Parliamentary questions

91. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount of expenditure to date on the creation and operation of the public services card; the amount expended in relation to regulatory and legal challenges regarding the card; if he accepts that the card records biometric data; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62280/25]

92. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has reviewed the possibility of lowering employers' PRSI in light of the forthcoming auto-enrolment scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50818/25]

93. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the implementation of the Programme for Government commitments for older people that fall under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62071/25]

94. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider extending the domiciliary care allowance payment beyond the current age limit of 16 years of age, so that it continues until the child reaches 18 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62167/25]

95. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is concerned at the impact the abolition of so-called once off payments in Budget 2026 will have on disabled people who are unable to work; the measures he will take to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59243/25]

96. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department will review the rule whereby older carers lose access to a full carer’s allowance payment when they reach pension age; if he will consider restoring the full payment given the evidence that reducing it to half-rate leads to financial strain and carer burnout in view of the fact that without family care, many of th…

97. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of first-time applications for domiciliary care allowance that have been received to date in 2025, the number that were refused; the number of those that were appealed or reviewed; the number of those that had their appeal allowed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62179/25]

98. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current average waiting times for decisions on disability allowance and domiciliary care allowance applications, disaggregated by county, in tabular form; the steps being taken to reduce delays for families awaiting essential supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62165/25]

99. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to review the current weekly means limit for the increase for qualified adult allowance for recipients of the State pension, with a view to increasing the current means limit of €100 which has remained unchanged for several years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62134/25]

100. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection for an overview of his Budget 2026 measures to support people seeking employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62065/25]

101. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the implementation of the Government’s commitment to establish a permanent annual cost of disability support payment; to outline the eligibility and payment level that will be established; the number of recipients expected to be impacted in the coming year; the means by which his Department will progress …

102. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for domiciliary care allowance received to date in 2025; the number approved; the number rejected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62130/25]

103. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the percentage of primary schools in the Dún Laoghaire constituency that are currently participating in the hot school meals programme or have started the process of providing this service in the school; the actions being taken to further expand this to all remaining primary schools in the area; and if he will m…

104. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures being taken to ensure that older people living alone receive timely access to the living alone allowance and the household benefits package, particularly where delays in processing applications are causing hardship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62166/25]

105. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection for an overview of the Budget 2026 measures to support carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62061/25]

106. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason his Department uses a different model of SWITCH compared to that of the ESRI; the reason for the choice to use a simplified model; if he will provide a breakdown of the specific differences between the SWITCH models used by the Department and the ESRI; to provide a breakdown of variables available in the ESRI SWITCH mo…

107. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on the introduction of auto-enrolment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62054/25]

108. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of his withdrawal of energy credits and the steady increase in households seeking financial support with energy costs, the additional supports or measures he will provide above what has already been committed to in Budget 2026 to address this rising need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62185/25]

109. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures his Department are currently examining to better support victims of domestic violence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62156/25]

110. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of schools enrolled in the school meals scheme 2025; when he expects to receive a report on the nutritional standards of the hot school meals as part of the review currently being undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61988/25]

111. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently on jobseeker's benefit; the number of persons that have applied for jobseeker's benefit, by year, for the past five years; the steps he is taking to address the rising unemployment rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61990/25]

112. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Social Protection the total amount of social-welfare payments written off in the past two years; the proportion that relates to deceased recipients; the steps his Department is taking to reduce future write-offs (including digital checking, beneficiary verification, and inter-agency data sharing); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6…

113. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who have been refused the disability allowance in each of the past ten years; the numbers of whom were successful in their appeal against the refusal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61981/25]

114. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection whether the collection of biometric data with Safe 2 registration has ceased. [62058/25]

115. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of successful domiciliary care allowance applications for the past three years; the number refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62024/25]