Social Welfare Rates

201. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the first- and full-year cost of increasing the qualified child increase for under-12s by €1. [31186/25]

204. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the first- and full-year cost of a €1 increase to the household benefits gas or electricity payment. [31189/25]

440. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are any additional supports in place for expectant mothers who will not be able to meet their mortgage repayments while relying on maternity benefit; if he intends to increase the rates of maternity benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28551/25]

442. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the adequacy of financial supports available to parents caring for children with life-limiting conditions, particularly in light of survey findings (details supplied) that 83% of families have had to give up work and that means-testing discourages caregivers from reducing their employment; and if he will make a s…

630. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated first year and full year cost of increasing the carer’s support grant by €50. [25919/25]

634. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated first-year and full-year cost of equalising rates of jobseeker’s allowance, jobseeker’s benefit and jobseeker’s pay-related benefit for those under the ages of 18 to 24. [25924/25]

260. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of indexing the child support payment to 45% of the qualified adult payment for children under 12 and 55% for children over 12 years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25057/25]

130. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department will review the adequacy of disability payment rates based on severity of disability; if he will consider the introduction of a tiered or graduated payment system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24812/25]

136. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review whether current core social welfare rates are meeting people’s basic needs, particularly in areas like Dublin Bay north where the cost of living continues to rise and many families are struggling with rent, energy bills, and food costs; to consider targeted increases for those on the lowest incomes as part of Bud…

1460. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Social Protection the reasoning around keeping jobseeker’s allowance and supplementary welfare allowance at its current rate given issues that have been raised (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20498/25]

1489. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Social Protection if he plans to increase the levels of hourly payment made under the wage subsidy scheme which helps enterprises employ those with disabilities. [21275/25]

527. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are plans to increase child benefit, even in a targeted way for those on lower incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14122/25]

528. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are any plans to increase maternity benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14123/25]

354. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year cost if the maximum rate of both State pension (contributory) and disability allowance increased by €13 per week. [13119/25]

355. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost if the island allowance increased to €24 per week. [13120/25]

1025. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount each weekly social protection payment should be at to maintain their value compared to pre-pandemic levels (2019) in real, inflation-adjusted terms, in tabular form; the rates these should be at if indexed against employment earnings for the same period to restore the real value of core rates; and if he will make a statemen…

1039. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to provide an additional, second rate of means-tested child benefit to the households containing the 90,000 children living in consistent poverty; and if he will consider the introduction of such a payment. [11887/25]

306. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons under 25 years that are in receipt of a rate of a jobseekers' allowance other than €153.70 and €244 per week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8771/25]

307. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons under 25 years that are in receipt of the full rate of jobseekers' allowance of €244 per week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8772/25]

308. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons under 25 years that are in receipt of the lower rate of jobseekers' allowance of €153.70 per week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8773/25]

309. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of abolishing the reduced rate of jobseeker’s allowance for persons under 25 years in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8774/25]

274. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if the living alone allowance will be increased given many senior citizens are finding it increasingly difficult to survive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6912/25]

765. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if a second-tier child benefit payment will be introduced for low-income families in response to the high levels of child poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3591/25]

904. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Social Protection to explain the Government’s intentions in respect of its draft Programme for Government commitment to progressively increase a number of welfare payments (details supplied); if these increases will be benchmarked against a particular measure, such as the minimum essential standard of living; if these increases will solely apply to t…