Parliamentary questions

172. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons over 66 who have qualified for the fuel allowance since the expanded means test for over 66s was introduced, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39924/25]

173. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of a widows pension who are under age 66; if he will provide an estimated cost of allowing persons in receipt of widow’s pensions to access illness benefit in the event that they get sick at work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39925/25]

174. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending the period of a social welfare payment following the death of a dependent from 6 to12 weeks as committed in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39926/25]

175. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of extending illness benefit to the self-employed; if he will outline the estimated increase in PRSI rates which would be required to meet this cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39927/25]

176. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will give consideration to a document produced by a national organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40055/25]

177. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person who retires from employment at the age of 65 is entitled to receive jobseeker’s pay related benefit until they reach the age of 66; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40152/25]

178. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware of the pay claim which regional administrators of the Citizens Information Service are bringing to the Labour Court; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40247/25]

607. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection his Department's plans to introduce a new Action Plan promoting social inclusion in rural areas, in view that "The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025" is coming to an end later this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39025/25]

608. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will detail the total number of CCTV cameras owned by his Department; the specific video file format used in the recording and dissemination of the recorded footage; the total number of CCTV cameras owned by bodies under the aegis of his Department; the specific video file format used in the recording and dissemination of t…

609. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline the process for applying for carer’s allowance and if it is necessary for the applicant to be physically seen by the social welfare officer (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38697/25]

610. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the confidentiality safeguards available in the General Register Office to protect at-risk families prior to and following birth registration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38703/25]

611. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the legislation around the release of birth certificate information to any member of the general public, and the potential abuse of this information that could occur, such as the divulging of personal details to abusive third parties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38746/25]

612. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the main policy achievements of his Department since 23 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38762/25]

613. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider extending eligibility for the State pension (Contributory) to long-serving public servants, including teachers and local authority workers, who paid class D PRSI for decades but now find themselves excluded from receiving the State pension; if he acknowledges the financial hardship faced by many of these retired …

614. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will commit to introducing a fair and standardised system of income support for part-time school bus drivers during school closures (details supplied); if he will work with the Department of Education and the Department of Transport to develop an advance or automatic payment mechanism that recognises school closures as part of…

615. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider introducing a mobility support payment or allowance for disabled individuals who face ongoing difficulty accessing public transport and must rely on taxis for essential travel, in light of rising taxi costs and the absence of a dedicated subsidy scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38774/25]

616. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost if the fuel allowance income limit for persons aged over 66 increased to €555 per week for a single person or €1,100 per week for a couple; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38790/25]

617. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is aware of delays in postal deliveries and if discretion is exercised in these circumstances to time-limited requests for information from persons i.e. where a person is given ten working days to respond but only receives the letter a number of days after it is posted. [38803/25]

618. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will make changes to the current homemakers and home carers scheme given both discriminate against women in terms of age (details supplied); if he is aware that the current regime is causing income poverty for many women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38805/25]

619. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of supplementary welfare allowance or urgent needs payment made, by reason, in Cork in the first six months of each of the past five years. [38829/25]

620. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people refused carer’s allowance in the first six months of 2025 due to exceeding the income threshold. [38830/25]

621. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of letters that issue each year from the child benefit section as part of ongoing control measures to ensure parents remain eligible for child benefit payments; the number of letters that issued respectively in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025; the postal cost of those letters in each year; the reason there is no option …

622. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of parents that had their child benefit stopped in each year from 2022 to 2024, and to date in 2025, due to a failure to return a posted control measure form in time; of those stopped, the number that subsequently had their payment reinstated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38844/25]

623. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has access to school attendance records from the Department of Education and Youth for the purposes of child benefit control measures; the action his Department takes with the school attendance information it collects as part of ongoing control measures; if the information collected is cross-checked against school rec…

624. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the saving from child benefit control measures in each year from 2022 to 2024, and to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38846/25]