Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 June 2026
124. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection to confirm, excluding child benefit, the number of foreign-born nationals and their adult dependents currently in receipt of a weekly, means tested social welfare payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46384/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department publishes breakdowns by nationality on a quarterly and an annual basis. Quarterly statistics are compiled and published in open-data format, accessible through gov.ie/dsp/statistics and through the CSO's data portal (table DPS03). Annual data is published in PDF format in the Annual Statistics Report, and in excel format. The quarterly open data includes a filed on the funding basis; Social Insurance schemes are funded via the Social Insurance fund, whilst Social Assistance schemes are funded via Vote 37. In general, vote-funded schemes are means-tested, with some exceptions such as Child Benefit. It is a core statutory requirement that all claimants, regardless of nationality, must meet the specific criteria for each scheme, including the means test where applicable.
These statistics are compiled at the recipient level, and a breakdown of recipients with a qualified adult on the claim broken down by nationality is not readily available. Quarterly data in respect of vote-funded schemes, excluding Child Benefit, are set out in the table below. The numbers refer to total individuals who received at least one payment in Q1 2026. Please note these figures are on the basis of nationality, and not the location of birth.
|
|
Ireland |
EU14 excl. Ireland |
EU15 to EU27 |
United Kingdom |
Others |
|
Back To Work Enterprise Allowance |
1,402 |
59 |
272 |
72 |
431 |
|
Back to Work Scheme Family Dividend |
1,642 |
35 |
374 |
72 |
508 |
|
Bereaved Partner's Non-Contributory Pension |
634 |
15 |
127 |
83 |
132 |
|
Blind Persons Pension |
769 |
15 |
26 |
43 |
72 |
|
Carers Allowance |
94,520 |
618 |
4,880 |
4,327 |
4,208 |
|
Disability Allowance |
153,750 |
1,135 |
9,119 |
6,912 |
5,686 |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
52,908 |
825 |
4,270 |
1,891 |
4,226 |
|
Household Benefits* |
101,041 |
1,030 |
5,588 |
7,152 |
4,095 |
|
Jobseekers Allowance |
101,619 |
2,689 |
13,806 |
4,857 |
28,526 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
36,690 |
425 |
3,197 |
1,108 |
3,574 |
|
Rent Supplement |
3,087 |
237 |
1,364 |
242 |
849 |
|
Respite Care Grant Scheme |
1,562 |
25 |
72 |
61 |
86 |
|
State Pension Non Contributory |
83,319 |
869 |
3,399 |
5,787 |
8,702 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
12,568 |
217 |
1,333 |
549 |
1,371 |
|
Working Family Payment |
38,118 |
2,438 |
8,727 |
1,544 |
6,888 |
* Household Benefits refers to direct recipients of cash payments only; persons who receive Household Benefits via a credit paid to their electricity/gas provider directly are not included.
