Parliamentary questions

300. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline the steps his Department is taking to improve data collection and database construction in anticipation of the increased data processing capacity that artificial intelligence adoption entails; if he will outline the logic behind their approach; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18367/25]

301. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will identify any projects which the Department has underway with CeADAR, Ireland’s national centre for AI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18384/25]

302. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will identify any projects which a body under the aegis of his Department has underway with CeADAR, Ireland’s national centre for AI; if he will send this question to the bodies for direct response; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18402/25]

303. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will specify the specific policy areas where the Department is examining future use of AI; if he will identify what entities the Department is working with, public or private, in relation to this examination; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18419/25]

304. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will identify any AI training offered to people working in the Department; the level of take-up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18436/25]

305. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will detail how many physical letters the Minister’s offices and the customer service team in the Department received from the public in 2024; whether those letters are digitised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18461/25]

306. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will detail how many emails the Minister’s offices and the customer service mailbox the Department received from the public in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18478/25]

307. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will detail whether any surveys have been carried out to estimate the amount of time taken up with administrative tasks where such time could be used more efficiently; if so, in which areas of the Department has this examination been carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18495/25]

160. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of the examination of benchmarking of working age social welfare payments, as outlined in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025; when the examination will be concluded; if it is intended to publish the conclusions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17813/25]

161. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to allow those who have been made redundant since the beginning of 2025 to avail of the jobseeker's pay-related benefit scheme rather than just those made redundant since 31 March 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17653/25]

162. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason job seeker's allowance arrears due to a person (details supplied) has not been paid; if this can be paid promptly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17684/25]

163. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person borrows money for necessary repairs if they are then eligible to apply for supplementary welfare allowance. [17750/25]

164. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection the length of time appeals for carer's allowance are taking; and if he plans to implement any measures to ensure they are assessed quicker. [17751/25]

165. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a carer's allowance application (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17752/25]

166. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the current status of the complaints mechanism and code of conduct for Irish Sign Language interpreters under the Register of Irish Sign Language Interpreters (RISLI), in light of reports that RISLI does not have the legal authority to receive complaints or enforce a code of conduct; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17…

167. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the role his Department and the Citizens Information Board played in the development, oversight, and approval of the Register of Irish Sign Language Interpreters (RISLI) policies, including its complaints procedure and code of conduct; the reason the legal limitations of RISLI’s authority were not addressed earlier in the process; an…

168. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will apologise to the deaf community for the failure to deliver the promised complaints mechanism and standards enforcement through the Register of Irish Sign Language Interpreters (RISLI), which had been developed over several years with the input of stakeholders, legal experts and public bodies; and if he will make a statemen…

169. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will commit to amending the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 to provide a statutory basis for a complaints mechanism and a code of conduct for Irish Sign Language interpreters, as originally envisaged under section 9 of the 2017 Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17795/25]

170. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the number of EV charging spaces available at all Intreo buildings, broken down by location; the provider in each instance of the charging infrastructure, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17903/25]

171. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the implementation of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 (ISL) within his Department and its associated public bodies, including details of any ISL strategies that have been developed; and if no ISL strategy has been developed to date, the details of plans his Department has to address this gap in the near fu…

656. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if a memorandum of understanding or formal data-sharing agreement exists between An Garda Síochána and the Department of Social Protection concerning the transfer of personal data for social welfare investigations; whether such an agreement includes provisions governing data-sharing by An Garda Síochána members seconded to the Dep…

657. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason seasonal workers (details supplied) cannot avail of the new jobseeker's pay related benefit. [16521/25]

658. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on progress being made to support those living alone; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16539/25]

659. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made on a carer’s allowance appeal by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16553/25]

660. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people who are over 65 years of age and in receipt of the half-rate carer’s payment ,and what it would cost to pay this cohort the full carers payment. [16602/25]