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

Donna McGettigan Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
742. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Social Protection to intervene in the case of a person (details supplied) who has been refused an essential social welfare payment; if he will act to close off the loophole that allowed this to happen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9354/26]
Roderic O'Gorman Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
746. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 1569 of 13 January 2026, whether he accepts that former members of religious orders who spent decades in full-time employment in nursing, caring and other public service roles were excluded from PRSI contributions through no fault of their own and are now structurally disadvantaged under the State pension (cont…
Ged Nash Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
747. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware that the assessment form for disability allowance is being found by some families to discriminate against individuals with certain conditions (details supplied); if his Department has plans to address these apparent anomalies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9587/26]
Duncan Smith Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
749. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection when an appeal by a person (details supplied) in relation to their carer’s allowance refusal will be determined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9655/26]
Duncan Smith Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
750. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person who is undergoing chemotherapy had their social welfare payment terminated in November 2025; if the payment will be resumed in view of their illness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9656/26]
George Lawlor Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
752. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the refusal of an invalidity pension application of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9780/26]
Eoin Hayes Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
753. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the reasons care-related credited contributions are not deemed as qualifying contributions for the State Pension (Contributory); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9873/26]
Barry Ward Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
768. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the merits of allowing for a savings disregard in relation to the means test for carers allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10407/26]
Barry Ward Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
769. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection if a savings disregard in relation to the means test for carers allowance is under consideration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10408/26]
Barry Ward Written 10 Feb 2026 · to Social
770. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has engaged with representative groups for carers in relation to their request that savings are disregarded as part of the means test for carers allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10409/26]
Eoin Hayes Written 5 Feb 2026 · to Social
290. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has considered abolishing the means test for disability allowance, or excluding income generated from work from the means testing formula, in recognition of the fact that disabled people who are able to work still endure the same higher cost pressures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8868/26]
Eoin Hayes Written 5 Feb 2026 · to Social
291. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide any analysis conducted by his Department which compares best practice on the structuring of disability payments with similar allowances in other jurisdictions, particularly with regard to weather abolishing the means test for the disabilities allowance has been considered in light of the lack of a means test for the personal independence payme…
Conor D McGuinness Written 4 Feb 2026 · to Social
716. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to ensure that a person will receive a payment (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7461/26]
Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin Written 27 Jan 2026 · to Social
679. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has been refused any form of financial disability aid or other financial supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5454/26]
Robert O'Donoghue Written 27 Jan 2026 · to Social
680. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the justification for classifying one adult in a couple as a qualified adult and therefore financially dependent on their spouse or partner; whether she acknowledges that approximately 90% of increase for a qualified adult recipients are women; the assessment his Department has made of the gender equality implications of this arrangement; and if h…
Robert O'Donoghue Written 27 Jan 2026 · to Social
681. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he accepts that the qualified adult payment structure denies women full financial independence by treating couples as a single financial unit; his plans to move towards individual entitlement to social welfare payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5460/26]
Robert O'Donoghue Written 27 Jan 2026 · to Social
682. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he agrees that the current qualified adult system reinforces traditional gender roles by embedding women’s economic dependence within the social welfare system; how this is compatible with the State’s gender equality commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5461/26]
Robert O'Donoghue Written 27 Jan 2026 · to Social
684. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection whether the individualisation of social welfare payments has been examined by his Department; whether any costings or timelines exist; if he will commit to publishing this analysis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5463/26]
Michael Healy-Rae Written 27 Jan 2026 · to Social
689. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if patients travelling long distances for medical appointments without free travel passes could be given some form of travel allowances to cover the costs of regular journeys (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5635/26]
Cian O'Callaghan Written 27 Jan 2026 · to Social
699. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration is being given by his Department to increasing the upper age limit for domiciliary care allowance eligibility from 16 to 18 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5908/26]
Ann Graves Written 21 Jan 2026 · to Social
177. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the eligibility criteria for jobseeker’s benefit or allowances, as they exclude many young people from welfare payments who are well deserving, as in the case of a person (details supplied). [4626/26]
Sean Fleming Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
27. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of carers he expects to benefit from the means test changes announced in Budget 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2589/26]
Tom Brabazon Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
29. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the progress being made in reviewing means testing across the social welfare system as outlined in the Programme for Government. [2882/26]
Pádraig O'Sullivan Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
32. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeframe for abolishing the means test for carer's allowance applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2519/26]
Pa Daly Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
62. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has any plans to review the one-payment per household rule for fuel allowance, whereby children on low incomes are forced to live at home due to the housing crisis and are refused support based on parental incomes, despite qualifying for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2680/26]