68. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to remove the means test for carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1778/26]
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
69. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection when the means test for the carer’s allowance will be abolished; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2322/26]
72. 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. [1243/26]
92. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeline for the abolition of the means test for carers. [2792/26]
427. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will seek a review of the means-testing arrangements affecting farm families where one parent is a full-time unpaid carer and the sole farm income marginally exceeds thresholds, despite high costs associated with third-level education and caring responsibilities; and if measures will be considered to alleviate this hardship; and if he will make a …
428. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection the current means-testing system for farm households to ensure that depreciation of machinery and equipment is properly accounted for when assessing farm income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66665/25]
434. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the current treatment of part-time school bus drivers under the social welfare system; the reason drivers who are in continuous employment during the school term do not receive equivalent supports, such as the two-week break payment and the Christmas bonus; the measures being considered to ensure fair recognition of part-time school b…
443. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the case of a person (details supplied) in relation to a decision on jobseeker’s allowance claim; the current status of this review; the expected timeframe for a decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3277/26]
107. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he intends to review the classification of long-Covid for social protection purposes, including its recognition as an occupational injury for healthcare workers; the timeframe for any such review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2528/26]
109. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person who was wrongly advised to claim disability allowance and who has now applied for invalidity pension and has been refused due to insufficient PRSI contributions but would have had sufficient contributions at the time of application can have their claim assessed on the basis of the original application; and if he will make a statement on …
110. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the entitlements to benefits without means testing survivors of the Hepatitis C scandal have; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2642/26]
536. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection when the criteria for partial capacity benefit were last evaluated; if there are any plans for a review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73300/25]
539. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures in place to ensure that it remains more financially rewarding for someone to take up full time employment rather than to remain on jobseeker’s allowance, with all the additional benefits (such as medical card, entitlement to HAP, and so on); how that is monitored within his Department and Government; and if he will make a statement on the…
543. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the one-payment-per-household rule for the fuel allowance scheme whereby adult children on low incomes are living in the family home due to the housing crisis and are refused support based on parental income alone, despite individually qualifying for the scheme; and the plans to allow eligibility to be assessed on an individual bas…
547. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people in receipt of carer’s allowance who have had their payments reviewed in 2024 and to date in 2025; the number of people in receipt of carer’s allowance who have, on review, had their carer’s allowance revoked in 2024 and to date in 2025; and the number of these people who have appealed the decision, in tabular form; and if he wil…
556. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the proposed timeframe for abolishing the means test for carer's allowance applications. [73843/25]
458. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason the disability allowance is means-tested for couples who are cohabiting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70988/25]
301. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the actions she will take to address an anomaly related to Circular 54/2019; if a teacher has moved schools in the past 12-months, regardless of previous employment status or length of tenure, they cannot qualify for carer's leave; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68995/25]
168. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 99 of 22 October 2025, if he will review again the case of a person (details supplied); the reason the publicly available guidance on Gov.ie and Citizens Information states that the homemaker’s scheme “can help you qualify for the State Pension (Contributory)”, when his official reply to the Parliamentary Questio…
362. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider correspondence from a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67959/25]
415. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 721 of 18 November 2025, if public office holders where their income is solely derived from their role as a member of the Houses of the Oireachtas and they cease to be a member of the Houses of the Oireachtas, the way in which they are expected to be eligible for illness-related or unemployment-related benefit if t…
696. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Social Protection to reconsider an application a rent supplement application for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63799/25]
701. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Social Protection to consider extending children’s allowance payments to a full year following the death of a child; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62860/25]
703. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of pending appeals in respect of jobseeker’s allowance; and the average waiting time for a decision. [62968/25]
706. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if jobseekers benefit payments for the month of August will be awarded to a substitute teacher (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63015/25]