Questions

98. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection whether consideration has been given to introducing a zero rate of employer PRSI for employees under 25 years of age, similar to schemes previously introduced in the United Kingdom for young workers and apprentices; and if he will outline any assessment undertaken by his Department of the potential impact such a measure could have on youth employment an…

99. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he will consider introducing a reduced employer PRSI rate of 8% on the first €36,000 of earnings per employee, with a pathway to a 5% rate by 2029, to offset rising employment costs and support job retention and growth in regional Ireland. [68149/26]

378. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection if the humanitarian assistance scheme is still open for applications from Storm Éowyn. [66348/26]

379. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the income supports available to people who are unable to work, or whose capacity to work is significantly reduced, as a result of long Covid; and whether consideration has been given to the particular long-term financial impact of long Covid on affected individuals. [66317/26]

380. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the rationale for requiring a person undergoing a review of their disability allowance to provide details regarding other persons residing in their household, including the sources of income of those persons; the circumstances in which the income or financial circumstances of another household member, other than a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant,…

381. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection the assistance available to a school when no catering provider is willing or able to serve its area for school meals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66434/26]

382. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures in place to ensure that small rural and Gaeltacht schools are not excluded from the school meals programme because of their location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66435/26]

383. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide additional funding or a different delivery model where the standard catering arrangements for school meals are not viable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66436/26]

384. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection the immediate solution that can be put in place for a school (details supplied) in order that the pupils can receive the same hot meals as children in other schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66437/26]

385. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the assistance that can be provided to a school (details supplied) in a rural Gaeltacht area that is unable to access the hot school meals programme because it has been unable to secure a catering provider; and the measures available to ensure that small rural and Gaeltacht schools are not excluded from the programme due to difficulties securing a provider.…

386. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection about the provision of hot school meals and the difficulties facing small rural and Gaeltacht schools in securing a catering provider (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66443/26]

387. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeframe for when he or his Department expects to issue the next round of community services programme, CSP, funding for community organisations that initially expressed interest and were unsuccessful in the first round this year. [66457/26]

388. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the interaction between illness benefit, one-parent family payment and working family payment for parents who have dependent children and who are diagnosed with a terminal or life-limiting illness; and to consider measures to prevent a significant loss of household income when such parents are no longer able to work due to their ill…

389. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has examined the adequacy of income supports available to lone parents with dependent children who are unable to continue working due to a terminal or life-limiting illness; and if he will outline any proposals under consideration to prevent such families from experiencing a sharp reduction in income when transitioning from emp…

390. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection If his Department has assessed the impact of the 18.5-hour weekly employment limit for carer's allowance recipients on their ability to satisfy financial requirements under other Government schemes, including family reunification arrangements administered by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. [66480/26]

391. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the carer's allowance application of a person (details supplied). [66554/26]

392. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a review of the jobseeker's pay-related benefit application of a person (details supplied). [66592/26]

393. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a solution to a problem (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66643/26]

394. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection the total expenditure by his Department on ICT contractors and consultants in each of the past five years and to date in 2026; the number of ICT contractors currently engaged by the Department; the number of permanent civil servants currently employed in ICT roles; and if he will provide the information in tabular form. [66735/26]

395. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has conducted any analysis comparing the cost of ICT contractors with directly employed civil service ICT staff; if so, if he will provide a copy of that analysis, including the average comparative cost across ICT roles on an anonymised and aggregated basis, with individual contractor rates or commercially sensitive supplier i…

396. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the application for a contributory State pension for a person (details supplied), which has been under consideration by his Department for many months. [66766/26]

397. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection with regard to the non-contributory State pension means assessment, the way in which a joint bank account is assessed in cases where the individuals in question are not married, civil partners or cohabiting. [66788/26]

398. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he will undertake a comprehensive review of the financial and social protection supports available to family carers, including carer's allowance, carer's benefit and the carer's support grant, with particular consideration given to the interaction between caring responsibilities, employment, taxation and pension entitlements. [66791/26]

399. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection his Department's plans to establish equivalent structures (details supplied) to provide occupational pensioners with a collective voice in the governance of occupational pension schemes in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66808/26]

400. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has examined the cost and feasibility of introducing a temporary employer PRSI rebate for recognised social enterprises in respect of employees earning below €44,000 per annum; whether such a rebate could be administered through Revenue's existing payroll infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66776/26]