Parliamentary questions

185. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under his remit with the increased costs of employing staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31368/26]

186. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under his remit to manage the increase in the minimum wages in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31386/26]

187. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the mechanisms in place to support agencies under his remit to manage increasing operating costs including insurance, energy and fuel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31404/26]

188. Deputy Natasha Newsome Drennan asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update into progress of the section 318 review of (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31470/26]

189. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures his Department is taking to promote active participation and social inclusion through the provision of income supports and employment services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31474/26]

190. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which his Department is currently developing and delivering cost-effective income supports and activation services for jobseekers and families; and if he will outline any planned reforms in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31475/26]

191. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the role of Intreo centres in delivering integrated employment and income supports; and the steps being taken to enhance access to these services nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31476/26]

192. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the actions being undertaken by his Department to prevent and detect fraud and abuse within the social protection system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31477/26]

193. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress made in ensuring seamless service delivery between his Department and other Government Departments and agencies in the provision of social welfare and employment supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31478/26]

194. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has considered expanding the school meals programme to all post primary schools; the estimated cost of this measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29183/26]

195. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the actions his Department is taking to increase access to sustainable and long-term employment opportunities for people with disabilities; whether an assessment has been carried out on the key barriers to workforce participation, including workplace accessibility, employer supports and retention; the targeted measures or incentiv…

196. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason disabled entrepreneurs are excluded from the wage subsidy scheme. [30503/26]

747. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the roll out of the hot school meals programme to secondary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30287/26]

748. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount of funding that has been provided to local Intreo offices, broken down by county for each of the years 2020 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29693/26]

749. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of Intreo staff that are employed to assist the public in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29695/26]

750. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider providing an agreed funding allocation to Intreo offices in County Meath for a five-year period instead of the current three year period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29697/26]

751. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the gross expenditure on fuel allowance in each month of 2026 to date, together with the number of recipient households at the end of each month, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29715/26]

752. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated annual cost of increasing the weekly earnings disregard for recipients of the one-parent family payment and jobseeker's transitional payment to €210; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29716/26]

753. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who transitioned from disability allowance to State pension (non-contributory) upon reaching pension age in 2025; the estimated annual cost of providing those individuals with the State pension (contributory) instead; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29717/26]

754. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of additional needs payments awarded to persons aged 18-25 and to persons aged over 66 in each of the years 2022 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29718/26]

755. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of families with children in third year who received the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance in the 2025-2026 academic year, in tabular form. [29719/26]

756. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of providing a double back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance payment to all students entering fourth year who received the payment in the previous academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29720/26]

757. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing by €1 per week the State pension (contributory and non-contributory); the living alone increase; all primary weekly social welfare payments including, but not limited to, jobseeker's payments, disability allowance, one-parent family payment and carer's payments; and the estimated number …

758. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for supplementary welfare allowance received, per county, per week for each of the years 2025 and 2026 to date, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29780/26]

759. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the consultation process in relation to a cost of disability payment. [29066/26]