Parliamentary questions

203. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures his Department is taking to enable payment of child benefit to be split between parents, in view of the fact that modern families may require this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17856/26]

618. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Social Protection to ensure that cultural awareness and anti-racism training is made mandatory for all staff working in employment activation and support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16958/26]

619. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated first and full year cost of increasing the threshold of WFP by 30%. [16174/26]

620. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection the plans in place to reduce the number of years that a carer must care for in order to receive the carer’s pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16184/26]

621. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department can be flexible when considering an application (details supplied); and if he will consider amending the relevant legislation to ensure that women born before 1946 are eligible for the home carer scheme. [16237/26]

622. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection if a fuel allowance application (details supplied) will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16385/26]

623. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of mothers who accessed parents benefit in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. [16406/26]

624. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of fathers who accessed parents benefit in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. [16407/26]

625. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of mothers who accessed maternity benefit in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. [16408/26]

626. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications, approvals and refusals for exceptional needs payments (additional needs payments) processed by the Community Welfare Service, broken down by county, for each of the years 2021 to 2025 inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16424/26]

627. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Social Protection the total expenditure on exceptional needs payments (additional needs payments) by county, for each of the years 2021 to 2025, inclusive; the average payment awarded in each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16426/26]

628. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the purpose of the proposed new registration (amendment) Bill described in the Spring Legislative Programme as developing amendments to further support the operation of the Civil Registration Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16518/26]

629. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will reconsider the decision of his Department to refuse an exemption to a person in receipt of invalidity pension (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16535/26]

630. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if the residents in a location (details supplied) are eligible for the emergency response payment; if the emergency response payment will cover costs associated with the damage caused to their cars and personal items contained within, as a result of the underground carpark flooding; and if he will make a statement on the matter.…

631. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection to list all schemes, funding programmes, capital funds, grant streams or other expenditure headings administered by his Department in 2025 and 2026 which result in allocations, awards, or spending that can be identified with a specific geographical location including county, district, town, or project site, to group these by funding…

632. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide the web link to his Department’s Q4 2025 published report of purchase orders/payments over €20,000, in line with the FOI model publication scheme requirements; the date on which this report was published; and if it has not yet been published, the planned publication date. [16576/26]

633. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection to confirm, in respect of his Department’s published quarterly reports of procurement-related payments or purchase orders over €20,000 (details supplied), where such reports are published in PDF format but originate from an Excel or similar spreadsheet file, that the underlying data was fully expanded and validated prior to conversi…

634. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Social Protection the options available to a person (details supplied) in a pensions matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16639/26]

635. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection the plans to examine the health and local employment benefits of broadening the hot school meal programme to community initiatives and community kitchens. [16679/26]

636. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications received for disability allowance in each of the years 2020 to 2025 and to-date in 2026; the number approved; the number refused; and the approval rate in each year, in tabular form. [16711/26]

637. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of disability allowance by primary medical condition category in each of the years 2020 to 2025 and to-date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will provide the percentage increase or decrease in each category over that period. [16712/26]

638. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the average duration of time recipients have remained on disability allowance; the number of recipients on the scheme for more than five years; and the annual exit rate from the scheme in each of the years 2020 to 2025. [16713/26]

639. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether any internal administrative guidance, medical assessment protocols, or decision-making frameworks relating to eligibility for disability allowance have been amended, revised, or updated since 1 January 2020; and if so, if he will outline the nature and date of those revisions. [16714/26]

640. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated gross annual expenditure on disability allowance in each of the years 2020 to 2025 and the projected expenditure for 2026. [16715/26]

641. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if an up-to-date public services card can be issued to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16990/26]