Social Welfare Benefits

146. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Social Protection when he expects to publish the comprehensive review of means test across the social welfare system as committed in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50463/25]

149. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to extend automatic entitlement to the household benefits package, the fuel allowance payment, and the additional needs payment to anyone living with a life-limiting cancer diagnosis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50572/25]

150. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in Kilkenny currently in receipt of the half rate carer’s allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50593/25]

153. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a costing for increasing the carers allowance by two percent, in line with inflation, ten percent and 20 percent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50462/25]

155. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who qualified for the carer’s allowance, in each of the past ten years and to date in 2025; and the number of persons who applied for carer’s allowance but were refused in each of those years. [49655/25]

156. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to extend the free travel pass to children in receipt of domiciliary care allowance; the number of children who would benefit; the estimated cost of this extension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50488/25]

157. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection the work being done to reduce delays in processing jobseeker's benefit claims for Early Years Educators during the summer months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49960/25]

158. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of newborn baby grants that have been made to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50694/25]

160. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the average processing time for an urgent needs payment in Cork. [50774/25]

164. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of children/families who will qualify automatically for back to school clothing and footwear allowance, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50489/25]

165. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons over 66 years of age who have qualified for the fuel allowance since the expanded means test for over 66s was introduced, by county, in tabular form; the cost of this expansion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50440/25]

167. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to significantly increase the income disregards for carer’s allowance in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50585/25]

171. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected number of recipients to benefit from the fuel allowance payment in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50772/25]

173. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who applied for job seekers allowance or job seekers benefit who listed their previous employment as agriculture, in each of the past ten years and to date in 2025. [49654/25]

175. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will report on the extension of the free travel companion pass; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50695/25]

301. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the rationale for deferring the €285 child benefit increment until 2027; the Department’s estimate of the number of children that will remain in income poverty as a result of this deferral; whether interim measures will be put in place to mitigate the impact on low-income families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5101…

83. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the recipients of the fuel allowance, by county, in tabular form; his plans to expand the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50641/25]

90. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in receipt of partial capacity benefit for the years 2020-2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50662/25]

91. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in receipt of disability allowance for the years 2020-2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50663/25]

93. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection the dental benefits a person in receipt of carer’s allowance or carer’s benefit can avail of; whether his Department plans to expand the range of free dental services that carers can avail of, such as the services available under the dental treatment services scheme recipients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50716/25…

406. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the correspondence (details supplied); if a decision regarding a carer’s allowance application could be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49694/25]

414. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who were in receipt of living alone allowance and subjected to a review by his Department in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form. [50015/25]

415. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review a claim and medical reports for a person (details supplied) with a view to approving the application, given the person has been in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance for a long period of time and two GPs continue to deem the person unfit for work; if a general practitioner appointed by his Department wil…

416. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Social Protection to consider awarding a half carer’s allowance payment to persons who are caring for family members in an almost full-time capacity to provide the care required for a person in between care hours approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50237/25]

420. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection when the weekly household income limit for back to school clothing and footwear allowance was last increased. [50380/25]