1200. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Social Protection whether consideration is being given to extending eligibility for domiciliary care allowance beyond the age of 16 years to 18 years to align with the completion of secondary school education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42540/26]
Topics / Social Welfare Benefits
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSocial Welfare Benefits
681 questions from 119 TDs, between 5 February 2025 and 6 October 2026.
681
questions
667 written, 14 oral
119
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
6
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 45 |
| March 2025 | 26 |
| April 2025 | 19 |
| May 2025 | 39 |
| June 2025 | 83 |
| July 2025 | 46 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 88 |
| October 2025 | 39 |
| November 2025 | 39 |
| December 2025 | 27 |
| January 2026 | 21 |
| February 2026 | 50 |
| March 2026 | 19 |
| April 2026 | 10 |
| May 2026 | 22 |
| June 2026 | 60 |
| July 2026 | 12 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 33 |
| October 2026 | 3 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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37
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34
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22
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20
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19
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18
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17
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17
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
1211. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection if jobseekers benefit has been categorised as a qualifying payment for fuel allowance; if not, if he will consider making this change before the next fuel allowance season as it is a payment which should be included.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42990/26]
1216. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated first year and full year cost of expanding the free travel scheme to include those in receipt of domiciliary care allowance. [43104/26]
1217. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated first year and full year cost of pension provision for foster carers and kinship carers respectively. [43106/26]
1220. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated first year and full year cost of hiring a case worker to help social welfare applicants. [43109/26]
1221. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated first year and full year cost of increasing support for social welfare applicants struggling with literacy/accessibility. [43111/26]
1231. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the first year and full year cost of introducing a part-time rate of jobseekers self-employed for those making less than a 40-hour week at the current minimum wage. [43123/26]
1259. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection to review the impact of the domiciliary care allowance payment ceasing when a child reaches 16 years-of-age, particularly for families of children with type 1 diabetes, whose condition requires ongoing, intensive daily management well into late adolescence. [43376/26]
140. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will receive their application for partial capacity benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40374/26]
750. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of individuals currently transitioning from invalidity pension to the partial capacity benefit scheme; the average processing time for these applications; if his attention has been drawn to concerns regarding financial security during the medical assessment phase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39330/26]
755. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to workers who temporarily leave the workforce due to unemployment, caring responsibilities, illness, or other life circumstances, and cannot access the PRSI treatment benefit scheme when they return to work, which can leave working people with many years of PRSI contributions losing access to support for dental bills…
768. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in receipt of the telephone support allowance per year from 2020 to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40165/26]
769. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in receipt of the fuel allowance per year from 2020 to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40167/26]
770. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in receipt of the household benefits package per year from 2020 to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40169/26]
278. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the telephone support allowance to reflect the increased reliance on mobile phones as the primary means of communication for many households, particularly among older people and people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38668/26]
279. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider increasing the telephone support allowance rate of €2.50 per week in line with inflation, rising communication costs and the growing necessity of mobile phone and data services for access to healthcare, banking, transport, and Government services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38669/26]
280. Deputy 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 to essential daily supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3867…
175. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made in relation to carer's allowance for a person (details supplied) considering they first applied 14 weeks ago; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37983/26]
176. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeline for the introduction of the cost of disability payment. [38020/26]
177. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of men and women who applied for parent's benefit in the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38033/26]
178. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of men who applied for paternity benefit; the number of women who applied for maternity benefit, in the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38035/26]
179. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of recipients of either jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s allowance who are under the age of 30. [38055/26]
180. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the case of a person (details supplied); the status of the working family payment application in question; if the application will be expedited given the circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38094/26]
181. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection when a working family payment submitted on 19 April 2026 will be processed for a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38119/26]
701. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has examined the administrative and financial costs associated with the annual continuation process for child benefit payments for children aged 16 to 19 who remain in full-time education; whether consideration is being given to streamlining or simplifying this process in light of current school retention rates; and if he will …