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crisis continues through the winter. I had a very good discussion with Deputy Colm Burke earlier around the fuel allowance and the living alone allowance. I am going to be particularly focused on the living alone allowance because, for many older people who are left alone by being … cost of running large houses remain but their income has been halved. I am going to be very focused on the living alone allowance as well as looking at how we continue to use the fuel allowance on in a targeted manner to support those most at risk

Absolutely. The Deputy's question was framed in the context of the fuel allowance, but the living alone allowance would be the payment in relation to those people. It is a payment that I intend to focus on in this year's budget. There is no doubt that … away from my capacity to do something on the living alone allowance, but also de-target some of the necessary element of the fuel allowance which we can target at people. I am very conscious of those living of their own and older people living on their

households qualify. We need to do more work on the living alone allowance to cater specifically for the kind of cohorts that the Deputy spoke about. In many cases, for the fuel allowance and somebody living on their own, many people will qualify. We will do some more … work around communicating the new means. I will be specifically targeting the living alone allowance to address that kind of cohort of people, particularly those who are left on their own, either by death or separation, with large expenses. The Deputy is absolutely right. We have the retrofit

carbon tax but then you sit down with them and speak about how carbon tax is used for the fuel allowance, the living alone allowance, the working family payment and ACRES. There is an education gap here. People see us talking about millions and billions of euro

invest in our pensioners - not just in the weekly rate but the supports and other payments that are available, such as the living alone allowance, the fuel allowance and access to other payments. As I have said throughout the morning, we have done a lot of work

costs a lot more money than what the grants will provide. In that context, I am wondering about making the fuel allowance automatic for people living alone rather than having their income assessed

rural communities with healthcare, education and employment. Housing is another central issue. Rural communities cannot thrive if the next generation cannot afford to live in them, if workers cannot move into them, if older people have no suitable options to downsize locally or if families are forced … language cannot be sustained by rhetoric alone. It needs living communities behind it, affordable homes for young families, schools, childcare, transport, healthcare, digital infrastructure, local employment and cultural spaces. We cannot celebrate the Gaeltacht as part of our national identity while allowing housing pressures, lack or services

middle-income families who are been crucified. They do not get the fuel allowance. They are not entitled to it. They are left out. This is on top of a cost-of-living crisis. There are 320,000 households that are in arrears with their electricity bills … consequence? Joe and Mary Soap who are paying tax and are registered workers are paying more tax than they did last year. Not alone did they not get zero, they are in reverse. That is not good enough. What the Government did in 2024 was cynical. Last year

Independent Catherine Connolly before her election as President indicates the groundswell of support and consensus across this House on this issue. Not alone was the Opposition united on the need for a disregard process, but the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, indicated at the time that … acknowledgement then or since of the lives that were utterly destroyed by the horrific penal system that existed for generations or of the lived reality of being gay in this State and the climate of fear in which gay men lived or left Ireland to escape. There

took the supports away and made a bad situation worse. That is not just wrong, it is indefensible. This report does not stand alone. On Tuesday, we learned that 317,000 households could not pay their electricity bills. People already falling behind are now being pushed further … lives. It is about people living in cold homes, parents skipping meals so that their children can eat and older people afraid to turn on the heat in their homes. It is about people rationing heat and cutting back on essentials. It is about living with constant anxiety

isolating and compounding trauma. The 2025 review of the in camera rule makes that very clear. Parents do not understand what they are allowed to say. Many feel silenced. Many feel that they cannot even seek support. When people feel shut out of a system that is making … When somebody who has lived through what she has lived through, as well as so many other survivors, tells us that the rules that are meant to protect them are actually silencing them, we have to listen and break that silence. Her experience alone is a damning indictment

judges, courts officials, and legal representatives, be very challenging for those involved; — family law proceedings concerning child custody, access, guardianship and childcare matters allow attendance and reporting from specified persons under statutory provisions, including Section 40 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004, provided that the anonymity … they are so difficult and traumatic is that they are emotional, they are personal and they deal with very sensitive issues in persons' lives. I also recognise that litigation to resolve those disputes can be very challenging for the litigants involved in it. It is also very challenging

Europe and prices are continuing to rise rapidly; — the cost of home heating oil rose by nearly 70 per cent last month alone, the largest month-on-month increase ever recorded; — kerosene is the main heating fuel for 700,000 households across the country; — the prices of petrol … cent of parents had to cut back or go without essential items because of cost-of-living increases; — a Child Poverty Monitor last year found the number of children living in consistent poverty nearly doubled, to more than 100,000; and — Children's Rights Alliance Chief Executive Officer

works and resolves the dysfunction that the parties of Government have created, but has been directed solely and entirely by the need to live up to the provisions of the EU migration and asylum pact. This is a pact which Sinn Féin told the Government there … they all agreed that the Government’s approach was shambolic, that the heads of the Bill were incomplete and that this would not allow proper scrutiny to take place. The pre-legislative scrutiny report agreed across party lines set out very clearly that the decision of the Government

better standards and regulation and to stop things happening that should not happen. I agree with them that it is important to allow that to happen. I do not think the answer is to cut out judicial review. The answer is in two forms. The first … their lives better and easier and reduce our carbon emissions and delays, it will create a better infrastructural society for us all. If the Bill can do this and if it is a step down that road, then it is a good thing. On this basis alone

biodiversity and our natural environment. This Government wants to import hugely polluting fracked gas via a new LNG terminal. These two issues alone have huge impacts on our biodiversity and we are fighting against this in opposition all the time. This Government has also extended the nitrates directive … which is just a bit depressing. Public transport projects like DART+ Southwest, projects that would have a real positive impact on people's lives, are unfortunately just getting pushed back. Even on a more local level for me and for the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, we have

breaches; — provide clearer information to parents through transparency orders; and — improve scrutiny of professional practice; and calls on the Government to: — initiate stand alone, specific legislation, to replace the current blanket In Camera rule, with a modern transparency framework that: — permits attendance and reporting by accredited journalists … transparency undermines public confidence. The report states the current operation of the in camera rule is an impingement on young people's lives, especially when it prevents appropriate information sharing with those supporting the child. As I understand it, there are steps to address this specific area

Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has any plans to review the qualifying criteria for the living alone allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31081/26

Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in Tipperary in receipt of the living alone allowance; how this compares to 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31082/26

increasing by €1 per week the State pension (contributory and non-contributory); the living alone increase; all primary weekly social welfare payments including, but not limited to, jobseeker's payments, disability allowance, one-parent family payment and carer's payments; and the estimated number of recipients covered