94. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection if it is his intention to further increase income disregards for the carer’s allowance in Budget 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31107/26]
Topics / Social Welfare Schemes
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSocial Welfare Schemes
492 questions from 102 TDs, between 5 February 2025 and 21 October 2026.
492
questions
483 written, 9 oral
102
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
6
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 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 30 |
| March 2025 | 44 |
| April 2025 | 20 |
| May 2025 | 55 |
| June 2025 | 12 |
| July 2025 | 44 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 56 |
| October 2025 | 7 |
| November 2025 | 14 |
| December 2025 | 4 |
| January 2026 | 44 |
| February 2026 | 23 |
| March 2026 | 33 |
| April 2026 | 34 |
| May 2026 | 7 |
| June 2026 | 41 |
| July 2026 | 4 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 13 |
| October 2026 | 7 |
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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67
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23
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21
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18
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16
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15
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12
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11
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
95. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider amending the current telephone support allowance to allow for greater eligibility and increase the current weekly payment of €2.50 per week to reflect the broader availability of communication systems now other than the basic telephone, and how vulnerable people rely so much on these communication systems; and if he will make a s…
179. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of a €1 increase in each social welfare and pension payment, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31194/26]
180. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of a €1 increase in all social insurance schemes; the cost of a €1 increase in all social assistance payments, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31195/26]
183. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of a €1 increase in all social welfare and pension payments; the cost of a €5 increase in all social welfare and pension payments; the cost of a €10 increase in all social welfare and pension payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31198/26]
1845. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people who have availed of parent’s leave and parent’s benefit, and separately paternity leave and paternity benefit, since its inception per year, in tabular form. [23976/26]
330. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current means test thresholds eligibility for the fuel allowance of persons aged over 66 years; the thresholds applicable to a single person and a couple; whether his Department has undertaken any assessment of the appropriateness of these thresholds having regard to household heating costs and household composition; whether any review of the mea…
331. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the first and full year cost of increasing the income threshold of the fuel allowance by 10%, 20% and 30% respectively, in tabular form; to provide an estimate of the number of applicants each threshold increase would incorporate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23365/26]
333. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated number of additional households that will become eligible for the fuel allowance if the weekly means test thresholds were increased by 10%, 20% and 30%, broken down by the primary social welfare payment they are in receipt of, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23367/26]
334. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide a copy of the most recent SWITCH model runs used to cost fuel allowance threshold adjustments; and to provide details of the assumptions used regarding recipient elasticity and income distribution. [23368/26]
335. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the first and full year cost of extending the fuel allowance by a further 13 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23369/26]
336. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the first and full year cost of increasing the maximum rate of the fuel allowance by €10, €15 and €20; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23370/26]
338. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated annual cost of increasing the minimum weekly working family payment from €20 to €30, to €40, and to €50; the estimated number of households that would benefit from each increase, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23379/26]
339. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated number of additional households that would become eligible for the working family payment if the gross weekly income thresholds were increased by 10%, by 20%, and by 30%; the estimated cost of doing so, by family size, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23380/26]
438. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Health the reason the HSE hairpiece contribution for those with non-cancer related medical alopecia has been reduced from €770 to €500; if she will consider reinstating the full contribution for those with non-cancer related medical alopecia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23151/26]
170. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application renewal (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22623/26]
657. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will review the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21446/26]
664. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of domiciliary care allowance in County Mayo; the number of applications for domiciliary care allowance that were refused in County Mayo in the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21727/26]
350. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide the turnaround times for medical review and assessments for social welfare applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21011/26]
1143. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of carer’s allowance reviews carried out in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18376/26]
1144. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Social Protection the position in relation to reviews of carer’s allowance carried out in 2026; specifically if a carer is reviewed and is slightly over the current income limits but will be under the new income limits for carer’s allowance which take effect in July will their payment be impacted or will the Department apply some discretion in these cases; and if h…
195. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection if carer’s allowance is an income or an allowance; if clarified as an income, the reason it is not subject to minimum wage legislation; or if clarified as an allowance the reason it is subject to tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17272/26]
622. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection if a fuel allowance application (details supplied) will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16385/26]
623. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of mothers who accessed parents benefit in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. [16406/26]
624. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of fathers who accessed parents benefit in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. [16407/26]