Topics / Social Welfare Payments

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Social Welfare Payments

822 questions from 114 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 21 October 2026.

822
questions
801 written, 21 oral
114
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
10
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 20253
February 202594
March 202513
April 202540
May 202536
June 202543
July 202540
August 20250
September 202520
October 20258
November 202594
December 202528
January 202675
February 202642
March 202625
April 202669
May 202638
June 202662
July 202630
August 20260
September 202648
October 202614

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.

  • Aontú28 from 2 TDs · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil201 from 30 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael135 from 20 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party5 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent55 from 9 TDs · 15 seats today
  • Independent Ireland51 from 3 TDs · 4 seats today
  • Labour Party57 from 10 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity42 from 3 TDs · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin222 from 29 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

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

  1. 66
  2. 48
  3. 36
  4. 35
  5. 29
  6. 27
  7. 26
  8. 25

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Cormac Devlin Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
87. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress being made on introducing a new working age payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2593/26]
Catherine Callaghan Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
88. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeline for the introduction of the permanent annual cost of disability support payment, as committed to in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2831/26]
Peter Roche Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
89. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps his Department is taking to ensure that recipients of disability allowance who take up part-time employment within the permitted income and hours thresholds are supported rather than penalised during the transition to work; if he is aware of cases where disability allowance has been disallowed despite timely and complete disclosure of earnings,…
Richard Boyd Barrett Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
90. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he will streamline approval of exceptional needs payments for core household goods, such as flooring and basic furniture, in order to ensure that tenants are not paying two rents simultaneously while awaiting floors or other basic furniture in a new tenancy. [2891/26]
Erin McGreehan Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
91. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people that are in receipt of the kinship caring payment across the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2887/26]
Richard Boyd Barrett Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
94. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he will streamline approval of exceptional needs payments for core household goods, such as flooring and basic furniture, in order to ensure that social housing allocations are not delayed by lack of floors or other basic furniture in the allocated unit. [2890/26]
Seán Ó Fearghaíl Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
406. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider the case of a student requiring access to the back-to-education allowance (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3243/26]
Richard Boyd Barrett Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
409. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is considering any additional legislative measures to end enforced deprivation and poverty of disabled people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72864/25]
Richard Boyd Barrett Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
410. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is considering any emergency measures to help people with disabilities and their families to deal with increasing cost of living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72863/25]
Louise O'Reilly Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
412. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to address the cost of disability as it affects people with disabilities living in rural communities. [68470/25]
Louise O'Reilly Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
414. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans for a cost of disability package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73016/25]
Louise O'Reilly Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
415. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to increase and benchmark the fuel allowance to restore purchasing power at 2020 levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73017/25]
Brian Stanley Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
429. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress made to date on the introduction of a permanent annual cost of disability support payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2938/26]
Brian Stanley Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
430. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will introduce any immediate financial measures to address the increased cost of living faced by people in receipt of disability allowance; the step he intends to take to reduce the gap between current disability allowance income supports and the at-risk-of-poverty threshold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2939/26]
Brian Stanley Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
431. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has completed any updated analysis on the additional, recurring costs faced by people with disabilities; if he will publish the evidence base informing future disability-related income supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2940/26]
Brian Stanley Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
432. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to review the core rate of disability allowance in light of inflation, increased living costs, and the findings of the Cost of Disability Report; the timeline for any such review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2941/26]
William Aird Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
435. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will examine the feasibility of establishing a non–means-tested audiology support pathway for people born deaf, in recognition of the substantial recurring cost of hearing aids which is not met by the current treatment benefit scheme approximately €5,800 per person every five to seven years; if his Department will consider expanding supports to p…
William Aird Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
436. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will introduce an emergency winter payment for people with disabilities in 2026, in light of the withdrawal of once-off supports such as the €400 disability support grant and energy credits in Budget 2026; if he has assessed the impact of these withdrawn supports on people with disabilities who may now be up to €1,400 worse off; and if he will re…
William Aird Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
437. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection to amend the fuel allowance eligibility criteria for recipients over 66 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3138/26]
William Aird Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
440. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Social Protection the current processing times for disability allowance, carer’s allowance and domiciliary care allowance applications in County Laois; and the actions being taken to reduce delays for applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3141/26]
Michael Cahill Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
442. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection to examine a submission from a person (details supplied) to implement an emergency winter payment to offset the cost of disability in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3194/26]
Mark Wall Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
444. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending the domiciliary care allowance from 16 to 18 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3288/26]
Seán Ó Fearghaíl Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
445. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider the case of a student requiring access to the back-to-education allowance (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3313/26]
Eoin Hayes Written 15 Jan 2026 · to Social
446. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of all analysis his Department has carried out on the introduction of a permanent cost of disability support payment; and to provide an update on the progress his Department has made on introduction of such a payment. [3314/26]
Cathy Bennett Written 14 Jan 2026 · to Social
108. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Social Protection if a breakdown can be provided for all payments of arrears; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2588/26]