Parliamentary questions

1241. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of disability allowance, disablement benefit, partial capacity benefit; incapacity supplement or illness benefit who lost their payments when they reached the normal retirement age of 66 in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and in the first quarter of 2026, by payment, in tabular f…

1242. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the current rate of the living alone allowance; the most recent occasion there was an increase in this allowance; if he will consider an increase to this allowance in budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43142/26]

1243. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection if he accepts that where a State-funded programme operates on a permanent and ongoing basis within schools, but significant numbers of workers engaged in delivering that programme are employed on insecure, term-time, or seasonal arrangements vulnerable to disruption upon changes in catering providers, issues arise concerning workfor…

1244. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has undertaken any assessment of the number of persons whose employment arises wholly or predominantly from publicly funded school meals provision and who may be classified as educational seasonal workers for the purposes of social welfare entitlements; whether his Department maintains any data in respect of s…

1245. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has examined the extent to which employment supported through the Hot School Meals Scheme gives rise to seasonal or interrupted employment patterns during school closure periods; the estimated number of workers affected; and the measures available to such workers during periods where schools are closed. [43238…

1246. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he intends to introduce a system for recording the sector or business activity of enterprises approved under the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43250/26]

1247. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether any assessment has been undertaken of the survival rate of businesses established under the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme after one year, three years and five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43251/26]

1248. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department tracks whether participants approved under the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme subsequently return to welfare supports after completion of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43252/26]

1249. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether any national analysis has been undertaken regarding sectors experiencing market saturation among Back to Work Enterprise Allowance-supported businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43253/26]

1250. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he will publish the criteria used by Employment Personal Advisers and Enterprise Officers when assessing sustainability, displacement, seasonality and market saturation under the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43254/26]

1251. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department records the number of persons accessing Rent Supplement under the domestic violence fast-track arrangements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43255/26]

1252. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department records the number of persons accessing the Travel Supplement protocol introduced for victims of domestic violence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43256/26]

1253. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether any performance indicators exist to assess the effectiveness of emergency income supports provided to persons fleeing domestic violence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43257/26]

1254. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he intends to introduce a mechanism to record the uptake, outcomes and processing times associated with domestic violence-related emergency income supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43258/26]

1255. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether any assessment has been undertaken regarding the proportion of persons presenting as homeless following domestic abuse who subsequently access social protection emergency supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43259/26]

1256. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated first year and full year cost of extending parent’s leave benefit up to eight weeks. [43290/26]

1257. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has been refused DCA in respect of their child despite medical evidence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43341/26]

1258. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Social Protection the engagement his Department has had with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality regarding the issue of pension provision for foster carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43368/26]

1259. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection to review the impact of the domiciliary care allowance payment ceasing when a child reaches 16 years-of-age, particularly for families of children with type 1 diabetes, whose condition requires ongoing, intensive daily management well into late adolescence. [43376/26]

1260. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide a full comparison between current weekly disability related payments, including disability allowance, invalidity pension and disablement benefit, and the national minimum wage equivalent annual income; if he accepts that current payment levels place many people with physical impairments in poverty; and his plans …

1261. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the means testing criteria applied to disability payments, particularly in relation to cohabitation and marriage, whereby the income of a spouse or partner is taken into account; if he accepts that this practice may undermine the financial independence and personal autonomy of people with disabilities; and if cons…

1262. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection whether consideration has been given to amalgamating maternity benefit, paternity benefit and parent’s leave into a single family leave scheme providing up to 12 months of paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child; whether such a scheme could operate on a pay-related basis similar to the new model introduced for jo…

1263. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Social Protection to consider measures to reduce the cost for those in need of hearing aids through increased PRSI allowance for the hearing aids, or subsidies or some way to assist older people reduce the unaffordable cost of hearing aids which can be in the region of €4,000 to €5,000. [43441/26]

1264. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine the application for the schools meals scheme for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43498/26]

1265. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on a carer's allowance application for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43502/26]