Written Answers Nos. 205-213
205. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection the plans to adjust the qualifying criteria for carer's allowance so that those who care for someone for at least 30 hours per week can qualify; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12933/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined expenditure on these schemes in 2026 is expected to exceed €2.2 billion.
Carer’s Allowance is a means-tested payment for people who are looking after someone who needs support because of age, physical or learning disability or illness, including mental illness. The primary objective of the Carer’s Allowance payment is to provide an income support to carers whose earning capacity is substantially reduced because of their caring responsibilities.
A primary qualifying condition for the Carer’s Allowance payment is that the applicant must be providing full-time care and attention. The person being cared for must be so incapacitated as to require full-time care for at least 12 months. A person is regarded as providing full-time care where they provide at least 35 hours of care per week, over any five days in a seven-day period.
While carer income support payments are based on the provision of full-time care and attention, they also provide flexibility in terms of allowing carers to engage in work, training or education for up to 18.5 hours per week. In effect, a carer can engage in these activities for half of a full-time working week. During this time, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person.
The 18.5-hour limit for Carer's Allowance reflects a careful balance between ensuring that the care recipient receives full-time care and enabling carers to maintain a connection to employment, training or education. Any proposal to amend this condition would need to preserve that balance and would have to be considered in the broader budgetary and policy context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
206. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the adequacy of existing supports for single mothers in the weeks and months after giving birth; if any review of the State support structures can be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12937/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra207. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the adequacy of support services available to single mothers compared with those for two-parent families, particularly during pregnancy and the early months of their child's life; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12941/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 207 together.
Maternity Benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women, who are eligible for Maternity Leave. The current standard rate is €299 per week as announced as part of Budget 2026, although a person may be eligible for a higher rate of payment aligned with that on Illness Benefit depending on their circumstances. The Government has allocated €301 million to the scheme for 2026, reflecting its commitment to supporting parents during maternity leave.
A New Baby Grant?of €280 is paid in addition to the first month of?Child Benefit for children born or adopted on or after 1 December 2024.
In addition, my Department provides Health and Safety Benefit which may be payable during pregnancy at the standard weekly rate of €254 where a person may be exposed to risk in the workplace.
Parent's Benefit is available which provides nine weeks payment to each parent of a child aged under two years at the standard weekly rate of €299. This support is not transferable between parents in line with EU legislative requirements.
A number of employers top up their employee’s wages while they are on Maternity Benefit or Parent's Benefit. These arrangements are discretionary private contractual arrangements agreed between employers and employees and are outside the realm of Social Welfare legislation.
My Department also operates the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, which provides a safety net for those whose resources are insufficient to meet their needs. If an individual believes they may qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance, they should contact the Department.
The Programme for Government commits to ‘Introduce Pay-Related Parent's Benefit and explore other payments where a similar model could be applied.’ My Department will draw on the operational experience and learnings from the first year implementation of Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit, introduced on 31 March 2025, to inform the development of a pay-related approach for Parent's Benefit and other schemes. I intend to issue a public consultation document later in the year to support this process and to assist in the development of any future proposals.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
208. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he is aware of a situation wherein an award of the basic income for artists may result in a household losing eligibility for disability allowance, putting them at risk of poverty; and for details of any steps he will take to address this. [12974/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraDisability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test, and the habitual residency condition.
The Basic Income for the Artists payment is not a social protection or income support payment. This payment is treated as income from self-employment and the normal means assessment processes apply. The Basic Income for the Artists payment does not impact an individual's secondary benefits where their DA remains in payment.
I can confirm that the person concerned is currently in receipt of DA at a reduced weekly rate of €163.10. Means of €325.00 are derived from her spouses/partner’s self-employment.
Social welfare legislation provides that, for means-tested social assistance schemes, all income and assets belonging to the claimant, and his or her spouse/partner where applicable, are assessable for means testing purposes. The purpose of the means test is to ensure that resources are directed to those with the greatest need for income supports by the State.
I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
209. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection the funding allocated to NGOs by his Department in 2025; the funding allocated to NGOs by agencies and bodies under the remit of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13093/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides direct funding to a number of voluntary / non-governmental organisations, who provide information and wider social research on social welfare services and social policy in Ireland.
The current recipients of funding and their funding allocation as per the 2025 Revised Estimates are outlined below.
Community Law and Mediation (CLM) - Funding allocation of €355,000 in 2025
The CLM funding is used as core funding for staff salaries to support CLM’s provision of legal information and advice, as well as education and mediation services, in disadvantaged communities in Dublin. More information on their work can be found on their website: communitylawandmediation.ie/
The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) - Funding Allocation of €260,000 in 2025
The INOU funding is used as core funding for staff salaries to support INOU's work with, and on behalf of, unemployed people, including development of the annual ‘Working for Work’ publication, and training and research on unemployed people’s experiences. More information on their work can be found on their website: www.inou.ie/information/
Vincentian MESL Research Centre (MESL) - Funding Allocation of €180,000 in 2025
My Department provides funds to the Vincentian MESL Research Centre, wholly and exclusively in support of the MESL research workplan. The MESL research plan provides for the maintenance and dissemination of ‘Minimum Essential Standard of Living’ social policy research, which is an important evidence-base which informs social policy development in Ireland. More information on their work can be found on their website: www.budgeting.ie/
Citizens Information Board (CIB) - Funding Allocation of €66.5m in 2025
My Department also funds the Citizens Information Board, the statutory body with responsibility for the provision of independent information, advice and advocacy on a range of public services.
Whilst not an non-governmental organisation itself, CIB does in turn fund 22 independent companies to provide services on its behalf and these companies limited by guarantee (CLGs). The funding provided to these companies is outlined in CIB’s Annual Reports, available to view on its website at: www.citizensinformationboard.ie/en/about/annual_report/
210. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department will update the name of a person (details supplied) on the MyGovID platform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13113/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to inform the Deputy that the personal information held by the Department correctly reflects the customer's requested marital name change.
My Department is in contact with the customer to help resolve the issue encountered when registering the birth of their child.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
211. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Social Protection for assistance related to a welfare application (details supplied). [13165/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI refer to your Parliamentary Question, regarding an application for an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) for rent arrears. The rent for this property was supported by the local authority through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet expenses that an eligible person cannot pay from their weekly income, personal and/or household resources. The ANP scheme is demand led and administered by Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) in the Community Welfare Service (CWS), taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance. Supports from this Department are not intended to cover circumstances where responsibility rests with another Government Department or Agency. The responsibility in this instance rests with the local authority.
According to the records of the Department, the person applied for an ANP on 12/02/2026 to assist with the cost of rental arrears due to the Local Authority on their rented accommodation. As the responsibility for the assessment and collection of rent for HAP rests with the local authority, the individual was advised in the first instance, to contact HAP section to discuss the arrears and to negotiate a suitable repayment plan
If the person is experiencing financial difficulties with other cost of living/household expenses, it is open to them to make an application for assistance by completing a SWA1 form and providing all necessary supporting documentation. This form is available in all Intreo Centres and Branch Offices and can also be requested by calling the National CWS freephone line at 0818 60 70 80 or at www.eforms.gov.ie/en/forms/5. Alternatively, if they have a verified MyGovID account, they can apply for an ANP at: www.MyWelfare.ie
I trust this clarifies the matter.
212. Deputy Eoin Hayes asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason the advice of the National Pension Policy Initiative to prohibit charges on accounts which are expressed in cash terms, which was followed in section 104 of the Pensions Act 1990, was not similarly adhered to for the MyFutureFund administration fees, in order to ensure that lower income participants receive similar value for money as higher income participants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13185/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 MyFutureFund - 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 MyFutureFund.
The charges that are applied to participants in MyFutureFund consist of an administration fee charged on contributions and an investment management fee based on a percentage charge on assets under management.
Firstly, it should be noted that the National Pensions Policy Initiative Report of 1998 to which the Deputy refers represented an assessment of the Irish pension system of that time and therefore its advice cannot be regarded as directed at MyFutureFund when its design was first set out in the Strawman proposal of 2018 and whose statutory basis rests in the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024 (AE Act). Secondly, Section 104 of the Pensions Act 1990 (as amended) concerns charges relating to Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSA). These provisions do not apply to MyFutureFund, which has its own fee provisions set out in Section 35 of the AE Act and regulations made thereunder.
The administration fee for MyFutureFund takes 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 only be applied to contributing participants - whereas an AUM approach could result in suspended funds being degraded over time. This administration fee is analogous to the policy fee that some pension providers charge, which in some instances amount to around €50 per annum. It also compares favourably to the 5% of contributions typically charged for PRSAs. Accordingly, this approach proves much better value for money for all participants 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. These fees are considerably less than the rate of 1% of assets which is the norm for many personal retirement saving schemes.
I am therefore satisfied that the structure of fees and charges in MyFutureFund ensures that all participants get the maximum value for money.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
213. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of people who had their means assessed due to income from seaweed harvesting in the past two years; the number of these cases where no exemption of €1,270 was applied; whether these cases will be further reassessed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13421/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe means assessed as income from seaweed harvesting is not collated separately so cannot be identified for means tested schemes administered by my Department, including Farm Assist/Fish Assist or Jobseeker's Allowance claims. The information requested by the Deputy is not available.
The Deputy is welcome to bring individual cases to my attention so that they can be examined.
I trust this clarifies the position.
