Parliamentary questions

110. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider the Bruegel paper conclusion warning against using State pensions and saving funds as surety to further political and economics projects, to confirm that the first duty of the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority and the pensions funds is to protect and grow peoples savings. [6662/26]

111. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason there has been such a delay in publishing the guidelines of the auto-enrolment scheme given this scheme was rolled out to many persons in the past weeks. [6663/26]

112. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the exact number of people enrolled in the auto-enrolment scheme. [6664/26]

113. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will address important matters raised in correspondence from a person in County Kildare (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6749/26]

114. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to implement the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands 2024 recommendations regarding carers; in particular, his plans to ensure that each care-related credited contribution awarded while in receipt of carer’s benefit or carer’s allowance should have the same value and currenc…

115. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection whether a person who has had to leave the paid workforce with fewer than 520 paid contributions to become a carer would be refused the State pension (contributory) despite having up to 19 years and 51 weeks’ worth of care-related credited contributions awarded in return for providing a minimum of 35 hours a week of care work. [6753/2…

116. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection his Department’s current and historical communication to carers and potential carers that they relinquished their entitlement to the State pension (contributory) by providing care; whether persons were informed that their care-related credited contributions are not considered qualifying contributions for SPC eligibility; and if he is…

117. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection if appeal payments can be accelerated (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6783/26]

679. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has been refused any form of financial disability aid or other financial supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5454/26]

680. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the justification for classifying one adult in a couple as a qualified adult and therefore financially dependent on their spouse or partner; whether she acknowledges that approximately 90% of increase for a qualified adult recipients are women; the assessment his Department has made of the gender equality implications of this a…

681. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he accepts that the qualified adult payment structure denies women full financial independence by treating couples as a single financial unit; his plans to move towards individual entitlement to social welfare payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5460/26]

682. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he agrees that the current qualified adult system reinforces traditional gender roles by embedding women’s economic dependence within the social welfare system; how this is compatible with the State’s gender equality commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5461/26]

683. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the engagement his Department has had with women’s organisations regarding concerns that the qualified adult system classifies women as dependants; whether these concerns will inform future reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5462/26]

684. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection whether the individualisation of social welfare payments has been examined by his Department; whether any costings or timelines exist; if he will commit to publishing this analysis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5463/26]

685. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount his Department has spent on legal fees for each of the years 2020-2025, in tabular form. [5544/26]

686. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current position regarding the introduction of a cost of disability payment; the considerations being examined by his Department in relation to the design, eligibility criteria and implementation of such a payment; whether an indicative timeline has been developed for its introduction; and if he will make a statement on the ma…

687. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will investigate the calculation of means of a couple (details supplied) with regard to their disability allowance claim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5591/26]

688. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a breakdown of expenditure by his Department and bodies, agencies or organisations under his/her remit on paid verification services on a platform (details supplied) or any other verified account products, for each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; the number of verified accounts held under each category; …

689. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if patients travelling long distances for medical appointments without free travel passes could be given some form of travel allowances to cover the costs of regular journeys (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5635/26]

690. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress that has been made on the commitment in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020–2025 to assess the cost of disability; and when findings will be published. [5678/26]

691. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated level of fraud and error in 2025 for jobseeker’s, disability, and child benefit schemes, as reported in his Department’s annual report. [5681/26]

692. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of all consultations undertaken to date with persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in relation to the proposed cost of disability payment; to provide a chronological timeline of these consultations, including dates, format (that is meetings, forums, surveys); the location where relevant; to …

693. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of employees enrolled in the MyFutureFund pension scheme by band of total number of employees per employer (details supplied), in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5803/26]

694. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of employees who have been enrolled in MyFutureFund, by band, of total number of employees per employer (details supplied), in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5804/26]

695. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the number and percentage of public sector workers who have been enrolled in the MyFutureFund pension scheme, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5805/26]