94. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost in 2026, if the maximum rate of disability allowance were increased to €258.50 per week; if the maximum rate of State pension (contributory) were increased to €315 per week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50725/25]
Topics / Social Welfare Code
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSocial Welfare Code
195 questions from 79 TDs, between 5 February 2025 and 20 October 2026.
195
questions
184 written, 11 oral
79
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
3
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 | 27 |
| March 2025 | 4 |
| April 2025 | 7 |
| May 2025 | 11 |
| June 2025 | 13 |
| July 2025 | 1 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 14 |
| October 2025 | 3 |
| November 2025 | 17 |
| December 2025 | 5 |
| January 2026 | 5 |
| February 2026 | 1 |
| March 2026 | 43 |
| April 2026 | 4 |
| May 2026 | 17 |
| June 2026 | 1 |
| July 2026 | 6 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 8 |
| October 2026 | 8 |
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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19
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9
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8
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8
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7
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7
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6
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6
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
95. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection pursuant to the Programme for Government, the status of plans to reform the disability allowance payment; his plans to remove the means test for disability allowance payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50763/25]
96. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if he plans to increase the wage subsidy scheme rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50854/25]
419. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection to consider increasing the fuel allowance thresholds for those in receipt of the contributory State pension and the non-contributory State pension in advance of Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50359/25]
732. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will update the operational guidance for the additional needs payment to explicitly include emergency veterinary expenses for accredited assistance dogs; if he will publish claim statistics and outcomes for 2024 and to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47927/25]
736. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection the supports available to a household facing high electricity bills due to essential medical equipment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48059/25]
738. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if teachers who take a career break to work abroad, and whose contracts will not resume until September, are entitled to avail of jobseekers supports on their return to Ireland while looking for a job prior to the reopening of schools in September; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48122/25]
281. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will increase carers hours by one hour in line with part time contracts (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36850/25]
86. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline his plans for a pay-related carer’s benefit payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33117/25]
90. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on plans to abolish the means test for the carer’s allowance, given the strong support for this in the programme for Government; to confirm if it will be included in budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32829/25]
97. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Social Protection when he expects to publish the comprehensive review of means testing across the social welfare system as committed to in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32707/25]
115. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection how he is ensuring that the social welfare system is progressive and empowers people with a disability to live full and independent lives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32997/25]
122. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on his Department's review of all its social assistance schemes; if he will consider adapting the means-testing with a view to permanently supporting people with intellectual disabilities and autism in employment without fear of losing essential supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33198/25]
124. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to a report (details supplied); his plans to address the gap between the better off and those on the lowest welfare and work incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33109/25]
154. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to develop a pension solution for foster carers in recognition of the enormous contribution they make to vulnerable children in our society, as committed in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32967/25]
157. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to extend social welfare payments, benefits and allowances to foster carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33129/25]
177. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Social Protection the initiatives he is taking to support kinship carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33042/25]
576. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in the case of a person with a disability in receipt of a State payment such as disability allowance, the assets in different types of trust funds that may be set up for that person are taken into account in the means test for the disability allowance; the different treatment of the different types of such trust funds from a social welfare point …
402. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person in County Kerry (details supplied) who is caring for their elderly parents and in receipt of the carer’s support grant for the past five years has to reapply in respect of their father; if the requirement to reapply will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31450/25]
187. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he will consider adapting the income assessment period for jobseeker’s pay-related benefit to reflect that employees may be placed on reduced working hours as they approach redundancy, in which case their income will be assessed as lower than they typically earned over the course of their careers for the purposes of calculating their jo…
196. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the first- and full-year cost of extending child benefit to families in the international protection process. [31181/25]
612. Deputy Seán Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection to consider introducing a system whereby people on the carer's allowance can sign off on various weeks, like the system with jobseeker's payments whereby people can mark (X and O) on days they were working so that they do not claim, in view of the fact that people sometimes may get work while on carer's allowance, it may extend beyond the 18.5 hours an…
125. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has assessed the at-risk-of-poverty rate for people with disabilities when the additional cost of disability is taken into account; if he will consider adjusting poverty measurement tools or setting revised targets in light of these findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24807/25]
126. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider reforming the State’s equivalence scales or poverty metrics to incorporate a disability-related weighting to reflect the higher cost of living associated with disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24808/25]
128. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of the higher poverty gap experienced by households affected by disability, the measures his Department is taking to address this disparity; if he will commit to setting targets to reduce poverty depth among disabled people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24810/25]