Written Answers Nos. 521-540
521. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing child benefit by 10% and extending payment to all children aged 18 years or under, including those in the international protection process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35641/25]
View answerChild Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability.
Child Benefit is currently in payment in respect of approximately 1.2 million children with an estimated expenditure of €2.2 billion for 2025. The cost of increasing Child Benefit by 10% would result in additional annual expenditure on the scheme of approximately €218 million based on the estimated number of recipients in 2025. It should be noted that this estimate is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
Where a child has a disability, Child Benefit continues to be payable until the child's 19th birthday whether or not the child is in full-time education. Otherwise, 16, 17 and 18 year olds must be in full time education in order for the payment to continue. There are currently no plans to extend Child Benefit in respect of 16, 17 or 18 year olds who are not in full-time education or training.
It is important that the Child Benefit payment reflects our policy objective of encouraging young people to remain in education or to avail of the very many training options that are available to them including those available through YouthReach and the Community Training Centres.
As of May 2025, my Department's records indicate there were approximately 16,000 16, 17 and 18 year olds whose Child Benefit payments had stopped as there was no evidence they were in full time education. Extending Child Benefit to these individuals, assuming that they were all single births, would therefore cost approximately €27 million annually.
To receive Child Benefit in Ireland, parents must be habitually resident in the State. Applicants for International Protection do not satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition and are therefore not eligible for Child Benefit.
The international protection process is the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. My department does, however, administer the Daily Expenses Allowance which is paid to international protection applicants who reside in accommodation provided by the International Protection Accommodation Services, in order to meet incidental, personal expenses. As of May of this year, there were 6,832 children residing in IPAS-provided accommodation in respect of whom daily expenses allowance is being paid.
Assuming that each child recipient of the Daily Expenses Allowance was a single birth, and noting that this number does not include those who are 18 years of age, the cost to extend Child Benefit to this cohort would be in the region of €11.5 million per annum.
The total combined cost for the measures requested could therefore be estimated as approximately €256.5 million per annum.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
522. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing qualified child rates by €6 for children under 12 and €15 for children 12; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35642/25]
View answerThe cost of increasing the Child Support Payment (formerly the Increase for a Qualified Child) for children under 12 years, from the current rate of €50 by €6 to €56 per week, and of increasing the Child Support Payment for children aged 12 years and over, from the current rate of €62 by €15 to €77 per week is total cost of €145 million in a full year.
The above costings are on a full year basis and are based on the estimated number of recipients in 2025. It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2025.
523. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the means test for carer’s allowance and providing access to all who meet the other criteria for it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35643/25]
View answerThe Department of Social Protection provides a range of income supports to carers, which includes Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance, and the Carer’s Support Grant. The combined spending on these payments is estimated at over €1.9 billion in 2025.
Carer’s Allowance is the main income support, with over 100,000 recipients and an estimated expenditure of €1.24 billion this year.
The main objective of Carer’s Allowance is to provide income support to those whose earning ability is more limited because of their caring responsibilities. The rules for getting Carer’s Allowance are similar to those for other social assistance payments in that they are based on financial need. A means test is used to decide if someone needs financial support, for example, due to unemployment, illness, disability, or the need to care for someone full time.
The immediate abolition of the means test would have a significant cost. It is estimated that such a move could cost at least €600 million more each year, based on the current number recipients and others who would become eligible. If everyone who identified as a carer in Census 2022 were to qualify, the cost could increase to around €3 billion annually, or about €2 billion if 70% qualified.
The Government is very aware of the key role that family carers play in Irish society and the challenges they face. In the Programme for Government, we have committed to significantly increasing the income disregards for Carer’s Allowance in each Budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of the Government. Due to the potential costs, it is important to manage the changes to the means test in a way that takes account of budgetary resources and balances the achievement of the objective of eliminating the means test with other priorities.
In July, the weekly income disregard will be increased from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner. This amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €292.50 and €585 respectively, or 88%, since June 2022. As a result, from July, 99% of current Carer’s Allowance recipients will receive the full payment rate.
Any further changes or improvements will be considered considering the overall budget and policy context and the need to make sure supports remain fair and sustainable.
I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
524. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending eligibility for the fuel allowance to all pensioners, to all in receipt of the working family payment and-or a medical card; the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the waiting period of a year for those on jobseeker’s allowance,; the cost of increasing the rate by €20 per week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35644/25]
View answerMy Department does not hold data on persons in receipt of a medical card and is therefore unable to provide a costing for the extension of Fuel Allowance to this cohort.
There are approximately 740,218 pensioners in receipt of qualifying payments for Fuel Allowance. Of these, 220,429 are already in receipt of Fuel Allowance. This would give an additional 519,789 Fuel Allowance claims if the payment was awarded to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance. The estimated cost of extending eligibility for the Fuel Allowance to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment is as follows:
|
Weekly Rate of Fuel Allowance |
Number of Weeks Payable |
Number of Additional Claims |
Estimated Additional Yearly Cost |
|
€33 |
28 |
519,789 |
€480.28m |
|
€53 |
28 |
519,789 |
€771.37m |
The estimated full-year cost of extending eligibility for the Fuel Allowance to those in receipt of the Working Family Payment is as follows:
|
Weekly Rate of Fuel Allowance |
Number of Weeks Payable |
Number of Additional Claims |
Estimated Additional Yearly Cost |
|
€33 |
28 |
43,000 |
€39.73m |
|
€53 |
28 |
43,000 |
€63.8m |
Based on an assumption of 9,728 additional recipients of Jobseeker’s Allowance qualifying for the Fuel Allowance if the waiting period of 12 months was abolished, the estimate cost of the measure is as follows:
|
Weekly Rate of Fuel Allowance |
Number of Weeks Payable |
Number of Additional Claims |
Estimated Additional Yearly Cost |
|
€33 |
28 |
9,728 |
€8.99m |
|
€53 |
28 |
9,728 |
€14.44m |
If the rate of Fuel Allowance payable was increased by €20 a week, the estimated yearly cost of the measure for those currently in receipt of the Fuel Allowance on the one hand, and, on the other hand, including the increased numbers who would qualify if Fuel Allowance was extended to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance, Working Family Payment and Jobseeker Allowance claimants without a waiting period, is as follows:
|
Increase in Weekly Rate of Fuel Allowance |
Number of Weeks Payable |
Number of Claims |
Estimated Additional Yearly Cost |
|
€20 |
28 |
415,000 |
€232.4m |
|
€20 |
28 |
572,517 |
€320.6m |
|
Total |
987,517 |
€553m |
The estimated combined additional yearly cost of the measures set out by the Deputy would likely be in excess of €1 billion.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
525. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending parent’s benefit to 52 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35645/25]
View answer528. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending parent’s benefit by one week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35706/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 525 and 528 together.
Parent's Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed people who are on Parent's Leave from work who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. It is currently paid for nine weeks at €289 per week.
Any decision to extend the period of Parent's Leave for employees is a primarily a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children, Disability, and Equality who has policy and legal responsibility for the scheme. An extension of this leave would require careful consideration and consultation with relevant stakeholders and examined in the context of overall budgetary resources.
My Department has undertaken a costing exercise based on the 2025 expenditure estimate of €114 million. It is estimated that:
• Extending Parent's Benefit by one week, from 9 to 10 weeks would result in an additional annual cost of over €16m with a new total annual cost of some €130 million.
• Extending Parent's Benefit by 43 weeks, from 9 weeks to 52 weeks would result in an additional annual cost of over €700 million with a new total annual cost of some €814 million.
It should be noted that this costing is based on the current weekly rate of payment of €289 and estimated recipient numbers and is subject to change.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
526. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of providing free school meals for all post-primary school pupils in public schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35646/25]
View answerThe objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.
In Budget 2025, it was announced that the Hot School Meals will be extended to all remaining primary schools in 2025, meaning that approximately 3,700 schools and 682,000 children will be eligible for school meals in 2025.
A budget of €300 million has been provided for the scheme in 2025.
There is currently 722 post primary schools in the country with 425,433 students. The full-year cost of providing the Hot School Meals to all post primary schools is an estimated €225m.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
527. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection the reasons his Department does not recognise civil partnerships registered in Northern Ireland between 16 May 2016 and 12 January 2020 for social welfare purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35693/25]
View answerIn order to qualify for Widows and Surviving Civil Partner's Contributory Pension it must be established that the applicant is the widow, widower, or surviving civil partner of the deceased, and that the civil partnership, or marriage, entered into by the parties is one recognised under Irish law.
Following the marriage equality referendum and the subsequent Marriage Act 2015, same sex couples can get married in Ireland. Whilst civil partnerships entered into in Ireland before the commencement of the Marriage Act on 16 November 2015, remain entitled to recognition, no new civil partnerships can be entered into from that date in this jurisdiction.
As a result of these changes in the Marriage Act 2015, civil partnerships entered into after 16 May 2016 outside of this jurisdiction, are not recognised in Ireland.
Civil partnerships entered into outside of this jurisdiction including Northern Ireland after the 16 May 2016 are not recognised in Ireland (Section 5A) of the Civil Partnerships and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants 2010, as amended by Section 13 of the Marriage Act 2015 refers.
The legal framework governing relationships such as marriage and civil partnership is regulated by the Minister for Justice.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
529. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the weekly payments for maternity benefit, adoptive benefit, paternity benefit, and parent’s benefit to €350 per week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35707/25]
View answerThe total estimated cost of increasing the weekly payment rate for Maternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit, Paternity Benefit and Parent's Benefit, from the current rate of €289 by €61 to €350 per week, is €87 million.
The above costing is on a full year basis and is based on the estimated number of recipients in 2025. It should be noted that this costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2025.
530. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will address the pay disparity affecting regional administrators in the Citizens Information Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35711/25]
View answerThe Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body under the aegis of my Department, that has an independent mandate to provide information, advice and advocacy on a wide range of public services. CIB itself is governed by an independent Board of Directors.
The Citizens Information Service (CIS), in turn, comprises of eight regional companies that are funded by CIB to deliver services, including the national network of Citizens Information Centres. I deeply value the work of the CIS in providing these important services across Ireland.
In October 2024, following engagement with CIB, the union and my Department on foot of a Labour Court recommendation, an 8% pay increase was awarded to all CIS employees, including the eight Regional Administrator roles. This increase was in line with the 2023 pay agreement awarded to the Community and Voluntary sector/Section 39 employees.
I am pleased to advise that engagement is due to re-commence in relation to awarding CIS employees, and all other employees of the companies funded by CIB, a second pay increase, again in line with the most recent pay increases agreed for the Community and Voluntary sector in 2025.
Following awarding of the 8% pay increase in 2024, there was further engagement regarding parity between the salary scales of Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) Administrators and CIS Administrators, which also formed part of the Labour Court recommendation. This was resolved in March 2025, and these salary scales are now equivalent.
As part of this engagement, a referral was made by the union, SIPTU, to the Workplace Commission in relation to CIS Regional Administrators. My Department understands that this matter did not form part of the Labour Court's final recommendation.
My Department further understands from CIB that following a conciliation conference with the WRC on 9th June 2025 with CIB, the CIS Employers Group and SIPTU in relation to this matter, during which no agreement was reached at this point.
I trust this clarifies your query.
531. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection the average processing times for domiciliary care allowance claim reviews and domiciliary care allowance claim appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35721/25]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable to a parent / guardian in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and where the level of the child's disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 consecutive months. This level of care and attention must be required to allow the child to deal with the activities of daily living in areas such as mobility, personal care, feeding / diet, communication, speech / language, sleeping, behaviour, safety, sensory issues, including any other additional needs.
The Department's systems do not collate data on DCA Reviews, therefore, the statistical information requested is not available.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) is an office of my Department which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare schemes and entitlements, including DCA. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions and management of the Appeals Office is the responsibility of the Chief Appeals Officer.
New Appeal claims are currently taking an average of 19.6 weeks to process from date of receipt of an Appeal request.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
532. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Social Protection the average processing times for carer's allowance claim reviews and carer's allowance claim appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35722/25]
View answerThe mean time taken for decision reviews of Carer's Allowance claims carried out under the appeals process for 1 January - 31 May 2025 was 6.7 weeks. This is measured from the time the appeal is registered to when the decision is made by the DSP officer. Note that this does not include decision reviews carried outside the appeals process, as statistics for these are not maintained by the DSP.
The mean time taken for appeals of Carer's Allowance claims for 1 January - 31 May 2025 was 19.3 weeks. This is measured from the time the appeal is registered with the Appeals Office to when the final decision (Revised by a DSP Officer, Allowed, Partially Allowed, or Disallowed by an Appeals Officer) is made.
When an appeal is submitted, there are two stages to the appeal. First, the appeal goes back to the scheme area in DSP where the original decision on the claim was made, for review by a DSP officer. If the DSP officer decides to revise the decision, then the appeal is granted. If the decision is not revised, then it goes to an Appeals Officer in the Appeals Office, who can then either allow, partially allow, or disallow the appeal.
534. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will address the issue of supports for families who are sharing custody of children with special needs (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35761/25]
View answerCarer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. Carer’s Allowance is a means tested social assistance payment awarded to those who are caring for people who need full-time care and attention. Like other income supports the payment is intended to provide an income support for people who cannot earn income through employment or other means due to caring responsibilities.
In order to be eligible for Carer’s Allowance the applicant must be the main carer for the child. The time spent providing care must not be less than 35 hours over 5-7 days.
In certain cases, Carer’s Allowance can be paid on a shared basis with another person, where two people alternate caring duties week-on/week-off, or where care is shared with an institution. In these circumstances, both carers may split the weekly payment and the annual Carer’s Support Grant, provided all qualifying criteria are met. Each carer may also receive the Household Benefits Package if eligible. All the usual qualifying conditions for Carer's Allowance will apply to carers availing of these arrangements.
There are currently 20 carers availing of these arrangements. None of these appear to be joint custody cases.
Domiciliary Care Allowance is a separate monthly non-means tested payment of €360 to a parent or guardian for a child aged up to 16 who has a severe disability. The payment is not based on the type of disability. It is based on the impact of the disability. To qualify for this payment, the child must normally live at home with the applicant for at least five or more days a week.
Since January 2019, Domiciliary Care Allowance can be paid in respect of child who, under a joint custody agreement, resides with and is cared for, in turn, by two persons who are living apart. The qualified child will be regarded as residing with the nominated person and the allowance will be paid to that person, and where no nominated person is provided, Domiciliary Care Allowance will be paid to the person to whom Child Benefit is payable in respect of that child.
Where a person who has an income need does not qualify for either of these payments, they might qualify for another of the Department's income supports.
I want to assure the Deputy that my department keeps this approach under review. The Department regularly reviews all of its schemes in order to ensure that they are still delivering on their policy aims and objectives.
I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
535. Deputy Seán Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection when an invalidity pension appeal will be approved for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35868/25]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office is a service of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.
I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The appellant failed to demonstrate that they are or likely to remain incapable of work for life.
The person concerned will be notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision in the coming days.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
536. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No 150 of 19 June 2025, the reason for the difference between the €794 million estimate for the year-10 Exchequer contribution to auto-enrolment provided in that reply and the €539 million estimate for the year-10 Exchequer contribution to auto-enrolment provided in the regulatory impact assessment accompanying that legislation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35871/25]
View answerThe Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The legislative basis for implementing the new system was enacted last July. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement savings. I recently announced the system, to be known by its brand name, 'My Future Fund', will commence from 1st January 2026.
Contributions into the retirement savings system will be made by the employee, the employer and the State. Calculated on the basis of the employee’s gross earnings, employee contributions will start at 1.5% for Years 1 to 3, to be matched by their employer. This will rise to 3% each in Years 4 to 6, and to 4.5% each in Years 7 to 9. From Year 10 onwards the maximum contribution rate of 6% from the employer and 6% from the employee will be applied. A direct State top-up will be contributed to participants' funds at the rate of €1 for every €3 the employee contributes.
The difference in the cost of the State top-up between that contained in the regulatory impact assessment (RIA), which was conducted in 2022, and the latest estimate provided in Parliamentary Question No 150 of 19 June 2025 is due to a range of factors, including the value of base salaries used to estimate the cost in Year 1, variations in wage inflation over the ten year period to arrive at the cost in Year 10, and refinement in the projected numbers of the target population.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
537. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a medical report (carer’s support grant) would have to be updated for a person who has a life-long condition that will not change; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35942/25]
View answerThe Carer’s Support Grant (CSG) is an annual payment made to full-time carers who satisfy certain conditions.
The person claiming the Grant must:
• Be aged 16 or over and ordinarily resident in this State.
• Care for the person on a full-time basis.
• Care for the person for a continuous period of at least six months – this period must include the first Thursday in June.
• Live with the person being looked after, or this person can be contacted quickly by a direct system of communication (i.e., a telephone or alarm).
• Not be employed / self-employed for more than 18.5 hours per week.
• Not be in receipt of, or entitled to receive Jobseeker’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Benefit or be signing for credited contributions.
Additionally, the person being cared for must:
• Be so incapacitated as to need full-time care and attention.
• Not normally live in a hospital, convalescent home, or another similar institution.
• Not receive full-time care and attention within their own home from another person other than the person claiming the grant.
My Department received a partially completed CSG application form from the person concerned on 10 June 2025. The medical section of the application was not completed. On review, the medical criteria for the grant were deemed to have been met based on previous medical reports provided to the Department. As a result, no medical report was required in this case and I can confirm that the person concerned has been awarded a CSG for the year 2025.? Payment of €2,000 will be paid to the person's nominated account on 3 July 2025.?
Notification of this decision issued to the person concerned on 27 June 2025.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
538. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) was refused a pension in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35998/25]
View answerState pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, legally and habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a State pension (contributory), or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record. For the purposes of the means test, at application stage and through the lifetime of a claim, an applicant must provide full and up to date details of any income(s), asset(s), savings and investment(s) held and inform the Department of any relevant changes in their circumstances that may affect their pension entitlement. A State pension (non-contributory) application form was received from the person concerned on 23 April 2024. The case was referred to a Social Welfare Inspector to investigate the applicant's means. The Inspector's report included confirmation that the person concerned owned a property that they were not residing in. The Deciding Officer included the value of this property in the assessment of means, when calculating their entitlement, and disallowed their claim on 4 June 2024 as their means exceeded the weekly statutory limit.A subsequent application was received from the person concerned on 1 April 2025. On consulting with the Inspector, the Deciding Officer awarded the pension with effect from 4 April 2025. The Deciding Officer applied the provision that the person concerned vacated their principal residence as a consequence of their old age or incapacity. The value of the property value was not included in the assessment of means.A review of the person’s entitlement was undertaken. It was decided to award the pension with effect from 10 May 2024, the first Friday following the date the person concerned reached pension age. A decision letter issued on 26 June 2025, outlining the decision and offering them the right of appeal should they disagree with the decision. All arrears due will be paid to their nominated bank account on Friday 4 July
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
539. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration is being given to including long-Covid for social welfare benefits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36005/25]
View answerMy Department provides a suite of income supports for those who are unable to work due to an illness or disability. These include contributory payments, based on PRSI contributions, such as illness benefit and invalidity pension, and non-contributory payments, based on a means test, such as disability allowance. Entitlement to these supports is contingent on the extent to which a particular illness or disability impairs or restricts a person’s capacity to work. It is not dependent on the nature of the illness or disability.
Every application for the Department's schemes is individually assessed, in line with the provisions specified in the relevant social welfare legislation. Assessment is based on the medical information provided by healthcare providers and the claimant and taking into account the opinion of the Department’s Medical Assessor.
Illness benefit is a short-term social insurance scheme. It is available for up to two years for people who have the required social insurance contributions. A GP must submit a Certificate of Incapacity to Work to the Department.
Invalidity pension is a longer-term social insurance scheme, based on PRSI contributions and medical condition. In order to qualify, the person must have been incapable of work for at least 12 months and be likely to be incapable of work for at least another 12 months; or must be permanently incapable of work.
Disability allowance is a longer-term social assistance scheme for people who are aged between 16 and 66. In order to qualify, the person must satisfy a habitual residency condition, a means test and meet the medical requirement. The medical requirement for disability allowance is that the person's disability must be expected to last for at least one year, and the disability must substantially restrict a person’s ability to work.
With specific reference to employees in the health services affected by Long-COVID, the Temporary Scheme of Paid Leave for Public Health Service Employees provides targeted sectoral support. This Temporary Scheme is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. The scheme has been extended a number of times, most recently to conclude on 31 December 2025. Any employee remaining unwell after that date may utilise the full provisions of the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme which will provide further support.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
