Written Answers Nos. 427-449
427. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if a domiciliary care allowance review for a mother in respect of their daughter (details supplied) has been lodged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5124/26]
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 that 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.
Eligibility for DCA is not based entirely on the type of disability or diagnosis but primarily on the impact of the child's disability, in terms of the associated overall level of care and attention required by the child compared to a child of a similar age who does not have such a disability. The decision process that applies in the consideration of whether a child meets the conditions for DCA includes the examination of all relevant factors identified as impacting on the child's additional care needs.
An application for DCA in respect of the child concerned was received by my Department on 10 September 2025. A Deciding Officer disallowed the claim as per decision dated 13 November 2025. Based on the information provided, the child was not considered to satisfy the conditions for DCA. This determination considered the supporting medical evidence that was provided by the applicant in their application. The Deciding Officer also had regard to the professional opinion of a departmental Medical Assessor in making their decision and a copy of this opinion was issued to the applicant for information along with the decision notification.
The person concerned requested a review of the above decision and provided further new information/evidence for consideration. Further to that review, following a re-examination of their application, including all the further new information/evidence that was provided by the applicant in support of their review request, a Deciding Officer decided not to revise the above original decision, as per review decision dated 20 January 2026 which issued directly to the person concerned.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
428. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if supports will be given to a person who narrowly missed out on the main PRSI changes in January 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5209/26]
View answerFrom 1 January 2024, the State Pension (Contributory) has become more flexible. A person can now defer drawing down their entitlement to the State Pension (Contributory) at any time between ages 66 and 70. This gives a person the opportunity to continue to work and pay PRSI up to the age of 70, which may improve their contribution record to be eligible for a higher rate of payment when they do decide to draw down their State Pension (Contributory). It may also help give others sufficient time to build up their contribution record to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory).
It was in this context that the upper age limit for employed and self-employed persons to be exempt from PRSI was changed from 66 years to 70 years, with effect from 1 January 2024. This change applies to all persons who are employees or self-employed with the exception of the following main categories:
• people who have already been awarded the State Pension (Contributory),
• people who had already reached 66 years of age by 1 January 2024 (born before 1 January 1958)
Those paying PRSI past 66 years of age will also continue to have access to certain working age schemes, for example, Jobseeker's Benefit and Illness Benefit. Further information relating to supports available to persons continuing to work and pay PRSI past 66 years of age can be found on the individual schemes' web-pages on gov.ie.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
429. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department plans to bring forward proposals on a cost of disability payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5219/26]
View answerThe Department of Social Protection provides a range of income support payments for disabled people. There are currently approximately 231,000 recipients of disability income support payments, with estimated expenditure of €3.24 billion in 2025.
The Government recognises the significant additional costs that disabled people can 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. 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. While it is led by my Department, it includes other Government departments in this cross-government endeavour, and will also include people with disabilities and their advocates.
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. I have asked my officials to priorities this work with a view to bringing a proposal to Government in the first half of this year. Officials have 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 with a number of organisations on 2nd December at my Department's Disability Consultative Forum, at which the Cost of Disability Strategic Focus Network was the main Agenda item. Officials from across government were also in attendance given that this is a whole of Government issue. A meeting with the Disabled Persons Organisation's network has been organised and that is due to take place on Friday, 23rd January.
The views of disabled people and all relevant research, such as the Indecon report and the more recent ESRI report, will be given due consideration by my Department when progressing this work.
I trust this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
430. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the proposals to extend a service (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5394/26]
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 Scheme will be extended to all remaining primary schools in 2025, meaning that approximately 3,200 schools and 550,000 children are eligible for hot school meals for the 2025/26 academic year.
My immediate priority is to complete the roll-out of Hot School Meals to all Primary Schools in 2025/2026 academic year. I will continue to expand and improve the Free Hot School Meals programme and ensure that suppliers adhere to robust guidelines on the nutritional value of meals, the dietary requirements of students, the reduction of food waste and the use of recyclable packaging.
Under the Programme for Government, I plan to commence the rollout of Hot School Meals to secondary schools over the lifetime of this Government.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
431. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a detailed breakdown of the full establishment costs of the auto-enrolment retirement savings system, including but not limited to legislative development, ICT systems, procurement, branding, public communications, and staffing costs; the projected total Exchequer cost over the first five and ten years of operation.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5403/26]
View answer432. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection whether any assessment has been carried out of the all-in economic cost of an individual auto-enrolment account, including indirect and non-member-borne costs funded by the Exchequer; if so, to publish same.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5404/26]
View answer435. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected annual operating costs of the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, including staffing, governance, compliance, and outsourced services; and to confirm the way in which these costs will be funded. [5407/26]
View answer436. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the oversight mechanisms which are in place to ensure that National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority delivers value for money over time; and whether periodic independent cost and performance reviews are planned. [5408/26]
View answer439. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the assessment which has been made of the long-term financial exposure of the Exchequer arising from the auto-enrolment scheme, including risks related to cost overruns, lower-than-expected participation, or higher-than-expected administrative costs. [5411/26]
View answer440. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection whether his Department has identified circumstances in which the auto-enrolment scheme could require additional Exchequer subvention beyond current projections; and the safeguards in place to prevent this. [5412/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 431, 432, 435, 436, 439 and 440 together.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with access to a quality assured retirement savings scheme, thereby giving greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income.
The new system - known as My Future Fund - commenced on the 1 January 2026. Over 763,000 employees that weren't actively contributing to a qualifying pension or PRSA through payroll were eligible and were automatically enrolled in My Future Fund. The scheme is managed by a new statutory body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), which operates under the aegis of my Department.
The establishment and implementation of the AE system has been one of my Department's largest multi-annual projects, the costs for which have been met though the Department's administrative budget. The implementation project also involved support from a wide range of other State bodies, including the Revenue Commissioners, the Attorney General's Office, the Chief State Solicitor's Office., the Office of Public Works, the Central Statistics Office, the Public Appointments Service, the National Shared Services Office, the Department of Finance, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. Given this multi-agency approach over a number of years, a detailed breakdown of the full establishment costs of the AE system is not available.
My Future Fund is designed to be self-financing based on administration fees paid by all contributing participants and consequently the operation and continued development and evolution of the system will not require Exchequer expenditure. While seed funding is being provided to NAERSA to cover its initial set up costs, this will be repaid through an appropriation-in-aid approach when the administration fees generate a surplus income. This administration fee has been set at at 55 cents per week on the basis of a detailed financial model on likely participation levels and operating costs, which took into account the sensitivity of these variables to change.
With regard to NAERSA's budget, a contract was signed on 9th October 2024 with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for the provision of a managed service to administer the AE system on behalf of NAERSA. The cost of this contract will be in the region of €100 million to €150 million over 10 to 15 years. NAERSA's annual staffing and corporate costs are estimated to be in the region of €10 million per annum.
With regard to the State's costs in My Future Fund, these relate to the State 'top-up' to participants' contributions, which will be provided at a rate of €1 for every €3 saved by the employee. This State top-up is being provided instead of tax relief on contributions, as is the case with occupational and private pension arrangements. The projected costs of the State top-up over the next 10 years is set out in the Table below.
|
Year |
Top-Up Rate as a % of Gross Income |
State top-up |
|
2026 |
1.5% |
€154 million |
|
2027 |
1.5% |
€162 million |
|
2028 |
1.5% |
€170 million |
|
2029 |
3% |
€353 million |
|
2030 |
3% |
€365 million |
|
2031 |
3% |
€378 million |
|
2032 |
4.5% |
€587 million |
|
2033 |
4.5% |
€608 million |
|
2034 |
4.5% |
€628 million |
|
2035 |
6% |
€865 million |
In relation to the oversight of My Future Fund, NAERSA will be overseen by a Board which will consist of up to eight members from a range of relevant and expert backgrounds. In addition, the Comptroller and Auditor General will audit and report on the accounts and operations of NAERSA in terms of efficiency and compliance with legal obligations. Furthermore, NAERSA's Chief Executive will be accountable in the performance of this body's functions to the Board of NAERSA and also to the Oireachtas and its Committees, including the Public Accounts Committee. Finally, the Pensions Authority will prepare an annual supervisory report on NAERSA's governance of the system and the operation and effectiveness of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024, helping to ensure that the best interests of My Future Fund participants will be safeguarded and supported to the highest degree.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
433. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the analysis which underpins public comparisons between the headline annual management charge of the auto-enrolment scheme and the charges applicable to individual private pension products; and whether such comparisons include regulatory, governance, and administrative costs borne by the State. [5405/26]
View answer434. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he is satisfied that public commentary comparing auto-enrolment charges with private PRSAs reflects a like-for-like comparison of total costs; and if not, the steps which are being taken to ensure accuracy and transparency in public communications. [5406/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 433 and 434 together.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with access to a quality assured retirement savings scheme, thereby giving greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income.
The new system - known as My Future Fund - commenced on the 1 January 2026. Over 763,000 employees that weren't actively contributing to a qualifying pension or PRSA through payroll were eligible and were automatically enrolled in My Future Fund.
The charges that are applied to participants in My Future Fund consist of an administration fee charged on contributions and an investment management fee based on a percentage charge on assets under management. These charges will meet all regulatory, governance, and administrative costs for the operation of My Future Fund without subvention from the State.
The administration fee will take the form of a flat weekly fee of 55 cents on contributions rather than a 'commission' based on a percentage of funds under management. In this way the administration fee will reflect the actual costs of administration (which do not vary with fund size), will be same for all participants regardless of their income or the size of their retirement fund, and will, ultimately, prove much better value for money for the participant over the course of a standard retirement planning horizon. With regard to the fee for the investment management services, these services have been procured through a competitive procurement process and will average at just under 0.04% of assets under management.
With regard to public commentary on the the costs in My Future Fund, I have noted that over the typical life of a retirement saving plan for an average-income employee, the combined administration and investment management fees in My Future Fund are less than the 0.5% target set by the Government in its Strawman proposal. They are also less than the rate of 1% of assets and 3% – 5% of contributions which is the norm for many personal retirement saving schemes and which is evidenced in the prospectuses of such schemes. Commentary by other interest groups on the costs of retirement savings schemes is a matter for those groups rather than for my Department.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
437. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide details of all major contracts awarded in respect of the auto-enrolment scheme to date, including service providers, contract duration, estimated lifetime cost, and performance oversight arrangements. [5409/26]
View answer438. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection whether lifecycle cost modelling was undertaken prior to entering into long-term outsourcing contracts associated with Auto-Enrolment; and if so, whether that modelling will be made available to the Oireachtas. [5410/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 437 and 438 together.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with access to a quality assured retirement savings scheme, thereby giving greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income.
The new system - known as My Future Fund - commenced on the 1 January 2026. To date over 763,000 employees that weren't actively contributing to a qualifying pension or PRSA through payroll have been automatically enrolled in to My Future Fund.
My Department has conducted two procurement processes for the provision of services related to the implementation of My Future Fund. The first procurement process was for a managed service provider to develop and operate the administration of My Future Fund. The contract for these services was ultimately awarded to Tata Consultancy Services. The cost of this contract will be in the region of €100 million to €150 million over 10 to 15 years.
The second procurement process was for investment management services. The contracts for these services were ultimately awarded to Amundi, Blackrock and Irish Life Investment Managers. These contracts will have terms of 7 to 10 years. The costs of these service will be charged by way of a percentage charge of just under 0.04% on assets under management, a fee which represents excellent value for money.
Oversight of each of the contracts and the performance of the providers will be undertaken by the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, which has been established as a new statutory agency under the aegis of my Department to manage My Future Fund and operate it in the best interests of participants.
In advance of the tendering process for each of these services, my Department conducted extensive market research so as to ensure that the request for tender set out appropriate specifications for the delivery of a managed service provider and investment managers. While each of these procurement processes took into account the potential inflows and outflows of participants, a lifecycle cost model was not required in developing the specifications for these competitions.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
441. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will outline what happens to a person’s auto-enrolment pension contributions in the event that they pass away before the age of 65; the arrangements in place to ensure that these funds are properly assigned to the person’s estate or next of kin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5416/26]
View answer442. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if participation in the new auto-enrolment pension system will have any impact, positive or negative, on a person’s future entitlement to the full State Pension (Contributory) once they reach pension age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5417/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 441 and 442 together.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with access to a quality assured retirement savings scheme, thereby giving greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income.
The new system - known as My Future Fund - commenced on the 1 January 2026. Over 763,000 employees that weren't actively contributing to a qualifying pension or PRSA through payroll were eligible and were automatically enrolled in My Future Fund. The scheme will be managed by a new statutory body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), which will operate under the aegis of my Department.
In accordance with Section 84 of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act (2024), where the NAERSA has been notified of the death of a participant, their personal representative may make an application to withdraw the balance of the retirement fund concerned. Where such an application is made, NAERSA will promptly pay the balance to the personal representative. Further information on the procedures for this process will be made available on myfuturefund.ie in due course.
My Future Fund has been implemented for those who do not already have access to a supplementary pension arrangement. It was created because pension coverage and pension adequacy, particularly in the private sector, is too low. It is not being set up so as to replace the State Pension (Contributory) or undermine it in any way. It will be an additional source of income in retirement on top of the State Pension (Contributory). Therefore, it will not have any impact, positive or negative, on a person's future entitlement to the full State Pension (Contributory) once they reach pension age. I would therefore like to reiterate our commitment to the State Pension remaining the bedrock upon which the Irish pension system is founded.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
443. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of women remanded to Mountjoy female prison with consent to bail from 2021 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5173/26]
View answer444. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of women remanded to Limerick female prison with consent to bail in 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5174/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 443 and 444 together.
The Irish Prison Service has advised my Department that the information requested on the number of women remanded to Mountjoy Female Prison and Limerick Prison who had consent to bail contained in their court order is not recorded on the Prisoner Information Management System in a manner that would allow the information sought by the Deputy to be provided. To compile such information would require a manual examination of individual warrants.
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has provided the tables below which outline the number of committals of women remanded to custody, the number of those individuals who took up the option of bail and the subsequent number of releases from prison custody for the years in question.
Table 1 – Releases on Bail Mountjoy Female Prison (2021 – 2025)
|
Year |
No. of committals on remand/trial |
Persons released on Bail |
Releases on Bail * |
|
2025 |
327 |
130 |
138 |
|
2024 |
330 |
144 |
155 |
|
2023 |
303 |
129 |
137 |
|
2022 |
254 |
118 |
129 |
|
2021 |
171 |
93 |
97 |
*An individual can be committed and released on more than one occasion in a calendar year.
Table 2 - Releases on Bail Limerick Prison (2024 - 2025)
|
Year |
No. of committals on remand/trial |
Persons released on Bail |
Releases on Bail * |
|
2025 |
94 |
27 |
28 |
|
2024 |
85 |
20 |
20 |
*An individual can be committed and released on more than one occasion in a calendar year.
445. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of family reunification applications that were granted in 2025, broken down by whether the sponsor was, a person with refugee status or a person eligible for subsidiary protection; and the average number of family members granted permission, per successful family reunification application in each category. [5600/26]
View answer446. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the proportion of family reunification grants made under the International Protection Act 2015 in 2025 where the sponsor was a minor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5607/26]
View answer447. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of family reunification applications that were granted in 2025; to provide a breakdown of those grants according to whether the sponsor was a person with refugee status or a person eligible for subsidiary protection; and the average number of family members granted permission per successful family reunification application in each category. [5829/26]
View answer448. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of family reunification applications that were granted in 2025; the breakdown of those grants according to whether the sponsor was a person with refugee status or a person eligible for subsidiary protection; and the average number of family members granted permission per successful family reunification application in each category, in tabular form. [5114/26]
View answer467. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of family reunification applications that were granted in 2025; to provide a breakdown of those grants according to whether the sponsor is a person with refugee status or a person eligible for subsidiary protection; and the average number of family members granted permission per successful family reunification application in each category. [5176/26]
View answer472. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons who arrived in the State through refugee family reunification in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; the breakdown of persons, by age and by eligibility category, that is, spouses, minor children, parents of minor children, and siblings of minor children for each year. [5222/26]
View answer479. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, by gender who were given to right to bring their spouse to Ireland in each of the past ten years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5337/26]
View answer480. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, by gender who were given the right to bring their children to Ireland in each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5338/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 445, 446, 447, 448, 467, 472, 479 and 480 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, last November Minister O'Callaghan obtained government approval to introduce new policies and legislative changes to strengthen Ireland’s migration and asylum system to ensure it is rules-based, efficient and more aligned with EU Member States. These new policies and legislative changes are designed to strengthen the systems integrity, enhance clarity for applicants, and ensure that migration pathways remain fair, transparent and sustainable.
International Protection Family Reunification (IP-FRU), as provided for in Section 56 of the International Protection Act 2015, allows people granted international Protection status to apply for certain family members to join them in the State. As it stands, an application for IP-FRU must be made by the sponsor within 12 months of them being granted an International Protection permission.
Section 56 of the IPA Act 2015 was commenced on 31 December 2016 and statistics are available from 2017. In the last 9 years there have been 3,748 family members granted an International Protection family reunification permission, an average of 2.5 per sponsor. Table 1 below gives a breakdown of the figures by year.
Table 1. IP-FRU grants by year
|
Year |
Granted Individuals |
|
2017 |
62 |
|
2018 |
211 |
|
2019 |
265 |
|
2020 |
196 |
|
2021 |
484 |
|
2022 |
475 |
|
2023 |
407 |
|
2024 |
979 |
|
2025 |
669 |
In any individual application, some family members can be granted whilst others may be refused. Therefore I have provided the number of individual family members issued a permission.
Table 2 below provides the breakdown of family relationship to the sponsor. Under the provisions of the Act, insofar as applications for children are concerned, the sponsor can only apply for their children who are under 18 and unmarried. If the sponsor is a minor at the time of their IP application they can apply for their parents, and their siblings who are under 18 and unmarried.
Table 2 : Family relationship to the sponsor
|
Relationship to Sponsor |
2025 |
2024 |
2023 |
2022 |
2021 |
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
|
Brother |
23 |
63 |
19 |
25 |
39 |
12 |
31 |
21 |
0 |
|
Daughter |
205 |
271 |
111 |
142 |
120 |
53 |
51 |
54 |
16 |
|
Father |
<10 |
30 |
<10 |
<10 |
26 |
<10 |
17 |
<10 |
<10 |
|
Husband |
45 |
82 |
25 |
33 |
17 |
10 |
10 |
13 |
<10 |
|
Mother |
13 |
35 |
13 |
16 |
32 |
11 |
21 |
11 |
<10 |
|
Sister |
21 |
70 |
26 |
26 |
39 |
10 |
29 |
<10 |
0 |
|
Son |
247 |
248 |
135 |
152 |
137 |
52 |
72 |
52 |
18 |
|
Wife |
108 |
180 |
70 |
72 |
74 |
39 |
34 |
42 |
22 |
Table 3 below outlines the permission the sponsor holds, namely an international protection permission, a subsidiary protection permission, or a programme refugee under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme).
Table 3: Immigration permission held by sponsor
|
Sponsor |
2025 |
2024 |
2023 |
2022 |
2021 |
2020 |
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
|
Refugee Status |
242 |
365 |
125 |
165 |
171 |
56 |
77 |
61 |
20 |
|
Subsidiary Protection |
14 |
14 |
<10 |
32 |
31 |
20 |
20 |
33 |
14 |
|
Programme Refugee |
<10 |
20 |
10 |
<10 |
<10 |
<10 |
<10 |
<10 |
<10 |
* Please note, all tables and figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing
In 2025 IP-FRU was granted to 71 family members where the Sponsor was a minor.
Statistics on the gender of the sponsor are not recorded. This would require the manual examination of thousands of cases. Such an examination would require a disproportionate amount of time to compile.
Earlier this month Minister O'Callaghan published the new International Protection Bill 2026, which will give effect to the Pact measures and will replace the International Protection Act 2015.
Work is underway with the Attorney General to developing provisions for inclusion in the Bill to give effect to the proposals, approved by Government on 26 November 2025, that adults who are beneficiaries of international protection will not be entitled to seek family reunification for a period of three years following their grant of international protection. They must also demonstrate that they are financially self-sufficient. This will be assessed by reference to appropriate income thresholds to be prescribed.
449. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the actions that have been initiated by his Department to implement the recommendation following the decision at the conference of a representative body to seek legislative change (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5126/26]
View answerSection 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) 1851 Act sets out the time limit allowed for a summons to be issued for any offences to be dealt with in the District Courts (summary offences). Under the 1851 Act, this time limit is no longer than six months from the date of the offence to application for a summons to the District Court by Gardaí. These limits do not apply to indictable offences that are to be heard in the Circuit Court.
There are some exceptions to the six-month timeframe such as section 7 of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 which allows that summary proceedings for an offence under that Act may be instituted at any time within two years from the date on which the offence was committed.
Other than in exceptional cases such as the afore-mentioned Act, there are no plans to change the time limit for the summary prosecution of the generality of offences.
