Michael Murphy
Question:6. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection to explore the possibility of reducing the minimum hours of the wage subsidy scheme from 15 hours to ten hours (details supplied). [1439/26]
Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions
Disability Issues
Somewhat following on from the last question on the wage subsidy scheme, I want to acknowledge the reforms introduced by the Minister over the last number of years. I want to further explore the possibility of reducing the minimum hours from 15 to ten. Doing so this would help many service users in centres of excellence like MooreHaven in Tipperary town to achieve their dreams and it would make working in local communities a more realistic option.
As the Deputy knows, the wage subsidy scheme is a key disability employment support. It aims to encourage employers to offer substantial and sustainable employment to disabled people through a subsidy. In December 2025, 1,551 employers were availing of the wage subsidy scheme and 2,626 employees were supported through the
scheme. Budget 2026 provided for the scheme to be expanded to those who acquire a disability or who have a progressive or degenerative condition that worsens and to those who transfer from invalidity pension to partial capacity benefit.
In 2024, the Department published a review of the wage subsidy scheme. Based on the findings in the review, my Department reduced the minimum required hours for the scheme from 21 hours per week to 15 hours per week. This change sought to make the scheme more accessible and flexible for disabled people. However, it also sought to ensure that the wage subsidy scheme maintains its key aim to encourage employers to provide substantial and meaningful work to disabled people.
The scheme needs to operate within the new 15-hour minimum requirement for a period before we can assess the impact the change has had. As the Deputy knows, there is already a commitment in the programme for Government and the national human rights strategy for disabled people to further reviewing the minimum hours of the wage subsidy scheme. I will advance this commitment but I need time to judge and measure the impact of the new 15-hour minimum requirement. I am very happy to engage with the Deputy and to visit the project in Tipperary to see how it is working.
I welcome the Minister's reply. I thank and acknowledge everybody working within the scheme and, in particular, individuals in the Department of Social Protection around the country working on this and other activation schemes. It is such a fantastic scheme and it is not about money or policy. It is about being able to be seen to be capable of working, to be able to work with others. I am conscious of those individuals who just do not have the capacity to work 15 hours a week and may only have the capacity to work ten hours a week. There has been a lot of feedback from employers and service providers indicating that the current minimum threshold of 15 hours per week can be a barrier. While the scheme is well designed, this requirement can limit its reach. As the Minister said, there is a commitment in the programme for Government. I look forward to working with the Minister to explore whether we can reduce the minimum requirement further.
I thank the Deputy. We will certainly work across the House in relation to this area of furthering employment opportunities for those with disabilities. As we discussed earlier, WorkAbility is working on 57 local, regional and national projects right across the country. We have also work in access, which is one of the changes we announced alongside the changes to the wage subsidy scheme. This offers seven supports to improve access in the workplace for people with a disability. Funding is available for communication support, work equipment, workplace adaptation and training. I am currently reviewing the work and access scheme with a view to looking at the new assistive technology that is available for employers and those with disability in terms of maximising the opportunities that are available.
We have made changes again to the wage subsidy scheme. We have made changes to the balance of the wage subsidy scheme to encourage people. As I said previously, throughout 2026 we will be having a number of work and skills events that are themed for those with a disability. We had a very successful pilot last October with AsIAm. I intend to roll those out nationally during 2026.
It was remiss of me not to acknowledge the many employers across the country who participate in the scheme. Indeed, their willingness to provide opportunities has had such a positive impact. I am engaging with service providers, not just the MooreHaven centre, but others within my constituency, and they have indicated to me that the ten-hour threshold would be far more achievable, first of all, for many employers but more importantly, it would better suit the needs of many participants, having regard to their abilities and indeed their limited capacity to work. As I said, for many the 15 hours is simply a bridge too far. This is not due to a lack of willingness but just practical and health-related constraints. Reducing the minimum requirement from 15 hours to ten hours is a sensible and what I would call inclusive adjustment. As the Minister said, it fully aligns with the objectives of the programme for Government, but I accept what the Minister is saying. The 15 hours minimum requirement was only introduced in 2024 but we are now two years on, so I appeal to the Minister to maybe accelerate that consideration.
I would like to echo Deputy Murphy's call to reduce the time requirement for the wage subsidy scheme. The OECD published a report not too long ago saying that 10% of the working-age population had a disability and 25% of people with disabilities in 2019 were unemployed. It is the largest employability gap in the developed world and is higher than the United States or the United Kingdom. Dr. Mel Cousins from Trinity College said that income from employment would be the best way of tackling poverty for people with disabilities but, importantly, making sure that people do not lose employment would be the best way of tackling poverty for people with disabilities. One thing that is not mentioned too often in the wage subsidy scheme is that the number of employers that are availing of it has actually dropped over the last number of years. What will the Minister do to tackle the highest employment gap for people with disabilities in the developed world?
Just to come back to Deputy Murphy's point first, we will keep it under review. In 2024, the hours were reduced from 21 to 15, which is quite a substantial reduction. It is important that we also keep an eye on the main aim of the scheme which is to provide substantial and meaningful work and I think we need to keep that in mind as well.
In relation to Deputy Hayes's point, we very focused on addressing that gap. As I said, we have made changes to the wage subsidy scheme. We have provided quite a lot of information to employers. Throughout 2025 we relaunched the wage subsidy scheme and made changes to it and we have made further changes to it to address a particular point the Deputy raised, that is, that those who acquire a disability employment can be retained within their current employment and avail of the wage subsidy scheme. Previously, if somebody within a workforce acquired a disability, they were not supported through the wage subsidy scheme and would have had to give up that employment. We have made that change. We will be making further changes to the workplace activation scheme to support employers.
I am also committed to engaging with employer organisations in relation to showing the opportunities that are there. I am referring to the skills that are being missed, the talents that are not being availed of when employers do not look to people with disability for employment opportunities. I am looking at various social enterprise models that will reflect where Deputy Murphy is coming from in terms of how we can use that skill and talent. I am very committed to addressing that gap. Deputy Hayes's statement about the gap being the worst in the developed world is wrong.
That is what the OECD said.
We are close to the EU average, but it is nowhere near where I want them to be and I am determined to make a change there.
Social Welfare Payments
Catherine Callaghan
Question:7. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps being taken to ensure that parents who are aged 66 years and above and caring for children with lifelong disabilities retain the rate at which they are paid their carer’s allowance and concurrently receive the State pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2827/26]
I would like to talk about carers, in particular, those who are over the age of 66 and in receipt of the State pension. I ask the Minister to outline the steps that are currently being taken to ensure that parents who have, for their lifetime, cared for their children and reached the age of 66 can retain the full rate of carer's allowance and concurrently receive the State pension.
The main income supports provided by the Department to carers are the carer's allowance, carer's benefit, domiciliary care allowance and the carer's support grant.
Spending on those payments in 2026 is expected to be over €2.2 billion.
In general, people who are eligible for two social welfare payments at the same time receive the higher payment for which they are eligible; they do not receive both payments simultaneously. For instance, a jobseeker who falls ill does not receive both a jobseeker payment and an illness payment. In recognition of the vital role of caring, however, an important exception already applies. Where a person is receiving a full-time social welfare payment, such as the State pension, and is providing full-time care for at least 35 hours per week, they may receive up to half the carer's allowance rate in addition to their primary payment. This arrangement applies across almost all weekly social welfare payments, including those with increases for a qualified adult. At the end of 2025, there were 49,234 carers benefiting from these arrangements. Of that figure, approximately 14,500 were receiving a State pension, either contributory or non-contributory. That means that a person in receipt of carer's allowance who qualifies for the full State pension on reaching the age of 66 and retains a half-rate carer's allowance will see their payment increase from €270 a week to a combined pension and carer payment of €453.30 per week.
The programme for Government commits to ensuring that parents who are aged 66 or over and who are caring for children with lifelong disabilities retain the rate at which they are paid their carer's allowance and concurrently receive the State pension. We are committed to progressively increasing weekly carer's payments. We will continue to increase various payments in this space.
A big focus is that the carer's allowance means test is abolished. The process for phasing out that means test is well under way. From July of this year, the weekly income disregard will increase from €625 to €1,000 for a single person and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers who are part of a couple.
We will continue to advance these commitments over the lifetime of the Government, having regard to the overall policy and budgetary context.
I acknowledge the work being done but, as a former family carer myself, I know full well that our carers provide an enormous service not only to their loved ones and those they care for but also to the State itself. It is estimated that each year the State saves €20 billion that would have to be invested in our health services were it not for the work of family carers. These carers work long and difficult days in the most demanding of roles, and caring for a loved one in older age can often be deeply challenging. I am therefore of the strong opinion that the State has a responsibility to look at our carers in an exceptional way and to care for them and to support them in every single way we can. While I said I welcome the body of work that has been done to phase out the carer's means test the Minister mentioned over the course of the current Government's term, I strongly support the commitments made in the programme for Government to ensure that the State give every support possible to help our carers in their role. I therefore ask the Minister to take one further step and to ensure that everything possible is done to provide pensioners caring for their children with the full rate of carer's allowance.
We absolutely agree with the Deputy on the role of carers and the role of family carers. That is why we have made changes and made such commitments in terms of the means test. It is also why the exception in relation to the half-rate of carer's allowance is made. Those in receipt of the half-rate are the only cohort for whom that exception is made. We have a programme for Government commitment to better support parents aged 66 or over who are caring for children with lifelong disabilities, and I will advance that commitment over the lifetime of the Government. As I said to the Deputy, at the end of December last there were 49,234 recipients of the half-rate of carer's allowance and, of those, just over 15,000 were receiving a State pension. We will continue to progress that commitment in relation to those aged 66 or over and we will continue to engage with the Deputy on that commitment.
That is very heartening to hear, and I look forward to working together to ensure that the commitments in the programme for Government are advanced.
While I am here, I would like to raise the immense financial strains carers often find themselves under in spite of the services they provide. In a recent survey, 69% of carers reported having difficulty making ends meet and, of those, 29% have begun cutting back on essentials such as food and heating. Some 39% of all carers live in households with a combined total income of less than €30,000 per annum, so the financial challenges that come with being a carer, particularly in older age, must be addressed head-on. The Minister has mentioned the ambition that has been shown in supporting our carers through an increased domiciliary care allowance, which I acknowledge. He has outlined the increased welfare payments that started this month. I know that this Government intends to ensure, as he has also outlined, that our carers are fully and properly supported. I have so many such constituents who are pensioners. They do not understand why, despite having provided care and having been in receipt of the full rate of carer's allowance their entire life, when they reach pension age, when in fact the job sometimes gets more difficult, their full rate is reduced. They see it as a sign that the State does not acknowledge their work as carers. I again urge that the commitment in the programme for Government is advanced. I thank the Minister for his work.
There are supports. There are additional supports as well. It is important that everybody is aware of them in order that they do not miss them. We know that the carer's support grant increased to €2,000 last June. I refer to those who are getting carer's allowance at both the full rate and the half-rate and other full-time carers. The household benefits package is available to help to meet the costs of electricity, gas and the TV licence. It is available to carers under the age of 70 who are getting carer's allowance at the full rate or the half-rate. Carer's allowance has been a qualifying payment for fuel allowance since this time last year, since January 2025. We have additional supports available. As I said, we have a programme for Government commitment in this space. The Deputy has spoken to me about this before, and we will advance it during my time in the Department.
Cost of Living Issues
Louise O'Reilly
Question:8. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he has given consideration to additional cost-of-living measures, given the increased rates of poverty after housing costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2838/26]
As the Minister will know, and as a direct result of Government policy, the housing situation in this State is - what is the word we are using now? Is it "crisis"? "Emergency"? "Disaster"? Any of those would be used, but "expensive" and, in many instances, "unaffordable" are the words people will most use. My question relates to additional cost-of-living measures. Has the Minister given any consideration to such measures, given the rate of housing costs in the State?
We are fully aware, as a Government, of the challenges facing individuals and families. We have consistently ensured that core social welfare rates have increased at or above the rate of inflation. For example, as I said earlier, core rates increased by about 20% over the period between 2021 and 2025, which is more than the rate of inflation of 18.5% over the same period, and the increase of 4.1% on most payments announced in the October budget exceeds the increase in consumer prices reported by the CSO of 3.2% over the 12 months to November 2025. We supplemented these rate increases with further supports.
We have decided, however, to move away from the use of one-off payments, which are difficult to target. Instead we are prioritising permanent measures targeted to those who need them most.
This year we will invest €28.9 billion in social protection measures, which includes more than €1.15 billion in new measures comprising an above-inflation increase of €10 per week in core rates and significant targeted measures, including €320 million in increases dedicated to alleviating child poverty.
This investment enabled the largest child support payment increase in the history of the State. This payment increased by €16 per week to €78 for children aged 12 and over, which is a 26% increase, and a weekly increase of €8 to €58 for children under 12, which is a 16% increase. This brings the total annual value of the child support payment to more than €3,000 for each child under 12 and more than €4,000 for each child of 12 and over. Since 2019 the value of the child support payment has increased by about 110% for children over 12 and by 71% for children under 12.
The budget package also includes significant supports to help householders with the cost of heating and other energy bills, including, for the first time, families receiving the working family payment qualifying for the fuel allowance.
These are targeted rather than one-off measures. They will give increased certainty to recipients in need and to those on the lowest incomes across our State.
The Minister mentioned the rate of inflation and did not mention the rate of housing inflation, the cost of housing. That was specifically mentioned in the question.
The cost of housing in this State is rising and has risen every single year, whether people are renting or are struggling to buy. After housing costs, 40% of renters live on an income below the poverty line. That is 43% for local authority tenants. It is almost 60% for those on HAP, RAS or rent supplement, who are living below the poverty line when we take it into account. The Minister is not getting the full picture if he is not taking into account the cost of housing. Perhaps in a normal economy where the Government had not crashed the housing market repeatedly into a wall, leaving out housing figures might give an accurate picture, but it does not, because when we take housing into consideration, we actually see the true rate of poverty and the fact that Social Justice Ireland, the ESRI and others pointed out that the increases in the last budget did not do anything other than impose austerity on people and do not keep pace with the rising costs.
In relation to rent, the Department of Social Protection rent supplement as it exists today is seen as a short-term support paid to families and individuals as an initial payment where they first encounter difficulties in meeting rent costs. Longer-term support is given through the housing assistance payment. The rent limits applied on rent supplement are aligned with those on the housing assistance payment. Expenditure for rent supplement paid by the Department of Social Protection in 2025 is provisionally estimated at just over €52.2 million, which compares with the 2026 estimate of over €570 million for HAP and the rental accommodation scheme within the Vote of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. A review of rent limits is a matter on which my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, is taking the lead. Officials from my Department are working on that review. Any changes to the rent supplement payments will then be aligned to the outcome of the housing assistance payment review.
Various arrangements and flexibilities are in place in relation to rent supplement payments, with higher rent supplement payments that are payable in certain circumstances. For instance, my Department, in conjunction with Threshold, has a special protocol in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Galway, Meath and Wicklow. Threshold advises, advocates and intervenes on behalf of families or individuals in receipt of rent supplement who are in danger of losing tenancies. We also have a protocol with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive and with Cuan to assist people fleeing domestic violence.
Half of Dublin is on homeless HAP. I know what it is and the Minister does not need to explain it to me. The fact is that when we factor in housing costs, we see the true picture of poverty in the State. A quarter of children under 16 years of age, 26.7%, are growing up in poverty. Almost a quarter of workers, 22.3%, are living in poverty. These are very real figures. I ask the Minister to give consideration to additional cost-of-living-measures for people who are experiencing deprivation in the here and now. I am aware of homeless HAP. I talk to people every single day of the week. As I said, half of Dublin is probably on it at this stage, because all it is doing is fuelling those price increases for rent. I am sure that keeps some people happy, but the people I represent want to know whether the Minister is considering short-term measures, because they are in dire straits.
That is why we have delivered. Deputy O'Reilly has raised child poverty in particular. I have mentioned and reiterate the record increases in the child support payment, which goes to those on the lowest incomes. There is €1.15 billion in new measures for 2026 in the Department. The child support payment, to reiterate, increased by €16 per week to €78 for children aged 12, which is a 26% increase in the child support payment, and increased by €8 to €58 for children under 12, which is a 16% increase. The total annual value of the child support payment is €3,000 for each child under 12 and over €4,000 for each child aged 12 and over. That goes to those specifically on the lowest incomes. As we discussed earlier, we have also increased the fuel allowance by €5 per week, which is a 15% increase. We will continue to work with the Department of housing in relation to supports offered through rent supplement for housing costs.
It would be quicker if the Minister just said, "No". Is he considering additional cost-of-living measures given that people are absolutely battered? I have read out the figures to him that show that a quarter of children are living in poverty and nearly a quarter of workers are living in poverty. If the Minister is not prepared to give the measures that will ensure that these people do not live in poverty then he should have just said, "No". I regret that the Minister does not have a better answer for me, to be brutally frank, because the cost of living in this State and the cost for people who are on low incomes, as we know, means they are very heavily exposed to any price increase, including any increase in the price of food, but the Government has refused to negotiate or rein in the large-scale supermarkets. Any increase in energy again is the same story. It is a case of saying to carry on lads and keep increasing the energy costs. All of the people who are on low incomes are very badly exposed to these. The very last one, and the one that is raised in this question, is housing. These people are right up against it. They need help and they need it now.
I have given Deputy O'Reilly the answer. I have given her the increases that we have made in payments this year. There is a €28.9 billion investment in social welfare, €1.15 billion in new measures, and €320 million to reduce child poverty. As I said, there are record increases in the child support payment. These increases are well in excess of inflation, particularly for children over the age of 12. Once again, I reiterate that there is a €16 per week increase to €78, which is 26%, and a weekly increase of €8 for children under 12, which is a 16% increase. That brings the child support payment to €3,000 for children under 12 and over €4,000 for children over 12. We have also increased the fuel allowance. There is a 15% increase of €5 per week for those on fuel allowance and we have extended it for the first time to those on the working family payment and to those in employment. There is a significant change in the fuel allowance and that will provide a lump sum to those on the working family payment at the beginning of March. I reiterate that there is a €28.9 billion investment in social welfare, with €1.15 billion in new measures for 2026, and €320 million of that €1.15 billion is for child poverty. We are addressing poverty on a daily basis and that kicked in from 1 January.
Pension Provisions
James O'Connor
Question:9. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of employees in County Cork registered with My Future Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2683/26]
Auto-enrolment is a significant change for people who are in employment and preparing for pensions. It has been up and running since the beginning of the year, as the Minister will be aware, and the first pay packs are arriving in. It is very visible there. Can the Minister give an outline of the number of people who are registered at this point, and, in particular, the figures for Cork?
I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this issue. As he knows, we made a commitment to introduce an automatic enrolment retirement savings system. The aim of introducing automatic enrolment is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and, in particular, to provide workers with access to a quality assured retirement savings scheme, thereby giving greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income. My Future Fund commenced on 1 January 2026. More than 763,000 employees who were not actively contributing to a qualifying pension or PRSA through payroll have now been automatically enrolled in My Future Fund. That includes 75,468 employees in County Cork.
The collection of employer and employee contributions is now under way. It is operating in line with the design and build of the system. The contributions are being topped up by the State and are being transferred to the investment managers for investment. The myfuturefund.ie portal is available to both employers and employees to access various services and will in time allow participants to view their account. This outcome is reflective of the huge effort made by officials in my Department and other stakeholders, including payroll providers and employers, in advance of the launch of My Future Fund. This is a significant and positive result which will ultimately provide employees with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income.
With more than 760,000 people to be enrolled across the country, and I hear the figure of more than 75,000 people in County Cork, are they all registered and up and running on it or are gaps emerging in places where employers have not registered and people are not yet registered for various reasons?
If gaps are emerging, can the Minister outline where they are and if they are in particular sectors or concern large or small employers? Can the Minister please give an overview on this?
At this point, we have 94,062 employers registered, with 700,256 employees registered. There is a gap between 700,256 and 763,000 and we are working to address that by engaging in further information campaigns with employers. The call centre dealing with this has been open since 1 January. It has taken 4,620 calls and 3,748 online chats. Of those queries, 57% have been from employers, 21% from participants and 15% from agents. The numbers are continuing to climb every day. At this point, I think a 92% response from employers is very positive one month into the scheme. We are continuing to engage, and the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, NAERSA, will engage, to ensure we give everybody the opportunity to enrol in My Future Fund to give the security it will make available in a post-retirement situation. We are very focused on that and on seeing it through. The operating body for the My Future Fund, NAERSA, understands the priority the Department gives this matter.
In relation to the gaps emerging, it would be interesting to know if these are in particular sectors or geographical, if there is a little bit more information on this, as well as how quickly, or otherwise, the gaps might be closing. The Minister might not have the information now, so it is okay if he is able to send it on afterwards.
I have been discussing this with people locally and a number of different issues have been emerging. For example, where people are not registered but will be at some stage in the future, there will be a catch-up time. This is because there would be an expectation that 1 January payments would be made. Would a lump sum be taken from a pay packet on the first one if a catch-up is being done?
A second issue has to do with a means test and if somebody's situation changes in the future. People are asking me whether, if they are applying for a county council grant to repair the roof or whatever it might be in ten or 15 years' time, the lump sum in question, perhaps from a pension fund, will be taken into account as part of a means test. These are the kinds of questions people have been asking and I would like to get clarity on them, please.
To come back on those figures briefly, the Minister referred to just under 100,000 employers having signed up to the scheme and over 700,000 participants. This gives me a sense that the average number of employees per business that has signed up is about seven. I would like to get a sense of whether the Minister has an understanding of the spectrum of sizes of employers and the number of employees per employer that have signed up to the scheme. Is it disproportionately small businesses, for example, or retail and hospitality businesses? What has been the feedback from employers?
In particular, I am just conscious that the regulations that came in at the end of the year, just about a week before the launch of auto-enrolment, changed how employers dealt with the auto-enrolment question and how they were giving pension provision to employees. I would just like to hear from the Minister regarding the different small businesses or the spectrum of different employers that exists by number of employees.
In relation to the breakdown of employers and employees registered, we will certainly provide those figures when we get through this period of bedding in and NAERSA will be in a position to provide them. I do not think we can just divide the number of employees by employers in terms of saying it is seven. Multiple types of employment and employers are registered.
An average.
I will go back and get some detail for Deputy Moynihan regarding his specific queries as well. I also encourage every Deputy in regard to this matter. We have the My Future Fund portal up and running and quite a number of scenarios are outlined in it in relation to people's questions. I will revert to the Deputy in relation to his specific queries.
Social Welfare Payments
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:10. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of the maximum rent supplement payment; and whether he will review these maximum limits. [2903/26]
The maximum limits on rent supplement have not been reviewed for years, as far as I know. They are ridiculously low compared to where rents have gone. For example, if a couple or a single parent on rent supplement has three children, you cannot rent a place in Dublin for more than €1,300. Now, there is no such thing as a rent of €1,300 for a family home of that size in Dublin. These limits are crazy and they have to be reviewed upwards. I will give more examples of situations in my supplementary contribution.
I thank the Deputy for the question. Rent supplement, as it currently exists, is a short-term support paid to families and individuals as an initial payment when they encounter difficulties in meeting rent costs, for example, on loss of employment when they apply for a jobseeker's payment. As we discussed earlier with Deputy O'Reilly, where longer term support is required, the person transitions onto the housing assistance payment, HAP. The rent limits applied on rent supplement are aligned with those on HAP.
Expenditure on rent supplement paid by the Department of Social Protection in 2025 is provisionally estimated at just over €52.2 million. This compares with a 2026 estimate of over €570 million for HAP and the rental accommodation scheme-----
What is that figure again?
It is €52.2 million for rent supplement and €570 million for HAP. The issue of a review of the rent limits is a matter in which my colleague, the Minister for housing, is taking the lead. I understand the Minister has approved the commencement of a review of HAP rent limits. Officials from my Department will provide input to this review. Any changes to the rent supplement limits will then be aligned to the outcome of the housing assistance payment review.
It is important to note, however, that there is flexibility in the application of rent supplement limits, with higher rent supplement payments that are payable in certain circumstances. For example, my Department, in conjunction with Threshold, operates a special protocol in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Galway, Meath and Wicklow, where supply issues are particularly acute. Threshold advises, advocates and intervenes on behalf of individuals or families in receipt of rent supplement who are in danger of losing their tenancies. My Department operates a protocol with the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, which liaises on behalf of the local authorities. We also operate a special protocol with Cuan to assist people fleeing domestic violence. Additional needs payments are available to assist those with essential expenses, such as rent deposits, rent in advance and household bills they cannot pay from weekly incomes.
Yes. I know there is some flexibility and discretion, so I accept that. The maximum limits as set down by the Department, though, have not been adjusted for years and they are completely out of line with where rents are actually at. I have had cases where it has been true that, eventually, after some difficulty, anxiety and concern for people, you sometimes get them sorted. I take the point that most people have moved onto HAP. These temporary, emergency, special or exceptional needs payments, where for one reason or another people are not on HAP, are very important to the people who get them. They should not, though, be the starting point in a context where the limits do not make any sense. They need to be reviewed. At the moment, they are almost meaningless. This is the case in Dublin, Kildare, the commuter areas and so on. These limits have to be reviewed upwards, even if it is a relatively small number, as the Minister has outlined. A figure of €52 million still means a lot of people are getting it, so these limits need to be reviewed upwards.
That figure is 5,706 for active recipients. I apologise because I meant to give the Deputy that figure, too. I work with the Department of Housing on reviewing the limits and ensuring that our rent supplements are aligned. I am conscious and aware that they have not been reviewed in some time and I am absolutely determined to make sure we work with them.
If there are delays or blockages in cases, then I ask the Deputy to bring them to my attention and we will look at ensuring that those delays are not adding to people's stress in terms of homelessness or the distress at that particular point. I will certainly work with the Deputy in relation to particular cases on that.
I appreciate that response from the Minister and I accept it. These payments come under exceptional needs, essentially. If I might take the opportunity in my second supplementary contribution to raise another issue under exceptional needs, albeit under the same sort of general heading, there is the moving-in payment for people when they are allocated a house. There is a problem with that. I will give an example.
Katie and her family got an allocation due to a transfer from a terrible situation just before Christmas, but she cannot apply for the moving in allowance. She is delighted about her new place and just moved in yesterday, but all that was in the house was two mattresses and a fridge. That is where she, her kids and her partner had to sleep. You cannot apply for the moving in allowance until you get your keys, even though she was allocated the house before Christmas. That does not make sense. That is just one example. As soon as you can confirm you have a place to move into and you are eligible for the moving in allowance, you should be able to get it there and then and not have to wait until you are in with the keys, which means either you have to continue to stay in your old place and pay two rents, which happens to some people, or, for weeks, you and your kids are going around with no carpets, no fridge and no this, that or the other. By the way, the heating was not working when she moved in either.
I am not going to comment on an individual case, but I will certainly revert to the Deputy.
In relation to exceptional needs generally, the matter has been raised by the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and Deputy O'Reilly in the committee. I plan on organising a session with the community welfare team to go through everything to get feedback. We will be doing that in the audiovisual room at some stage in February. The Deputy's example is the kind of anomaly I want hear about. Explanations might also be given as to why they are there and we can have a discussion around that.
When will that be?
We will be doing it in February. It is an issue that keeps coming back. We want to try to get feedback from every Deputy and Senator in relation to that. We will do that at some stage in February. I will let every Deputy know.
Social Welfare Payments
Paul Murphy
Question:11. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection when he will introduce a permanent cost-of-disability payment as promised in the programme for Government. [2794/26]
The programme for Government promises an annual cost-of-disability support payment, suggesting that it will be incrementally increased. Instead of introducing that in the last budget, the Government introduced an incredible series of cruel cuts, totalling over €1,400 for disabled people. When is the Minister going to right this wrong? What level of payment is he going to introduce? When is he going to introduce this annual cost-of-disability payment?
The Department of Social Protection provides a range of income support payments for disabled people. There are approximately 231,000 recipients of disability income support payments, amounting to an estimated expenditure of €3.24 billion in 2025. The Government recognises the significant additional costs that disabled people face in their daily lives and is committed to improving outcomes for disabled people by introducing permanent measures. That is why the programme for Government includes a range of commitments to support disabled people. Our programme for Government commitments will be advanced over the lifetime of the Government, having regard to the overall policy and budgetary context.
The programme for Government commits to introducing a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment. My Department will lead a strategic focus network, with the involvement of other relevant Departments and agencies, as a commitment under the national human rights strategy for disabled people. The work of this network, which will include disabled people and their advocates, will inform the approach to be taken in delivering on the programme for Government commitment. My officials have been asked to expedite this work with a view to bringing a proposal to the Government in the first half of this year. Officials have already held meetings with a number of organisations to discuss the possible structure and content of the strategic focus network on the cost of disability. My officials met a number of organisations on 2 December at my Department's disability consultative forum, at which the cost-of-disability strategic focus network was the main agenda item. A meeting with the Disabled Persons Organisations Network is scheduled for Friday, 23 January.
The views of disabled people and all relevant research, such as the Indecon report and the more recent ESRI report, will be considered by my Department when progressing this work. To reiterate what I said earlier, we will also be having public consultation where we look forward to views from across the House in relation to what the permanent cost-of-disability payment should look like.
It says a lot about the priorities of the Government that it can have fast-tracking of VAT cuts for fast food giants and developers whereas, although it has this on-the-paper commitment to an annual cost-of-disability payment, the payment does not come in. Instead, the Government cuts disabled people's income substantially. We know and the Government acknowledges - it has commissioned the report itself - that it costs a lot of money to be disabled in this country. Adjusted for inflation, the Indecon report states it is between about €10,000 and €15,000 a year. It means an extra €500 a week. That is how much disabled people need to come close to a normal standard of living. The rate of enforced deprivation for disabled people who are unable to work is massive at 39%. The rate of consistent poverty is one in five. We have the lowest rate in the entire European Union of disabled people who are in work. The Government had a €400 lump sum disability payment last year. That was a drop in the ocean. Far from increasing it as promised, however, the Government actually abolished it completely and then cut a whole series of other payments, putting people into even more dire poverty. That needs to be reversed immediately.
We are currently providing 231,000 people across the country with a disability income support payment, with an expenditure of €3.24 billion in 2025. There are a number of significant measures in budget 2026. We have included a €10 increase in the weekly rate of payment, which would bring the personal rate of payment to €254 per week from this month. That is a €51 increase to weekly income support payments since budget 2021. There have been the highest ever increases in the child support payment, with an increase of €16 to €78 for children aged 12 or over and of €8 to €58 for children under 12. There has been a €20 increase in the rate of domiciliary care allowance, bringing that rate to €380 per month from 1 January. We have also made changes to those moving from disability allowance to take up work so that they will be allowed to retain the fuel allowance payment. The budget 2026 allocation of €3.8 billion for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality for disability services in 2026 represents another significant investment.
We are prioritising the work on a permanent cost-of-disability payment. I look forward to views from across the House as to who should get that and what the rate should be. The work on that is already under way.
If the Minister wants to quote payments, we can quote payments. The Irish Wheelchair Association, Access for All Ireland and the Disability Federation of Ireland have done very good work in making people aware of the cruel cuts that the Government has introduced in the last budget. The disability support grant was €400 previously. It has been removed, meaning a loss of €400. The living alone allowance saw a loss of €200. The fuel allowance saw a loss of €160. The October double payment saw a loss of €254. The loss of the electricity credit was another loss of €250. This is a total net loss for disabled people of €1,404.
There was a powerful briefing in the audiovisual room yesterday, where we heard from all these organisations and from disabled people about the extreme crisis that they were in. One woman said her life was a balancing act between heating her home or feeding her children. Another disabled woman spoke about how she was no longer able to afford to put her child in a crèche. These are horrendous stories and the Government has made these people's lives worse. It could reverse that. We will come to the next question on an emergency payment while we are waiting for this annual cost-of-disability payment to come through.
We heard a whole pile of horror issues in the audiovisual room. In fairness, the Irish Wheelchair Association, Access for All Ireland and the Disability Federation of Ireland have done really good work in putting this idea out there and making sure that people are aware of the need for a cost-of-disability payment. The Minister obviously accepts that, given the fact that there is a review process under way. At the minute, though, we are listening to horror stories. I think it was summed up in some of the documentation provided, including the comment that, some weeks, it is a toss-up between food or bills because there is nothing left. That is just the reality that people with disabilities are living with. We all accept there is an added cost. It is all well and good speaking about how we are not going to offer one-off payments, but they previously had been getting payments of up to €1,400. That has been stripped away from them. What we need to see, and what their request is, is a €400 emergency winter cost-of-disability payment and the possibility of energy credits specifically for those on disability payments. This is all imperfect. The piece of work that has been done should have been done earlier as regards reviewing what a cost-of-disability payment should look like and who should get it. That work needs to happen as soon as possible. The fact is there needs to be a payment now for people with disabilities who are under severe pressure.
I thank both Deputies. I am certainly aware of the pressures that people with disabilities are under. Nobody has an exclusive right in relation to that understanding. That is why we want a permanent payment, one that is shared and the design of which is agreed by those with disabilities and their advocates.
That is why we are engaging in this process already ahead of budget 2027. Within my Department, I have made it very clear that this is my priority for budget 2027. We have increased payments this year ahead of inflation. We have increased the payments across all our payment schemes. We have increased fuel allowance and disability allowance. We have made changes in relation to a number of other measures. We will continue and engage. There will be further engagements next week in relation to the cost-of-disability payment to a permanent cost-of-disability payment and that is not one from year-to-year, depending on budgetary context. This will be a permanent payment but it is one the design of which will be shared with people with disabilities and their advocates.
Social Welfare Benefits
Erin McGreehan
Question:12. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures being taken in his Department in 2026 to support people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2886/26]
I thank the Deputy for her question. In budget 2026, we have provided for a substantial package of €28.9 billion of social protection measures with €1.15 billion of new social protection measures. This contained significant targeted measures to support people with disabilities, including a €10 increase in the weekly rate of payment bringing the personal rates of payment to €254 per week from January and the highest ever increases in the child support payment - an increase of €16 to €78 per week for children aged 12 or over and of €8 to €58 for children under 12 years old. There is a €5 increase in the fuel allowance, bringing it to €38 per week from 1 January. In addition, the budget 2026 allocation of €3.8 billion to the Department of Children, Disability and Equality for disability services in 2026 represents a significant investment to ensure that those with disabilities receive the right support at the right time in the right place.
To make the welfare to work journey as smooth as possible in 2026, we provided additional supports for those moving from disability allowance or blind pension to take up work. They will be able to retain their fuel allowance payment for five years. Those getting disability allowance or blind pension who have children will be eligible for the back to work family dividend when taking up employment and moving off those payments. There is an expansion of the wage subsidy scheme to those who acquire a disability while in employment and those who transfer from invalidity pension to partial capacity benefit. We are increasing the rates paid from April.
The programme for Government is committed to introducing a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment. In addition, under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, my Department established a strategic focus network on the cost of disability. My officials met with a number of organisations on 2 December at my Department's disability consultative forum, at which the cost-of-disability strategic focus network was the main agenda item. A meeting with the Disabled Persons Organisation's network is being organised. It is scheduled to take place next Friday, 23 January. I have asked my officials to prioritise this work with a view to bringing a proposal to the Government in the first half of this year.
Other Members in the House have articulated the huge pressures people with disabilities and their families are under in relation to paying their bills and surviving. Like the Minister, I have heard from many disabled activists of their devastation. They are feeling very let down about the cost-of-disability payment. I understand all the arguments. Those arguments and the practical reasons there was not a cost-of-living payment or support for disabled people in this year's budget is understandable and logical but practically for people who have disabilities, it is a huge let down. It has a huge impact on their families and lives. I cannot stress enough how disappointed they are but "disappointment" is just a word. These are families who are on the breadline anyway with that grant. I wish to articulate how crucial the work, the review and the engagement with people with disabilities the Minister is doing at the minute is. It cannot happen fast enough.
Absolutely. It is crucial and a priority for the Department. Within budget 2026, we included a €10 increase in the weekly rate of payment. That goes to €254. There was a €20 increase in the monthly rate of domiciliary care allowance increasing to €380 a month from 1 January. There were the highest ever increases in the child support payment - a €16 increase for children aged 12 or over, bringing it to €78, and an €8 increase for children under 12 years old, bringing it to €58. There was a €5 increase in the fuel allowance.
We are very focused. I will be doing detailed consultation with people with disabilities, their advocates and the public generally about a permanent of cost-of-disability payment. This is not a payment that depends on the year-to-year budgetary situation. This will be a permanent payment to reflect the cost pressures - the very real pressures - people are under. I am determined to progress that in terms of budget 2027.
We all will herald in the success of that cost-of-disability payment and want that payment to come through. The Minister articulated clearly the increases that have been put forward but there are so many people who are the working poor and who do not qualify for so many of those grants. Whether it is lower employment rates or lower income rates, or higher costs of living for people who need extra heat, who cannot travel work or for whom there is a lack of access to transport, there are extra charges on those people and their households. There are so many working poor but there are far more working poor people with disabilities. I want to make sure the cost-of-disability payment takes into account the thousands of people with disabilities in this country who are working, continue to be poor and caught in that poverty trap of not getting access to benefits and the costs still being there for them.
We all accept there is a need for a cost-of-disability payment. That goes without saying. We also need to ensure we facilitate as many people into employment as possible. The Minister has accepted there is underemployment within the State of those with disabilities. He quibbled some of the figures that are out there. If the Minister could come back on that, it would be useful. I have spoken many times with him before in relation to the wage subsidy scheme, WSS, and the drop in the number of those who are employed by it over the past number of years and the employers taking it up. It has been reviewed but I do not think a proper job has been done in relation to what needs to be delivered. The Minister has corresponded with me in relation to what has been brought to me from the likes of the Rehab Group, Mr PRICE and others who employ a number of those with disabilities. They believe the WSS is not up to scratch at the minute. We need to see greater employability and workability. We also need to see reasonable accommodation funding, as in work and access. It needs to be fit for purpose. At this point in time, it is not in relation to those who need assistive technologies or the employer or whoever has to go through the administrative burden. It is too much at the moment.
I was not going to say anything but I felt moved to do so. It is interesting to hear a Government backbencher describe how people with disabilities were left devastated and feeling let down by the budget. Of course, the difference between myself and the Minister's backbench colleague is that she voted for budget and I did not. This is the very same budget that devastated and let people down. I have a simple question to the Minister. People with disabilities say the budget left them €1,400 worse off. Does the Minister accept that figure?
I have been speaking to a lot of disabled people over the past few weeks about their experiences and on this question of a cost-of-disability payment, permanent or otherwise. Some of the stories they told me were that they were using only one heating bar on their electric heater rather two because they could not afford the cost of electricity, that they were going in for central dialysis in a hospital because they could not afford the energy costs of doing it at home thus increases the risk of hospitalisation and that they could not charge their electronic wheelchair. A wheelchair user was going to several shops to try to figure out where she could get the best deal for food. There is real anger and frustration at this drop of €1,400 that has been stripped from people with disabilities. These costs are affecting everyone but this is the most vulnerable population in the State. They were vulnerable before the cost-of-living crisis. They will be vulnerable after the cost-of-living crisis.
Importantly, I reject this question of it being a one-off payment. If the Minister intends to introduce a cost-of-disability payment, a payment in lieu of it through the Supplementary Estimates process would absolutely be within his gift and within the gift of Fianna Fáil.
There are a number of issues. I made it very clear that we are working on introducing a permanent cost-of-disability payment. I look forward to hearing people's proposals on this with a view towards budget 2027. In relation to the employability issues raised by Deputies McGreehan and Ó Murchú, we have made changes to the wage subsidy scheme. At the end of November, we had 1,550 employers and 2,615 employees participating. I have made administrative changes, in particular in terms of centralising the decision-making process in this so that it is quicker.
In terms of work and access, I am making changes in relation to adaptive technology so that we can support it. Deputy Ó Murchú has engaged with me on this a number of times and we are making changes to support employers who use assistive technology. It gives many more opportunities. We have changed the rates and we continue to review the rates and their impact. As I said earlier, we will do a number of themed disability employment events throughout 2026 to encourage employers to offer opportunities to those with a disability, not only here in Dublin but across the country.
We move to Question No. 13. I can only allow one supplementary question because we are out of time.
Social Welfare Payments
Paul Murphy
Question:13. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will introduce an emergency winter payment for disabled people to compensate them for the cuts imposed on them in the Budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2795/26]
This follows on from a number of previous questions. I would say disabled people watching this at home are screaming at their television screens because they are being told by the Minister not to worry as a permanent payment is coming. What they are saying, and I quote Joan Carthy, is that people are suffering today and they cannot wait another day, never mind another four years. They desperately need an emergency €400 winter cost-of-disability payment now to make up just a fraction of the cuts the Minister has implemented. This is the ask and it is very simple.
What Deputy Murphy is not acknowledging is that we have responded with a €10 increase in the weekly rate of payment. We have responded with the highest ever increases in the child support payment. We have responded with a €20 per month increase in the domiciliary care allowance and a €5 increase in the fuel allowance, all of which are permanent and none of which will be changed from year to year. That is why we are doing the work on the permanent cost-of-disability payment, on which I look forward to hearing Deputy Murphy's thoughts and proposals and engaging with him. That is why we made changes to the wage subsidy scheme in recent months to encourage employers to give more employment opportunities to people with a disability. That is why, in budget 2026, a record amount of €3.8 billion was provided by the Department of Children, Disability and Equality to disability services, to ensure people get the right supports at the right time and in the right place throughout the country, and to ensure that services are where they need to be for people with a disability. There was a response in budget 2026, and the continued interpretation that we have not responded is unfair and untrue. We will respond with a permanent measure and I look forward to engaging with all of the groups on what this looks like.
I find it bizarre that the Minister is saying he has responded. He has not responded. There is an ask that has come as a consequence of his budget decisions, which cut a bit over €114 from disabled people. While it is true that the Minister has given a little bit of this back through the small increases, he has left people worse off to the tune of more than €1,000 per annum. Their ask is that they need, at the very least, an emergency winter payment now. The Minister is claiming he has responded to that with the original budget, which is where the cuts were made in the first place. Disabled people are responding to the budget. It is why they have come up with their ask. In response to the Minister's point about services, which is what we hear non-stop, disabled people would say that the majority of them are not in receipt of services. This is not addressing the additional costs they have as a consequence of being disabled. Before the latest round of costs, 13.6% of disabled people were unable to heat their homes properly. One in five are in arrears on their utility bills. It is a very simple ask for an emergency payment now. Disabled people cannot wait for this process. They cannot wait for the next budget.
We are working on a process. We have introduced extra payments through budget 2026. We cannot just dismiss services and the extra investment in services in the way Deputy Murphy has done. That is also crucial and we continue to work on this process.