781. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the way in which Ireland compares to other EU countries in terms of the level of paternity benefit available through his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65632/26]
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 | 2,628 | 1,479 | 1,149 |
| Defence | 2,516 | 179 | 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
5 Oct 2026 to 3 Nov 2026
Browse the questions
126,497 questions, newest first.
782. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the way in which Ireland compares to the UK in terms of the level of paternity benefit available through his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65631/26]
783. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons who availed of paternity benefit for each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65629/26]
784. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection if a costings analysis has been carried out on the increasing the level of paid paternity leave available in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65628/26]
785. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the way in which Ireland compares to other EU countries in terms of the level of paternity benefit available through his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65677/26]
786. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the way in which Ireland compares to the UK in terms of the level of paternity benefit available through his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65676/26]
787. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who availed of paternity benefit for each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65674/26]
788. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection if a costings analysis has been done to increasing the level of paid paternity leave available in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65672/26]
789. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the lower rate of PRSI currently set in line with minimum wage to €18.15. [65495/26]
790. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason the long-term carer's credit can be counted towards the minimum pension requirements, but HCPS cannot; and to confirm in line with the Programme for Government the actions the Government is taking to amend the legislative provisions so that individuals who have given up their careers to care for others will not be disadvantaged in their old …
791. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person with 520 PRSI contributions may rely on the home caring periods scheme to increase their entitlement to a near full State pension (contributory), while a person with substantial HCPS but less than 520 PRSI contributions is denied any benefit from using the HCPS to meet the minimum requirement; and if he will explain the rationale beh…
792. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection the statutory provision which explicitly excludes the home caring period scheme from being counted towards the minimum 520 contribution weeks required under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005; and if no such provision exists, to explain the legal basis on which his Department excludes them. [65865/26]
793. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the means test for social protection payments for disabled people and providing supports for all those who meet the criteria. [65830/26]
794. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the means test for carer’s allowance and providing access to all who meet the other criteria. [65829/26]
795. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection the action that has been taken to date to examine what modifications or changes may be made to support women who currently fall outside the existing schemes to qualify for a State pension as per the Programme for Government commitment; and the further action that is proposed. [65885/26]
796. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) is not entitled for a State pension (contributory) despite the fact that they provided care for their children in the home for a number of years; and if this case will be reviewed. [65882/26]
797. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) would be entitled to receive another State payment given it was concluded that they do not qualify for the State pension (contributory); and if any such support would be available to them. [65884/26]
798. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing disability, blind pensions and invalidity pension to €350 per week. [65828/26]
799. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing disability, blind pensions and invalidity pension to €375 per week. [65827/26]
800. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his Department can review a case (details supplied) where it appears that a systems error in INIS resulted in a case being prematurely closed, despite the applicant’s best efforts to supply the required information. [64173/26]
801. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if there are plans to introduce an independent complaints, review or oversight mechanism for the administration of naturalisation applications. [64172/26]
802. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he considers it appropriate that an INIS applicant's principal external remedy for an alleged administrative or procedural failure with their application is judicial review before the High Court. [64171/26]
803. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the mechanism that exists for an INIS applicant to have an alleged systemic or procedural failure independently examined, where the complaint does not concern the Minister's substantive decision on citizenship; and if there is no such mechanism, if there are plans to establish one. [64170/26]
804. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the independent body that has oversight of the administrative procedures used in processing naturalisation applications. [64169/26]
805. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will supply a breakdown of the funding the various front-line organisations that support gender-based violence victims and survivors receive from his Department; and if he will consider a significant increase of the funding in view of the vital service they provide. [64182/26]