Social Welfare Eligibility

1196. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the 18.5 hour weekly work limit attached to Carer’s Allowance eligibility in circumstances where carers wish to remain in employment, particularly in professions such as teaching where standard working hours exceed the permitted threshold; if consideration has been given to introducing greater flexibility…

1201. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will ensure that the entitlement of a person (details supplied) to carer's allowance is determined for an application first made in August 2025; the reasons this allowance has not been approved to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42697/26]

1203. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing the €20,000 disregard to €50,000 in the capital formula for blind pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42733/26]

1204. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection to confirm if a “qualified child increase” is taken into account in means tests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42766/26]

1207. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 758 of 26 May 2026, if he could provide details surrounding the current review into means testing across all social assistance schemes that his Department administers; whether a public consultation will be held as part of this review; whether his Department will engage with relevant advocacy gr…

1209. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will undertake a review of the means test for disability allowance, with particular regard to the assessment of a partner’s income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42956/26]

1210. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider reviewing the means test for disability allowance to allow persons with a disability to access the allowance in their own right (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42989/26]

1212. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection the way medical negligence or catastrophic personal injury awards are treated as assessable savings or means by his Department and State agencies under his Department’s remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43001/26]

1240. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if kinship carers are eligible for the back-to-school allowance. [43138/26]

1261. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the means testing criteria applied to disability payments, particularly in relation to cohabitation and marriage, whereby the income of a spouse or partner is taken into account; if he accepts that this practice may undermine the financial independence and personal autonomy of people with disabilities; and if cons…

1272. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for the carer’s support grant and carer’s allowance currently awaiting decision; the average processing time; and any measures being taken to reduce delays. [43751/26]

1273. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection whether consideration is being given to extending eligibility for the fuel allowance to households experiencing high energy costs arising from disability-related needs. [43752/26]

1283. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason for the differential treatment between disability allowance and invalidity pension in respect of means testing of a partner’s income; whether consideration has been given to extending similar financial independence protections to disability allowance recipients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43899/26…

1285. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline the eligibility criteria for the back to work enterprise allowance, including the requirement to be in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment. [43948/26]

1286. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection the policy rationale for restricting access to the back to work enterprise allowance to individuals in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment, and excluding those signing for PRSI credits only. [43949/26]

1287. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware that individuals who are unemployed and signing for PRSI credits, but who do not qualify for jobseeker’s payments due to means testing, are not eligible for the back to work enterprise allowance; and if he will address this gap. [43950/26]

1288. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has examined the impact of household means testing, particularly a spouse’s income, on access to activation supports such as the back to work enterprise allowance. [43951/26]

1289. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of individuals currently signing for PRSI credits who are not in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment due to means testing of household income. [43952/26]

1290. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for the back to work enterprise allowance, that were refused in each of the past five years on the basis that the applicant was not in receipt of a qualifying payment. [43953/26]

1291. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has conducted any review of the eligibility criteria for the back to work enterprise allowance, in the past five years; and if so, if he will provide details of same. [43954/26]

1292. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider extending eligibility for the back to work enterprise allowance, or introducing an alternative support, to include individuals who are signing for PRSI credits but excluded from payments due to means testing. [43955/26]

1293. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection the way current policy aligns with the objective of encouraging self-employment and reducing long-term reliance on the State, given that certain unemployed individuals are excluded from enterprise supports due to means testing. [43956/26]

1294. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will address the situation whereby two individuals who are both unemployed and seeking to establish a business are treated differently under the back to work enterprise allowance, based solely on household income. [43957/26]

144. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person who has paid a D class stamp all their working lives, will qualify for any State payments including the State pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40473/26]

734. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason an application for carer's allowance (details supplied) was refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38758/26]