100. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware that persons in receipt of a widow/widower’s pension and under 70 are not entitled to free travel for a companion, while their counterparts entitled to free travel who have a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant can travel for free with them; if he will consider extending free travel for companions to these widow’s/widower’s; and if he will …
Topics / Social Welfare Eligibility
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSocial Welfare Eligibility
524 questions from 120 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 21 October 2026.
524
questions
517 written, 7 oral
120
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
5
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 | 11 |
| February 2025 | 57 |
| March 2025 | 25 |
| April 2025 | 16 |
| May 2025 | 36 |
| June 2025 | 17 |
| July 2025 | 45 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 37 |
| October 2025 | 32 |
| November 2025 | 28 |
| December 2025 | 9 |
| January 2026 | 23 |
| February 2026 | 40 |
| March 2026 | 14 |
| April 2026 | 7 |
| May 2026 | 40 |
| June 2026 | 42 |
| July 2026 | 6 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 31 |
| 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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22
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18
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16
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15
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15
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14
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13
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12
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
105. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the current policy whereby domiciliary care allowance ceases at age 16, requiring families to apply for disability allowance, which is means-tested on the household, resulting in many families losing financial support for their child with a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52467/25]
106. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider extending the upper age limit for domiciliary care allowance to 18 years of age, to ensure continuity of support for young persons with disabilities and their families, particularly in cases where the means test for disability allowance results in ineligibility for payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52468/25]
108. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of families who lose all State support when their child turns 16 and domiciliary care allowance ends, due to not meeting the means test for disability allowance, in tabular form; the measures being considered to address this gap in support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52470/25]
111. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department plans to increase the income threshold for the fuel allowance payment; if not, if he will consider same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52592/25]
599. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether her Department will review the eligibility of undocumented individuals for welfare benefits; and the safeguards which exist to ensure only lawful residents access payments. [51158/25]
600. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures in place to verify residency and legal status in applications for social welfare payments; and if additional safeguards are being introduced in 2025. [51171/25]
620. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the abolition of the means test for carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51314/25]
624. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of maternity benefit applications refused on the grounds of insufficient PRSI; the estimated number involving full-time PhD researchers or scholarship holders; if a breakdown by HEI, by month will be provided; the number and outcome of appeals in these cases, in 2020 to 2024 and to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter…
625. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has examined options to maintain insurability for PhD scholarship holders e.g. an education/training PRSI credit or a tailored insurable class so that eligibility for maternity benefit and related payments accrues during State-supported doctoral study; the outcome of any such analysis; the timeframe for a decision; and if he will mak…
636. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will issue on a person’s (details supplied) carers allowance review in view of the fact it has been pending for some time; if he will give serious consideration to awarding the person the carers allowance given they provide a significant level of full time care to the person in question and the means test threshold has increased significa…
637. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the income thresholds for single occupancy households applying for the fuel allowance, in view of the increased cost of living and the fact that two-person households benefit from a higher threshold; and if he will consider raising the income limits for single person households to ensure equitable access to the fuel allowance. [51618/2…
638. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will clarify the eligibility of individuals for an allowance (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51626/25]
639. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection if clear written guidance can be provided to Intreo staff regarding the eligibility of social enterprise founders and directors for the back to work enterprise allowance, in view of the Government’s stated policy to support social enterprises and neurodivergent individuals’ participation in economic and social life; and if he will make a statement on…
640. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline how the current back to work enterprise allowance eligibility criteria apply to social enterprises registered as companies limited by guarantee, and whether directors or founders working on a contract or employment basis are eligible to apply for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51628/25]
641. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the back to work enterprise allowance scheme to ensure that it is accessible to founders of social enterprises, particularly those serving vulnerable or neurodivergent adults, given the Government’s commitment to supporting social inclusion and mental health; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51629/25]
642. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection whether the intention to work on a contract basis for a social enterprise, prior to the enterprise being able to offer direct employment, precludes an applicant from qualifying for the back to work enterprise allowance; and if not, if he will issue guidance to Intreo offices to ensure consistency in decision making; and if he will make a statement on…
643. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on any plans to amend the back to work enterprise allowance, or related supports, to better accommodate the unique structures and needs of social enterprises, in line with the Government’s social enterprise policy and the National Disability Inclusion Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51631/25]
94. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to reform the disability allowance payment and remove anomalies in the current means test for the payment. [50675/25]
96. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the assessment criteria for social protection payments in cases where applicants and-or part-time farming applicants are not in paid employment outside the home but provide essential unpaid care and support within the household; and if he will consider allowing greater flexibility in recognising minimal or subsistence-level farming acti…
107. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the rule that prevents widows, widowers and surviving civil partners from receiving illness benefit when they have made sufficient PRSI contributions. [49998/25]
113. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason widows/widowers who work full-time and are in receipt of a widow's/widower's pension and pay PRSI and all other taxes are not eligible for illness benefit; his plans to change this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49710/25]
132. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will extend illness benefit to self-employed workers, recognising that illness can prevent them from earning a livelihood in the same way as PAYE workers; if he will outline plans under consideration to address this gap in social protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50825/25]
134. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Social Protection to review the eligibility criteria for the fuel allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50782/25]
137. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if there is any process by which former partners who were divorced or separated from the bereaved ie, widows; widowers; surviving civil partners and surviving cohabitants, who are not covered by the bereaved partners pension may access compensation or financial assistance for funeral costs; the costs of raising the bereaved's children; if he will co…