Parliamentary questions

182. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Social Protection whether any proposals have been submitted to him, or are under consideration within his Department, to increase the weekly means limit of €100 for the increase for a qualified adult for recipients of the State pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22764/26]

183. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Social Protection the rationale for maintaining the weekly means limit of €100 for the increase for a qualified adult for State pension recipients at the same level since 2007, notwithstanding increases in wages, pensions and the cost of living over that period; whether any assessment has been carried out on the real-terms value of this threshold; and…

184. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of State pension (contributory) recipients who are in receipt of a reduced rate increase for a qualified adult due to the current €100 weekly means threshold; the number who do not qualify due to means exceeding €310; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22766/26]

185. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person's long term caring contributions and homemaker's credits can be used towards accessing the invalidity pension (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22768/26]

186. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection if a non-contributory pension case (details supplied) will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22862/26]

187. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the number of employees that were employed in his Department at the end of December 2025, broken down by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22883/26]

188. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of employees in each of the agencies under his Department's remit at the end of December 2025, broken down by grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22903/26]

189. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in receipt of carer's allowance who are over the age of 66 years and providing full-time care for a son or daughter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22935/26]

190. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of reducing the minimum hours requirement under the wage subsidy scheme from 15 hours to 10 hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22936/26]

191. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review correspondence (details supplied); the status of the related applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23051/26]

192. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the main policy achievements of his Department since 22 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23084/26]

657. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21446/26]

658. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has undertaken any analysis of Ireland’s income replacement rate during maternity, paternity and parent’s leave compared with other OECD countries; and if he is considering reforms to increase income replacement levels during parental leave; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21463/26]

659. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason text messages from a Namibian phone number are sometimes used to verify online logins to MyGovID; if he accepts that many people are concerned about the legitimacy of the text messages as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21582/26]

660. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider making the bereaved partner’s (contributory) pension a qualifying payment for the household benefits package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21603/26]

661. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year costs if both the State pension (contributory) and disability allowance both increased by €12.50 per week with effect from January 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21616/26]

662. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Social Protection the level of savings disregard in relation to a pension or welfare assessment; when the level was last reviewed; whether and when he will order a review in light of inflation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21671/26]

663. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 1417 of 8 September 2025, if he will provide updated details of the number of fuel allowance recipients following its recent extension, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21672/26]

664. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of domiciliary care allowance in County Mayo; the number of applications for domiciliary care allowance that were refused in County Mayo in the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21727/26]

665. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will sanction a national audit of nutritional standards and supply chain sustainability within the Hot School Meals Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21769/26]

666. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures his Department is taking to support parents in the early stages of a child's life with regard to paternity leave; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21796/26]

667. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year cost of increasing paid paternity benefit from two weeks to eight weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21809/26]

668. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the full breakdown of expenditure by his Department on St. Patrick’s Day related activities; the details of any travel abroad; the number of officials that travelled; the costs involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21830/26]

669. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the earnings thresholds that apply under the auto enrolment retirement savings scheme for workers paid weekly as compared to those paid monthly; whether he accepts that applying a €5,000 threshold over a 13-week period for weekly paid workers equates to an annual threshold of approximately €2,0000, while applying the same €5,000 e…

670. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of heads of government, heads of state, ministers, governors, mayors or other senior elected officials he and Ministers of State in his Department met for the St. Patrick's Day engagements overseas this year. [21909/26]