Topics / Social Welfare Schemes

A subject heading for parliamentary questions

Social 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
MonthQuestions
January 20250
February 202530
March 202544
April 202520
May 202555
June 202512
July 202544
August 20250
September 202556
October 20257
November 202514
December 20254
January 202644
February 202623
March 202633
April 202634
May 20267
June 202641
July 20264
August 20260
September 202613
October 20267

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
  • Aontú14 from 2 TDs · 2 seats today
  • Fianna Fáil107 from 28 TDs · 48 seats today
  • Fine Gael77 from 16 TDs · 38 seats today
  • Green Party4 from 1 TD · 1 seat today
  • Independent26 from 6 TDs · 15 seats today
  • Independent Ireland19 from 3 TDs · 4 seats today
  • Labour Party43 from 7 TDs · 11 seats today
  • People Before Profit-Solidarity12 from 3 TDs · 3 seats today
  • Sinn Féin165 from 27 TDs · 39 seats today

The TDs who asked most

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

  1. 67
  2. 23
  3. 21
  4. 18
  5. 16
  6. 15
  7. 12
  8. 11

Asked of

Debated under the same heading

Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.

The questions

Louis O'Hara Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1508. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Social Protection to review the case of a persons request (details supplied) to receive their social insurance contribution record from Australia to assist in their application for invalidity pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73900/25]
Cathal Crowe Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1509. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider changing the rules of the back to education allowance, as it applies to further education and training, FET, courses so that individuals who were unable to complete their original FET course are given a second chance to receive an allowance payment if they start a new course of study; and if he will make a statement on the matter. …
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1512. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the statutory basis on which his Department requires rent supplement or supplementary welfare allowance applicants to submit property ownership documentation, including local property tax records, insurance policies, title deeds or mortgage statements; and to identify the relevant provisions of SI No. 412/2007 relied upon in this regard; and if h…
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1513. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which the “reasonably required” test under Article 23(1)(a) of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 2007 is applied when requesting documentation from tenants; and if consideration is given to a tenant’s legal or practical ability to obtain the information requested; and if he will make a statem…
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1514. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason confirmation of landlord identity and ownership from a licensed property agent, including the beneficial owner’s details and the agent’s PSRA licence number, is not accepted as sufficient evidence for rent supplement and related schemes; and the legal basis for requiring alternative documentation (details supplied); and if he will make…
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1515. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of rent supplement, housing assistance payment and supplementary welfare allowance claims that were closed, suspended or disallowed, due to failure to provide proof of property ownership; and the number of such cases where this arose from landlord or letting-agent non-cooperation in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if …
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1516. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if ministerial guidelines, circulars or internal instructions exist specifying acceptable forms of landlord verification for rent supplement and related supports; if so, to publish them; and to clarify whether alternative evidence from licensed property agents is permitted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74082/25]
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1517. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if tenants are required by his Department to purchase land registry folios or title documents in order to retain eligibility for rent supplement or supplementary welfare allowance; and whether such costs are provided for in the governing legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74083/25]
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1518. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has sought advice from the data protection commission regarding the practice of requesting tenants to submit third-party personal or financial data relating to landlords; and whether this practice has been assessed for compliance with data protection legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74084/25]
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1519. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to review the Department’s procedures for verifying landlord ownership for rent supplement and related supports, with a view to ensuring that claimants are not adversely affected by matters outside their control; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74085/25]
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1520. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department limits documentation requests to information that tenants can reasonably be expected to obtain; whether alternative evidence from licensed property agents is accepted where appropriate; and whether claims may be maintained where non-compliance arises from landlord or agent refusal to cooperate; and if he will make a statement on…
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1521. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection the Department’s procedures where income supports are suspended or terminated due to the non-provision of documentation by landlords or managing agents; and the safeguards in place to ensure proportionality and fairness for tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74087/25]
Robert O'Donoghue Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1522. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Social Protection if additional administrative requirements introduced by his Department in relation to rent supplement and supplementary welfare allowance are supported by statutory authority; and the oversight mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with the legislative framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74088/25]
Pearse Doherty Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1527. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection when a disability allowance application will be processed for a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74288/25]
Aisling Dempsey Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1529. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will make the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance available, without means test, to foster carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74313/25]
Aisling Dempsey Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1530. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will make the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance available, without means test, to kinship carers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74314/25]
Aisling Dempsey Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1531. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Social Protection if the guardian’s payment will be abolished; and if foster carers allowance will be available to those in informal kinship care arrangements [74316/25]
Eoin Hayes Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1535. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for maternity benefit that were unsuccessful in each year from 2020, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74474/25]
Carol Nolan Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1536. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will receive a final decision in respect of their carers allowance application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74518/25]
Carol Nolan Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1537. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the waiting time for a final decision for an applicant to the carers allowance section after all requested documentation and relevant medical reports have been submitted by the applicant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74519/25]
Marie Sherlock Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1538. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost to fully restore the cuts made from 2010 to the DTSS and DTBS schemes and to the public dental service for children and people with additional needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74562/25]
James Geoghegan Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1541. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide a cost estimate for extending the free travel pass to children in receipt of the domiciliary care allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74642/25]
Colm Burke Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1542. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to automatically granting invalidity pension to those with a diagnosis of cancer for the duration of their treatment and the time they are unable to work as a result of their cancer, provided they meet the PRSI credits requirement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74709/25]
Barry Ward Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1545. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the merits of eliminating the means test for the carer’s allowance; the research his Department has carried out into this proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74849/25]
Charles Ward Written 13 Jan 2026 · to Social
1547. Deputy Charles Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of schools in Donegal that have applied for the school meals scheme for the 2025-2026 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74887/25]