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]
Parliamentary questions
Questions
TDs ask ministers questions to get answers on the record, most of them in writing. Here is every one asked in the 34th Dáil, by the department it went to and the subject heading it was filed under. How questions work
Which departments get asked most
Department names as the record prints them. Some changed in June 2025.
All 20 departments
| Department | Questions | Oral | Written |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | 27,342 | 145 | 27,197 |
| Education | 13,896 | 145 | 13,751 |
| Transport | 11,008 | 139 | 10,869 |
| Justice | 9,783 | 135 | 9,648 |
| Housing | 9,020 | 160 | 8,860 |
| Children | 8,676 | 129 | 8,547 |
| Finance | 5,833 | 153 | 5,680 |
| Social | 5,830 | 135 | 5,695 |
| Agriculture | 4,888 | 136 | 4,752 |
| Enterprise | 3,878 | 139 | 3,739 |
| Foreign | 3,856 | 190 | 3,666 |
| Climate | 3,825 | 114 | 3,711 |
| Public Expenditure | 3,685 | 167 | 3,518 |
| Further and Higher Education | 3,394 | 127 | 3,267 |
| Taoiseach | 2,585 | 1,436 | 1,149 |
| Defence | 2,499 | 162 | 2,337 |
| Culture | 2,376 | 147 | 2,229 |
| Rural | 2,331 | 140 | 2,191 |
| Environment | 1,029 | 26 | 1,003 |
| Tourism | 703 | 31 | 672 |
What's being asked about lately
23 Sep 2026 to 22 Oct 2026
Browse the questions
126,437 questions, newest first.
9. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Social Protection to review the carer’s allowance and carer’s benefit with a view to the abolition of the means test in budget 2027. [67662/26]
10. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of a recent report (details supplied) that shows that more than 60% of those in fuel poverty are not in receipt of fuel allowance, the measures he will take to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67336/26]
11. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of additional persons who have qualified for carer’s allowance since the increase in the weekly income disregard took effect in July 2026 nationally and in Meath West. [67566/26]
12. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures being considered around the electricity allowance provided under the Household Benefits Package; if he will consider increasing the value of this allowance in line with rising unit costs for electricity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67565/26]
13. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if he plans to include a cost-of-disability payment given the high cost of disability faced by disabled people. [67648/26]
14. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection the analysis and consideration that has been given to introducing a second-tier child benefit payment for households, as a taxable payment. [67532/26]
15. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is considering an increase in the living alone allowance in the context of Budget 2027. [67244/26]
16. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has benchmarked child benefit against comparable family-support payments in other European countries; the findings of any such analysis; and the way in which those findings are informing the development of measures to support families and reduce child poverty. [67342/26]
17. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the dieticians' report on the nutritional standards for the hot school meals scheme. [67383/26]
18. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the mechanisms in place when parents or students have problems with the quality, options or nutritional value of the food provided under the Hot School Meals Programme. [66651/26]
19. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the actions his Department is taking to extend access to the heating supplement. [67655/26]
20. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans for the introduction of baby loss certificates. [67535/26]
21. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the assessment he has made of the contribution made by community employment and related schemes to the provision of services in rural communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67560/26]
22. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of domiciliary care allowance applications refused in Cork to date in 2026; and the number of these granted on appeal. [66851/26]
23. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps he is taking to ensure access for the self-employed to income support when they become ill. [66974/26]
24. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which his Department is preparing for the long-term impact of an ageing population on the sustainability and adequacy of the State Pension system [67550/26]
25. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline his intentions to reduce the means testing for people who apply for carer's allowance; the provisions he plans to make in this regard in Budget 2027. [67221/26]
26. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons combined who are actively claiming job seekers benefit, job seekers allowance and job-seekers pay related benefit; and if he will outline trends over the past five years such as whether more or less people are claiming unemployment-related social welfare this year compared to previous years; and if he will make a statement on…
27. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the engagement he has had on providing a State pension for foster carers; and the timeframe on this. [66968/26]
28. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to make changes to and increase the Household Benefits Package in the coming months. [67521/26]
29. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures his Department is considering to assist households facing high energy costs as winter approaches, particularly in rural counties such as Mayo where many households remain reliant on oil and solid fuels; and if he will make a statement on this matter. [67594/26]
30. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Social Protection if he consideration will be given to review the minimum 16 hours weekly worked hours to qualify for carer’s benefit; and the impact the current rules have for teachers who are not on full time hours. [67659/26]
31. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has considered providing any additional social protection payment supports specifically for households who are reliant on home heating oil. [67645/26]
32. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if there has been an increase in the number of persons qualifying for the carers allowance on each of the occasions when the qualification threshold has been relaxed, or each occasion where the income disregard has increased; and if he will outline the number of new persons successfully claiming the allowance after each change to the criteria. [67173/2…