inspection powers, as per Finland’s legal model and England’s standards; and if not, set out the contrary evidence. [49468/25]