Topics / Social Welfare Eligibility

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Social 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
MonthQuestions
January 202511
February 202557
March 202525
April 202516
May 202536
June 202517
July 202545
August 20250
September 202537
October 202532
November 202528
December 20259
January 202623
February 202640
March 202614
April 20267
May 202640
June 202642
July 20266
August 20260
September 202631
October 20268

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.

  • 100% RDR1 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Aontú19 from 2 TDs · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil148 from 31 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael99 from 20 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party3 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent39 from 8 TDs · 15 seats today
  • Independent Ireland9 from 3 TDs · 4 seats today
  • Labour Party58 from 11 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity13 from 3 TDs · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin113 from 32 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.

  1. 22
  2. 18
  3. 16
  4. 15
  5. 15
  6. 14
  7. 13
  8. 12

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Ruairí Ó Murchú Written 29 Jul 2025 · to Social
1853. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has plans to improve processing times for those who do not have year-long contracts and must avail of social protection payments during holiday periods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43519/25]
Ruairí Ó Murchú Written 29 Jul 2025 · to Social
1854. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection the plans to reduce and remove the means test for carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43520/25]
Joe Cooney Written 29 Jul 2025 · to Social
1855. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Social Protection the social protection measures for which a means test is applicable; and the relevant income thresholds for the years 2019 to 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43604/25]
Thomas Gould Written 15 Jul 2025 · to Social
620. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people refused carer’s allowance in the first six months of 2025 due to exceeding the income threshold. [38830/25]
Mark Wall Written 15 Jul 2025 · to Social
621. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of letters that issue each year from the child benefit section as part of ongoing control measures to ensure parents remain eligible for child benefit payments; the number of letters that issued respectively in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025; the postal cost of those letters in each year; the reason there is no option for parents to retur…
Mark Wall Written 15 Jul 2025 · to Social
622. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of parents that had their child benefit stopped in each year from 2022 to 2024, and to date in 2025, due to a failure to return a posted control measure form in time; of those stopped, the number that subsequently had their payment reinstated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38844/25]
Mark Wall Written 15 Jul 2025 · to Social
623. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has access to school attendance records from the Department of Education and Youth for the purposes of child benefit control measures; the action his Department takes with the school attendance information it collects as part of ongoing control measures; if the information collected is cross-checked against school records; and if he will…
Mark Wall Written 15 Jul 2025 · to Social
624. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the saving from child benefit control measures in each year from 2022 to 2024, and to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38846/25]
John Paul O'Shea Written 15 Jul 2025 · to Social
630. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of children who would benefit from extending the free travel pass to families in receipt of the domiciliary care allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38985/25]
Frankie Feighan Written 15 Jul 2025 · to Social
657. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made regarding an application for adult dependent allowance submitted to his Department on 23 April 2025 for a person (details supplied). [39440/25]
Louis O'Hara Written 9 Jul 2025 · to Social
103. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline his plans to increase further the income disregards for the carer’s allowance and ultimately abolish the means test for the payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38014/25]
Barry Heneghan Written 9 Jul 2025 · to Social
104. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the current eligibility rules whereby domiciliary care allowance (DCA) automatically ceases when a child turns 16, regardless of the child's continuing care needs; if he will consider extending DCA until a young person's transition to disability allowance has been fully approved and implemented; and if he will make a statement on th…
Alan Kelly Written 9 Jul 2025 · to Social
105. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Social Protection if the family of an Irish citizen who passes away in the UK is entitled to the death grant for the funeral. [38227/25]
Michael Fitzmaurice Written 9 Jul 2025 · to Social
106. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person who was in receipt of a blind pension prior their 66th birthday is no longer able to receive this pension or if they are no longer considered blind upon turning 66; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38266/25]
John Brady Written 8 Jul 2025 · to Social
561. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the status of a review for carer’s allowance for a person (details provided); and when it is expected that a decision will be reached on the application. [37217/25]
Mark Wall Written 8 Jul 2025 · to Social
575. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of increasing the income disregards by €1 for the one-parent family payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37459/25]
Mark Wall Written 8 Jul 2025 · to Social
576. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of expanding the free travel scheme to recipients of the domiciliary care payment. [37460/25]
Albert Dolan Written 8 Jul 2025 · to Social
578. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are any plans to include schoolteachers who are without a permanent contract or a contract of indefinite duration in the eligibility criteria for the jobseekers pay-related benefit scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37466/25]
John Paul O'Shea Written 8 Jul 2025 · to Social
583. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending the fuel allowance to working family payment recipients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37524/25]
Ivana Bacik Written 8 Jul 2025 · to Social
593. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection if the €20,000 cap for scholarship income for the purpose of claiming disability allowance, DA, will be revised in line with IRC stipends; and if the cap of "scholarships of up to €20,000" should be read as indicating that funding in excess of €20,000 is counted as means, or if scholarships in excess of €20,000 are counted as means in their entirety, fo…
John McGuinness Written 8 Jul 2025 · to Social
595. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if an application for sickness benefits in the name of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37609/25]
Aindrias Moynihan Written 8 Jul 2025 · to Social
601. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection the up-to-date position on a review of an application request under the carer's support grant for an individual (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37848/25]
Conor Sheehan Written 3 Jul 2025 · to Social
275. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a full-time carer in receipt of carer’s allowance is only entitled to a maximum of three weeks leave over a 12-month period; if he will consider increasing the maximum leave entitlement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36725/25]
John Paul O'Shea Written 3 Jul 2025 · to Social
277. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on the review of a decision on a carer’s allowance application by a person in County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36838/25]
Michael Cahill Written 3 Jul 2025 · to Social
278. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if persons in receipt of carer’s allowance have to be reassessed when the new changes are introduced, including persons who were recently reassessed (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36839/25]