33. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has given consideration to removing means testing for people with an end-of-life cancer diagnosis for access to social protection schemes such as household benefits package and fuel allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14956/26]
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
46. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to publish the outcome of a review instituted by his Department on means testing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15654/26]
59. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will amend the current weekly means limit for the increase for qualified adult allowance for recipients of the State pension and to increase the current means limit of €100 which has been in place since 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14636/26]
62. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review and change the current unfair means test calculation on certain State benefits, including the pension (non-contributory); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15590/26]
69. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide an update on abolishing the means test for the carer’s allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15568/26]
75. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of carers in Dublin who will benefit from the changes to the means test criteria announced in Budget 2026; his plans for further changes in Budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14952/26]
79. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Social Protection when the review of means testing for qualifying allowances in the social protection system will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14635/26]
84. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeline for the abolition of the carer's means test. [14268/26]
702. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the conditions and requirements which apply to a national of another EU member state who intends to move to Ireland; whether they are required to have secured employment within a certain period of time after arriving in Ireland; what their entitlement to social welfare supports are; and how a particular individual (details supplied) who is a national of…
710. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the means test for carer’s allowance, in light of concerns that the current thresholds are excluding many full-time family carers who provide essential care in the home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14573/26]
716. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he will review the eligibility criteria for the working family payment in respect of workers insured under PRSI Class S, including directors of small family run businesses who meet the income thresholds but are excluded due to the current treatment of working hours; whether he will examine extending eligibility in such cases in light of risin…
719. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection to urgently examine a carer’s review for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14804/26]
720. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection to review a case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14929/26]
721. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on a carers allowance application (details supplied). [14978/26]
426. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) will be approved immediately for the bereaved partner's contributory pension based on the extensive evidence provided. [13790/26]
205. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection the plans to adjust the qualifying criteria for carer's allowance so that those who care for someone for at least 30 hours per week can qualify; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12933/26]
208. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he is aware of a situation wherein an award of the basic income for artists may result in a household losing eligibility for disability allowance, putting them at risk of poverty; and for details of any steps he will take to address this. [12974/26]
213. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people who had their means assessed due to income from seaweed harvesting in the past two years; the number of these cases where no exemption of €1,270 was applied; whether these cases will be further reassessed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13421/26]
845. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he can examine the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11695/26]
851. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 109 of 14 January 2026, if he will examine the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11914/26]
860. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Social Protection if an official diagnosis with assessment of need report is compulsory in an application for domiciliary care allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12274/26]
862. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current status of a disability allowance application for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12307/26]
864. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason it is necessary for parents to provide a burden of proof in the form of an assessment report, which cannot be obtained due to long waiting list, for assessment of needs for children for an application for domiciliary care allowance; when an application form and medical report is all that is currently required; and if he will make a stat…
865. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Social Protection if an official diagnosis, along with an assessment report, is a compulsory requirement when granting domiciliary care allowance, as the applicants are only required to submit an application form and medical report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12568/26]
450. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware that the requirement for the past five years of PRSI contributions to be class A/A1 to qualify for the over-65 benefit payment, discriminates against those who were ill during this qualifying period (details supplied); the number of people who were rejected for the allowance on this basis over the past five years; the saving to the State; if…