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must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and also in receipt of both the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance. This means that those in receipt of the allowance already receive considerable support from the Department. However, there is, to be fair to the Deputy, merit … weekly income. These payments are available through community welfare officers. Increasing the rate of household-based schemes, such as the living alone increase and the fuel allowance, provides targeted support to households that are at a higher risk of poverty. Any proposal to increase the rate payable

overall increase of the €10 was welcome, many people have seen their income fall in real terms since the budget. Removing the living alone allowance, the disability support grants, electricity credits and the October double payment has hit hard. We then have all the additional energy and fuel

found wanting in that regard. The Department provides targeted payments to help people with their household costs. I listed the fuel allowance, the living alone increase, the household benefits package and additional needs payment because it is a comprehensive suite of measures and investment by Government. While these … Government that 1.1 million people, including people living in rural and urban areas, farms and non-farms, and businesses will be connected by 2026. I reassure the Deputy that the Department will continue to support recipients of the telephone support allowance, especially where they are vulnerable

Calleary, who sends his apologies. The telephone support allowance is €2.50 a week for people who are getting both the living alone increase and the fuel allowance, and one of a number of payments that I will not go through because the Deputy knows all the payments associated

disability face additional costs of between almost €9,000 and more than €12,000 per year. People living on disability allowance cannot be expected to absorb such massive costs alone. Budget 2026 should have been the budget in which the Government finally implemented the cost-of-disability payment … disabled people. The Minister mentioned in his speech that the Government had increased the disability allowance by €10. Is he aware that a number of approved housing bodies where many of those living with a disability are living - and thankfully living - have recently increased their rents

absorb enormous additional household costs simply to ensure their child can access basic services, people on disability allowance who are trying to manage rising energy and transport bills while living on a fixed income, and young disabled people who want independence and participation in society but face financial … protecting living standards and supporting those under the greatest pressure. Our alternative budget including proposals to increase core social welfare rates, strengthen energy and household supports, deliver broader cost-of-living measures designed to support vulnerable households, and scrap the means test of the carer's allowance

spoke to Lauren yesterday after seeing a video she posted online in tears at the heart-breaking struggle to find a place to live in Galway. She has tried everything - hundreds of emails, viewing after viewing, applying on rent.ie, daft.ie and through agencies, private student accommodation, digs … finally offered a studio, but the condition was €12,000 upfront for nine months, with no monthly instalments allowed. How is anyone supposed to afford that, let alone somebody fresh out of secondary school? Lauren said something else which stuck with me. She said she feels embarrassed

past year alone, the rent for an average home in County Galway has risen by more than 10%. Lack of supply and unaffordable prices have not happened by accident. They are the direct consequence of failed Government policy. The legislation brought forward in March has allowed rents … earth can the Government call that affordable housing for first-time buyers? What planet is the Minister of State living on? It is an absolute insult to people. When I went to the information evening on the scheme in Athenry last week, people there were absolutely disgusted when

absolutely necessary. This Bill responds to that reality by strengthening board responsibilities, clarifying the role of directors general, increasing transparency around remuneration and allowing greater scrutiny. It puts into effect the recommendation of the independent review that the Comptroller and Auditor General be appointed as auditor … television licences to pensioners and older citizens is entirely right and proper. It is an important social support, particularly for people who are living alone or on fixed incomes. We need to be honest about how this arrangement has operated in practice, however. During the years

legal issues and others need major renovation that owners just cannot afford. At the same time, more than 17,000 people are living in emergency accommodation, including 5,000 children. If even a portion of these vacant homes were brought back into use, it would make a real … difference. It would provide homes for families, ease pressure on emergency accommodation and help bring back life to the towns and villages not alone throughout my county of Laois, which I represent but every county in Ireland. This is a problem that can be seen in all towns

many for no reason, and without consent. The families deserve justice there. The banks are allowed to enjoy corporation tax relief while boasting a combined profit of €5 billion last year alone and despite never fully repaying the Irish people for bailing them out. This is an opportunity … think a year being clear from a doctor should be enough. People need to be able to move on with their lives, especially with lives they felt had been threatened. We have to think about why we are only talking about cancer. There are many serious medical conditions

Clare alone, 125 notices of termination were received by the RTB in quarter 1 of 2026, compared with 79 in the same period last year. That number is not just a statistic. These are 125 people and families having their lives turned upside down – families living in fear … this time last year. That is a staggering 14% increase on top of soaring energy bills, childcare costs and rising costs of living. Many renters are paying far more than the average. In our constituency offices we are meeting young couples who are both working full-time

kinds of names when we mentioned it and pointed out the mistake and foolish policy which was unsustainable. To think in Clonmel alone, 40 modular homes were built. I sat down with the OPW and the builders Sisk and the Department's integration team. I was guaranteed these … this but the Government has increased it by putting on this charge to do repairs. Rogue suppliers and bad supervision allowed this. It is an unbelievable situation. The Government now thinks there is a golden egg in the short-term lets of people who have gone into holiday

record. There have been more than 86,000 housing commencements over the past two years. In the first three months of this year alone, there have been 8,400 commencements; that is up 184% year on year. Planning momentum is also strong with 8,000 permissions granted … tenants not meeting their obligations. Smaller landlords - those with three tenancies or fewer - will be allowed to terminate a tenancy if the landlord or a close family member needs to live in the property or if there is financial hardship that requires the sale of the property. Larger

State. His ambition has been crushed by a broken skills and training system that is not working for apprentices. He is not alone in this regard. In a response to a parliamentary question I received in December, the Minister confirmed that over 1,7000 apprentices were waiting … communities and sort out the housing crisis but the Government is letting them fall through the cracks and asking them to put their lives on hold. The Government is simply not delivering for them. If a law degree – I have said this before in this Chamber - took

like choices. A city centre does not become vibrant by accident. Streets do not redesign themselves. Public spaces do not improve through aspiration alone. Government chooses where urgency goes. Government chooses where funding goes. Government chooses whether reports like the report of the Dublin city task force just … spaces organically, the State seems surprised about it. Outdoor dining and seating were never only about hospitality. They are about civic life, about allowing people to enjoy cities rather than merely moving through them, about creating places that feel welcoming and about recognising that a successful city

families where the recipient is in receipt of either the DA, the Blind Pension, or the Invalidity Pension; — under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, a special Heating Supplement may be paid to assist people in certain circumstances that have special heating needs, for example, in the case … including the Indecon and ESRI reports. We heard directly, informally and formally, about the lived experience of disabled people, the unavoidable costs they incurred and the impact these costs had on their lives. The discussions highlighted that the costs of disability were not uniform but varied significantly depending

decade. He believed an open, outward-looking Ireland would be a more prosperous Ireland, and he was right. Like Lemass, we live in turbulent times. Economic and social systems are being tested. The international order is shifting beneath our feet. Trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty and the pace … carbon abatement grounds alone without having to force them through criteria designed for a different purpose. That is a sensible and overdue reform. The IDA has described the current arrangements, quite bluntly, as an onerous constraint. The Bill removes that constraint. Second, it allows the IDA, with ministerial

people in employment today than we had living here 50 years ago. We are an island that is at the heart of Europe and the centre of the world. If we look at our trading and relations with America alone, over 200,000 people wake up every … effective change. Establishing and investing in jointly owned subsidiary companies with third parties such as the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, would allow Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to work together to deliver critical industry and commercial property infrastructure. That is vitally important and it needs

society. Across every sector from manufacturing to medicine, construction to finance, agriculture to creative industries, technology is transforming how we work, learn and live. Artificial intelligence, automation, digitalisation and the green transition are not future challenges, they are present realities. While these changes bring enormous opportunity, they also … families and communities. The question before us is quite simple: will Ireland shape this transformation in the interests of people or will we allow people to be left behind by it? When we talk about skills, training and innovating, we are not simply talking about economics

live, is to ensure that everybody, including workers, consumers and pensioners, can confidently use and benefit from AI technologies in their daily working lives. I encourage all Deputies to log on and complete the training. All of this is happening at a time of extraordinary geopolitical uncertainty sparked … more students taking their choices, we expanded places in high-demand areas, with more than 300 additional healthcare training places added in 2025 alone, summing to 1,100 new places created across the healthcare and related therapy professions in recent years. The future will require higher levels

through the financial crisis. It helped us through a global pandemic. For Ireland, EU membership is not a political abstraction; it is the lived reality of every business, every farmer, every student and every family in this State. The Taoiseach has described Ireland's EU Presidency … Presidency is about, and what gives it its authority and influence. The scale of what lies ahead is significant. In Brussels and Luxembourg alone, our Ministers will chair dozens of formal Council meetings. Our officials will lead the work of approximately 180 Council preparatory bodies, most of which

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection if any consideration has been given to amending the living alone allowance into a universal benefit for all those living alone over the age of 66; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37020/26

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding any cost analysis carried out into expanding the living alone allowance into a universal benefit for all those living alone over the age of 66 [37021/26

Minister for Social Protection If an examination of improvements to key ancillary benefits such as the fuel allowance, household benefits package and living alone allowance to support vulnerable groups has occurred as per the Programme for Government; if not, when this examination is to occur

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in 2027 if the living alone allowance increased to €28.50 per week. [38792/26

Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider for the upcoming Budget 2027 amending the living alone allowance scheme to include single (never married) retired civil and public servants employed prior to 1995, given that the current scheme discriminates against such employees

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding any review of the living alone allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37018/26

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in receipt of the living alone allowance in each of the years from 2020 to date in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37019/26

Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection to increase the living alone allowance in the upcoming Budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37714/26

Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will examine extending eligibility for the telephone support allowance in Budget 2027 beyond the current “living alone” requirement to include recipients of disability allowance and pension payments who rely on mobile phones for safety, independence, and access

cases where an applicant is an adult in receipt of disability allowance but is assessed on a household means basis due to living with parents and the person is financially independent but cannot live alone due to the impact of a disability; and if he will make