Questions

628. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress made to date on the programme for Government commitment to explore extending access to illness benefit to self-employed workers in return for an increased PRSI contribution; whether his Department has completed an actuarial or financial assessment of the cost of introducing such a scheme; the estimated additional PRSI contribution that wou…

629. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of self-employed workers who have applied for basic supplementary welfare allowance and/or additional needs payments on the grounds that illness or injury has prevented them from working and earning an income, in each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, by year and payment type; the number of such applications approved and refused…

630. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason recipients of disablement benefit are excluded from eligibility for the cost of disability payment while recipients of other long-term disability payments are included; the rationale for this distinction; and if he will consider extending eligibility for the cost of disability payment to people in receipt of disablement benefit, many of whom…

632. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Social Protection the outline his Department's position regarding workers and their pension rights (details supplied). [74405/26]

633. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection whether the public consultation on pay-related parent’s benefit, which he committed to launching in autumn 2026, has commenced; if not, the date it will launch; and whether its scope will include extending a pay-related approach to maternity, paternity and adoptive benefits. [74027/26]

504. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection if a review has been carried out of the impact of inherited capital on the long term financial security of people with lifelong disabilities who lose disability allowance and secondary benefits; if his Department has engaged with the Department of Finance on aligning the tax and means testing treatment of such inheritances; and if he will make a stateme…

386. Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Social Protection if a comprehensive review of the social welfare system is to be carried out to ensure capacity for all requirements including migration reforms and to ensure fairness, equity and transparency. [69755/26]

417. Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Social Protection if a comprehensive review of the social welfare system is to be carried out to ensure capacity for all requirements including migration reforms and to ensure fairness, equity and transparency. [69756/26]

4. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is considering extending the age for domiciliary care allowance from 16 to 18 in budget 2027. [67640/26]

8. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the analysis his Department has carried out on the degree to which income disregards and social welfare payment rates have kept pace with inflation and purchasing power measured against equivalent number of hours worked on minimum wage. [67510/26]

770. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection the rational for the exclusion of teachers and others in the education sector from accessing jobseeker's pay related benefit; and if his Department will re-examine this with a view to allowing them to apply for the payment when they become unemployed. [65056/26]

771. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection when the €1,270 annual income exemption for seaweed harvesting under Article 152 of S.I. No. 142 of 2007 was last reviewed; if his Department has examined the impact of this threshold on recipients of jobseeker's allowance in coastal communities; and if he will amend the regulations to increase the exemption in recognition of inflation and the impo…

377. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he will review the operation of the overlapping payments rules which limit a person in receipt of a State pension to a reduced-rate carer's allowance, notwithstanding that they provide full-time care and attention to a person requiring such care; whether an assessment has been carried out of the financial impact of this policy on pensioners prov…

442. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in 2027 if the household benefits package increased to €50 per month. [52715/26]

462. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department is considering any changes to the six month backdate rule that exists within applications for domiciliary care allowance, in view of the difficulties it may present when an applicant seeks a backdate for a different payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53348/26]

468. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department will give consideration to excluding the carer's allowance from the back to school clothing and footwear allowance means test, similar to the domiciliary care allowance, for parents caring for their children. [53571/26]

473. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to change the current arrangements which stops domiciliary care once a child turns 16 years-of-age; if he will allow this allowance to continue if still in full-time education, until the child turns 18 years-of-age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53669/26]

129. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures he will introduce to protect persons in low-pay, low-hour work from income volatility, including volatility associated with existing social protection payments, with particular regard for a person (details supplied). [52005/26]

627. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to extending the domiciliary care allowance to the age of 18 as the vast majority of young people remain in full-time education beyond the current cut off of 16 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45586/26]

752. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the savings or capital thresholds that apply to disability allowance and related supports for persons with lifelong disabilities; if parental savings for the future care of a disabled child can affect entitlement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39493/26]

754. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider allowing S contributions count towards PRSI contributions for Illness Benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39519/26]

756. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on the Programme for Governments commitment to reform the disability allowance payment and remove anomalies in the current means test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39577/26]

757. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the means testing arrangements attached to disability allowance, particularly the assessment of a partner's income; whether consideration is being given to reforming the current system in light of concerns regarding financial autonomy, equality, independent living and the risk of financial dependency for disabled people; if he acknowl…

758. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection the work he is doing to reform the disability allowance means test including whether a partner's income should form part of this means test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39752/26]

766. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Social Protection to review the homemakers scheme and grant those in the scheme, who are on a reduced contributory pension, the full rate of the contributory pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40117/26]