Parliamentary questions

567. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide a breakdown, by county, of the number of persons over 70 who have qualified for the fuel allowance since the means test for over 70s was introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32353/25]

568. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress of the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025; when he expects it to pass through both Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32408/25]

569. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection if reimbursements will be made to those who have applied for the widow’s, widower’s and surviving civil partner’s contributory pension when the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partners Pension) Bill 2025 is enacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32409/25]

570. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people awaiting a decision on social welfare payments and allowances applications; the number of appeal decisions awaiting a response; the number of applications for social welfare that have been made for the previous 12 months, within Cork north central; the number of staff working within the appeals section of his De…

571. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department’s website employs analytics tools (details supplied) that track website traffic using UTM parameters (for example, utm_source); if so, whether any visits have been recorded with a specific parameter or similar identifiers indicating traffic from ChatGPT; and to provide the monthly number of such visits, if recorded…

572. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection if a community organisation such as a men's shed can apply for the workplace adaptation grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32531/25]

573. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection the options available to those workers suffering with effects of long Covid and currently availing of special leave with pay for Covid-19 when this scheme comes to an end on 30 June 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32630/25]

574. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection the costs incurred by his Department and bodies under its aegis from contracts awarded to communications and PR firms in 2024; the name of the contractor and a description of the work undertaken in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32647/25]

575. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 941 and 719 of 10 June 2025, to clarify with his counterpart at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport which Minister and Department has overall responsibility for protecting artists from sudden income shocks due to sudden or unexpected loss of income; and whether there is …

576. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in the case of a person with a disability in receipt of a State payment such as disability allowance, the assets in different types of trust funds that may be set up for that person are taken into account in the means test for the disability allowance; the different treatment of the different types of such trust funds from a s…

577. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) would qualify for jobseeker's pay-related benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32732/25]

578. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide a breakdown, by county, of 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; if he will outline the overall percentage of carer's allowance recipients who will now qualify for the maximum weekly payment on foot of …

579. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of judicial review cases his Department has defended in each of the past ten years; the number in relation to which proceedings are pending or continuing; the number of cases which were lost and won, respectively, in the same period; the number of cases that settled in the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on…

396. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated saving from restricting the employer PRSI exemption for share buy-back to SMEs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31765/25]

397. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the total estimated cost to the Exchequer associated with the recent renaming and rebranding of his Department including but not limited to cost categories (details supplied); the breakdown of the incurred or projected costs; and if a cost-benefit analysis or any assessment of public value was carried out prior to approving these cha…

398. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine the case for the awarding of a pension for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31411/25]

399. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine the case for awarding carer’s allowance to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31412/25]

400. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31431/25]

401. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31432/25]

402. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person in County Kerry (details supplied) who is caring for their elderly parents and in receipt of the carer’s support grant for the past five years has to reapply in respect of their father; if the requirement to reapply will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31450/25]

403. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will examine the introduction of an additional top-up or increased payment to recipients of the old age pension who also have a significant disability, considering the increased costs they face; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31456/25]

404. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a schedule of the amount expended by his Department, and bodies under his aegis, on external training, simulations and advice in advance relating to appearances as witnesses at Oireachtas committees, from 2021 to date in 2025; if the supplier of services will also be provided, with a brief outline of services provided, …

180. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider altering the criteria for the means test for fuel allowance to allow a greater income threshold for those living alone considering the fixed cost of maintaining a household; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30738/25]

181. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an updated list of all email and phone lines for use of Oireachtas Members within his Department, including all subsidiary bodies, in tabular form. [30781/25]

182. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide the list of capital projects for IT services, by his Department or bodies under its aegis, which had contracts valued in excess of €1 million that failed to reach completion; the value that was written off, for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30811…