Cathal Crowe
Ceist:192. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the main policy achievements of his Department since 22 January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23084/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 25 March 2026
Ceisteanna (192)
Freagraí scríofa
My Department has delivered significant achievements since 22nd January 2025.
The Automatic Enrolment retirement savings system, MyFutureFund, commenced on 1st January 2026. This initiative will provide workers with greater security regarding their retirement savings and will provide some comfort in the years ahead for workers, who currently are not actively paying into a pension through payroll, who now have access to quality assured retirement savings. Since the 1st January, based on analysis of payroll data from the Revenue Commissioners, over 763,000 employees were automatically enrolled in MyFutureFund. These employees work for approximately 105,000 employers. In October 2025, I also formally established NAERSA - the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, which oversees the administration of My Future Fund.
Budget 2026 provided a social protection budget of €28.9 billion, which included an above inflation increase of €10 per week in the maximum weekly personal rates of payment. It also included measures targeted to assist families and to tackle child poverty, including the largest Child Support Payment increase in the history of the State. The Budget package also provided for the largest ever increase in the income disregard for Carer’s Allowance, with an increase of €375 to €1,000 for single people, and an increase of €750 to €2,000 for a couple. This means that a carer in a two-adult household with an income of over €104,000 can retain their full Carer’s Allowance payment.
Other measures included in the Budget saw increases in the weekly rate of Fuel Allowance, Working Family Payment and Domiciliary Care Allowance, among others. In addition, the Fuel Allowance payment was extended to Working Family Payment recipients. This measure came into effect recently and will be backdated to January. This means that some 50,000 additional households will now receive the Fuel Allowance.
Furthermore, in response to the energy crisis arising from the conflict in the Middle East, this week the Government has extended the fuel allowance season for a further 4 week period until the week ending 1st May 2026. This will provide an additional €71 million to vulnerable households to contribute to their energy costs.
Budget 2026 also delivered a range of improvements for disabled people. The Wage Subsidy Scheme rates of payments were increased, and the scheme extended to those who acquired a disability while in employment, and to those moving from Invalidity Pension to the Partial Capacity Benefit scheme. People in receipt of Disability Allowance and the Blind Pension can now retain their Fuel Allowance payment for five years after taking up employment, and those with children are eligible for the Back to Work Family Dividend scheme.
The Programme for Government commits to bring in annual cost of disability payment. In this regard, a public consultation was launched by my Department on 20 February and is open until 7 April. The consultation seeks views on the agenda and format of the Cost of Disability Strategic Focus Network Summit, which will be held on the 13 May 2026, and on how a cost of disability payment should be designed.
My Department launched the Pay Related Benefit (PRB) for jobseekers on 31 March 2025. At the end of February 2026, some 33,898 individuals were in receipt of this payment. The scheme provides a maximum weekly payment of €450, which helps people during the period of uncertainty while they seek new employment.
The Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2025 was enacted on the 21st of July 2025. The provisions of the Act commenced from that date. This legislation provides entitlement to unmarried cohabitants to the Bereaved Partner's Pension, which replaces the Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension.
Progress on a developing a successor to the current Pathways to Work Strategy 2021-2025 continues with a view to publishing a new strategy this year. My Department is also developing a successor to the Roadmap for Social Inclusion and this will also be published this year.
A new Child Poverty Target was approved by Government and announced in September 2025, and my Department is examining ways to implement reforms of existing child support payments to reduce this target further. Another significant development was the roll-out of the Free Hot School Meals Programme to all primary schools who are eligible, which is now complete.
My Department recruited and seconded a CORU-registered dietician for the School Meals Programme, who is under the clinical supervision of the Department of Health. She is currently conducting an in-depth review of school meal supplier menus and their compliance with the nutritional standards. The final report is due in Q2 2026.