Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a ceist. Reducing child poverty is a key priority for the Government. I agree with the Deputy that it is important to use data that is complete, accurate and can be tracked over time. The data on poverty used by my Department is the official data the Central Statistics Office, CSO, publishes in its annual survey on income and living conditions, SILC. The headline measure produced by this survey is consistent poverty, which combines income poverty and material deprivation. The CSO also presents at risk of poverty data on a before and after housing costs basis and by tenure status. These indicators, together with indicators on material deprivation, are relied on by my Department and reported annually in our social impact monitor, which tracks progress against the national poverty reduction targets. The Department also utilises the data from the minimum essential standard of living reports of the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. We fully fund the partnership to produce those reports. While there is no one measure that adequately captures all facets of poverty, the use of the headline consistent poverty measure is useful in that it combines both those at risk of income-based poverty and those facing deprivation through a lack of basic necessities. This dual approach gives us a valuable insight into the level of social inclusion in Ireland. That is why the consistent poverty measure has long served as the national poverty benchmark. It has been endorsed by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, and is used for the national poverty target in the cross-Government social inclusion strategy, the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025. As the Deputy knows, we recently announced a new child poverty target utilising the consistent poverty measure. I will be making the delivery of the new child poverty target of 3% or less, down from its current level of 8.5%, a key objective of the new roadmap for social inclusion action plan to be published in 2026. I am also currently prioritising measures to address child poverty in consideration of budget 2026. I hope that clarifies the position for the Deputy.
Sentiment score: -0.28
I absolutely agree with the Deputy that we need accurate figures. We have long used the consistent poverty measure as the national poverty benchmark. The recently agreed child poverty target of 3% or less is based on the consistent poverty measure, which is the critical measure of child poverty because it captures income-related and deprivation-related aspects. In addition, we use CSO data on the financial burden of housing costs, while poverty rates by tenure status are reported annually in our social impact monitor. That also tracks progress against national poverty reduction targets. Any approach to measuring poverty rates after housing costs should take into account the supports available through HAP and rent supplement. We are preparing a new roadmap for social inclusion for 2026 to 2030 and considering the inclusion of CSO SILC data on the at-risk-of-poverty rate before and after housing as an indicator for the new roadmap. I am happy to engage with the Deputy and the social protection committee as we finalise that documentation for publication in early 2026.
Sentiment score: -0.20
No, it is the new roadmap for inclusion.
Sentiment score: -0.30
I will revert to the Deputy on the dashboard. There is huge work under way to make it as inclusive and measurable as possible. The unit is open to suggestions on what should be part of the dashboard. It is crucial it be used as a cross-governmental measure. We are looking at the whole area of housing costs. Depending on tenure and on whether a person owns or is renting, it can have a different impact on the figures. We are going through all of that with a view to making a decision on it as we prepare the social inclusion roadmap. That should be published in the first quarter of 2026.
Sentiment score: 0.04
I thank the Deputy. Oral hearings on social welfare appeals can be held virtually, in person or by phone. In 2024, there were 432 oral hearings, comprising 120 in person, 53 by phone and 259 virtually. The figure has fallen considerably in recent years but that has to be set against the backdrop of a number of things. When a case is assigned to an appeals officer, the officer examines the documentary evidence presented and considers if the appeal can be properly and fairly decided by way of a summary decision. Where there is a conflict in the evidence provided that would materially affect the question under consideration, the appeals officer will consider if the conflict could be resolved at an oral hearing and will make the arrangements for that hearing to take place. Appeals officers are statutorily independent in the exercise of their powers, including with respect to whether to hold an oral hearing. However, in order to increase transparency around that, the social welfare appeals regulations 2024 came into effect on 28 April 2025. They established for the first time the legal right of an appellant to request an oral hearing. Appeals officers must consider these requests. Where it is decided not to hold an oral hearing, the appeals officer must provide reasons in writing as to why this is the case. The ability to request a hearing and to be provided with reasons as to why a hearing is or is not being held did not exist prior to these regulations. The new appeals functionality on MyWelfare means appellants can now easily transmit documentation and evidence to the relevant scheme area and the appeals office electronically. This can mean that evidence that previously would not have been available to an appeals officer until an oral hearing can be provided earlier in the process and is resulting in appeals officers being able to decide a higher number of cases on a summary basis.
Sentiment score: 0.11
I can absolutely assure the Deputy that oral appeals will continue. The regulations are now there for people to request them. However, things have changed and the functionality available on MyWelfare.ie gives much more information earlier in the process, which leads to a situation where the oral hearing is not as important as it may once have been. I assure the Deputy oral appeals will continue to happen and I will continue to monitor the figures. My main focus at the moment is working with the appeals office to get through any backlogs. We have appointed 20 new appeals officers this year and are getting through the backlog.
Sentiment score: 0.10
I do not disagree. We have all done oral hearings and they are very important. As the Deputy said, it is about seeing the white of a person's eye and having that interaction. There is a mix of the traditional oral hearing and the other options available to get a decision quicker and get through the process quicker. I assure the Deputy I do not intend to discourage the use of oral hearings. They are an important part of the process.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I thank the Deputy. As she knows, the hot school meals programme was established to ensure that children across Ireland have access to safe, nutritious meals during the school day. It is a core Government commitment to support children’s health, well-being, and educational outcomes. The programme is being made available to all primary schools before the end of this year. This will allow 3,200 schools, which cater for approximately 550,000 children, to avail of hot school meals currently provided by 300 suppliers are across the country. Those suppliers are a diverse group of organisations from the large national supplier and regional suppliers to local restaurants and food outlets, as well as Meals on Wheels groups, which we will get the chance to discuss later. The advice my Department has given to schools is that they can procure school meals from any provider they wish as long as they meet the standards set out in the procurement documentation. The evidence is that the vast majority of small school meals suppliers are capable of meeting these standards. The companies referred to in the Deputy's question, The Lunch Bag and Fresh Today, withdrew their school meals service at very short notice from 79 schools. Four of these schools are special schools and 38 are DEIS schools. It is highly regrettable that the providers acted in this manner, giving virtually no notice to the school communities. The Department immediately contacted the affected schools. They were sent information on 4 September advising them of the options open to them, including procuring a new hot school meals supplier quickly or serving cold lunches in the meantime. Many of them have already procured alternative suppliers, while others are in process. The Department is engaging with the schools that have not responded, to provide support. The programme is designed so that meals are provided by contracted food business operators. This ensures responsibility for food safety and legislative compliance is placed on those professional providers and not on the schools. This also ensures children benefit from a reliable, high-quality service while protecting schools from having to take on responsibilities more appropriate to the food business operators.
Sentiment score: 0.26
We are agreed that access to a hot school meal is vital, and that is what we are trying to secure. My Department officials have worked incredibly hard since we were informed by the school communities that the companies were withdrawing. We have set up a new process. My officials are regularly in touch with the school communities involved. Many of them have secured a replacement supplier, because there are other suppliers who approached my Department to say they would step in. There are other schools where it is harder to get a replacement provider, but my Department is working with school communities to make the replacement procurement process as easy as possible and in the interim to provide a cold meal. That is not the optimum. I want hot school meals to be provided. It has also given us an opportunity to further pursue Deputy O'Reilly's suggestion from a previous round of questions regarding local providers, such as community food providers, Meals on Wheels and others. Some schools are working with that as well. Ultimately, the aim is to ensure the legislative responsibility for food safety is paramount. That needs to be the responsibility of the operator, not the school community. That is why we have had to make some of those changes.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I do not want to give the Deputy inaccurate information. I will provide her with the timeline. I can assure her that there was no delay. We were not informed by the supplier; we were informed by school communities. As soon as we became aware of it, we put the processes in place. The members of the team in the Department of Social Protection are continuing to work incredibly hard, for example by making phone calls very late into the evening. I want to thank them. I will provide the Deputy with a timeline. I have asked my officials to look at the make-up of those suppliers to ensure this situation does not happen again. This is not the Department's fault or the school's fault. These companies withdrew at very short notice. I will provide the accurate timeline, but the notice to school communities was a matter of days. In that context I have asked that we look at the contract documentation so this situation does not happen again, and school communities, teachers, boards of management and especially parents and children are not left in this situation again.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I thank the Deputy. The programme for Government includes a range of commitments in relation to support for people with disabilities. This includes a commitment to introduce a permanent annual cost of disability support payment with a view to incrementally increasing this payment. As we know, addressing the cost of disability is not a question of income support alone. The delivery of and access to services is also key. We need all Departments and agencies of Government to work together to address the issue in a comprehensive manner. This is why the Taoiseach has established the Cabinet committee on disability with its own dedicated programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach. In addition, the recently published National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 takes a whole-of-government approach. The publication of this strategy sets out specific actions being led by named Departments, including, for my own Department, the responsibility to lead a strategic focus network on the cost of disability. The work of this network, which will include people with disabilities and advocates, will inform the approach to be taken in delivering on the programme for Government commitment. I have asked my officials to expedite this work with a view to bringing a proposal to the Government in the first half of next year. In the meantime, I am engaged with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Jack Chambers, to explore what might be feasible in the forthcoming budget. As the Deputy will be aware, the last number of budgets included some specific measures to assist disabled people with the rising cost of living. As part of budget 2025, for example, a €400 disability support grant for people in receipt of disability allowance, invalidity pension or blind pension was paid in November 2024 together with a €12 increase in the maximum personal rate of weekly disability payments from January 2025. We have taken a range of other measures to help people with disabilities to secure and maintain employment. We are continuing to work through our commitments in the national human rights strategy for disabled people.
Sentiment score: 0.29
That is a programme for Government commitment. As I said, we are looking at the best way to implement it and we will be working with people with disabilities and their advocates to assess it. I have looked at the ESRI report. As the Deputy said, it estimates that the average cost of a disability ranges from €25,376 to €28,860 depending on the severity. That is much higher than other reports. We are trying to work with the ESRI to understand how it reached that figure. The most important people in this conversation are those with disabilities and their advocates. I want to engage with them in order that I can understand what will work best for them. I will see to it that this payment is implemented during the lifetime of the Government, and we will seek to ensure it is adequate. We are continuing our other work in this space. I am focused on assisting people with disabilities who want to get back into employment and on assisting employers to support their employees with disabilities. We are looking at wage subsidies and income supports as well.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I have given the Deputy a sense of the timeline and of the work that is under way. This is priority work in our Department. I hope to bring a firm proposal to the Government in the first half of 2026. As I said, I am engaging strongly with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, about budget 2026 provisions in the meantime. I do not intend to do nothing in this budget. We are working with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, around that. I can absolutely guarantee that there is no point in our publishing a human rights strategy for disabled people which takes a whole-of-government approach, without implementing measures that make a difference. A cost-of-disability payment is one of those measures. It will be implemented during the lifetime of this Government. However, it is important that we do not impose a model on those who will be in receipt of it. I want to engage with and hear directly from people with disabilities and their advocates about exactly what kind of model will work. I will put that work and time in. I assure the Deputy it is a priority for me to introduce this payment.
Sentiment score: 0.17
The contributory State pension is funded by contributions paid into the Social Insurance Fund. In general, people will qualify for the contributory State pension if they are aged 66 or over and have between 520 and 2080, or more, reckonable contributions, of which 520 must be full-rate pay related social insurance, PRSI, contributions. There are no issues relating to An Post employees who meet the qualifying conditions for the contributory State pension. Contributions paid at class B, C or D, that is, those made by public servants recruited before 6 April 1995, are known as modified or reduced-rate contributions. They are not qualifying contributions for the contributory State pension. This is because those contributors pay less in social insurance contributions in return for fewer social insurance benefits. For example, class D contributors currently pay a contribution at the rate of 1% on their weekly earnings up to €1,443 and 4.1% on weekly earnings above that amount. Their employers pay a contribution of 2.45% on all employee earnings. In contrast, class A contributors pay a contribution of 4.1% on their weekly earnings. Their employers pay a contribution of 8.9% where employees' weekly earnings are €527 or less, and 11.15% where employees' weekly earnings exceed €527. Class A contributors have access to the full range of social insurance benefits. Given that social insurance contributions are paid over people's working lifetime, during which time they may have had multiple, and in some case overlapping, employments, been awarded credited or attributed contributions or paid for voluntary contributions, it is difficult to associate entitlement to a benefit with employment with a particular employer. This information is also not required to assess eligibility for a pension. The Department does not therefore categorise or record applications for the State pension by prior employer name, which is the information the Deputy is looking for.
Sentiment score: 0.04
I cannot comment on a court case, as the Deputy will understand. An Post operational matters are a matter for An Post and the relevant Minister. I have gone through the reasons we do not keep this information in the Department and how difficult it is to categorise or record applications for State pensions by prior employer name. However, if the Deputy wants to contact me later with a specific request that was not apparent in the question, I will try to address it. I want to be helpful, but I cannot get involved in an ongoing court case. However, I do want to be helpful to the Deputy and his constituent.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I have outlined the position regarding that information. The Department does not categorise or record applications for State pensions by prior employer name. Issues relating to An Post are a matter for the Minister for communications, who has political responsibility. It is our role in the Department to lay down the rules, set out how it can be done and make payments in relation to pensions. It is a role we take very seriously, but specific issues as to how companies deal with their employees are a matter for individual companies. I am happy to try and pursue this further for the Deputy, but, equally, whether it is criminal or civil in nature, it is not the role of the Oireachtas to get involved in a court case.
Sentiment score: -0.09
We all acknowledge the valuable role that family carers play. The Government remains fully committed to supporting carers in that role. The carer's allowance scheme is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers. This year, expenditure on the carer's allowance scheme is estimated to be over €1.24 billion. There are currently almost 102,000 people in receipt of carer's allowance. The programme for Government contains a commitment to significantly increase 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. This is a major change to the carer's allowance and to the Irish social welfare system generally. It is important that we make progress in a sustainable manner without limiting our scope to support other vulnerable groups in society. Recent progress was made in July when the weekly income disregard for carer's allowance 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. These increases mean that a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €69,000 can retain their full carer's payment. Even with an income of €97,000, they can retain a partial payment. It is important to note that my Department provides non-means-tested supports to carers, including carer's benefit, domiciliary care allowance and the annual carer's support grant of €2,000. I assure the Deputy about my work in this area. We will continue to advance the programme for Government commitments in relation to care and, in particular, in respect of the means test. We will do so in a sustainable manner and over the lifetime of the Government.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I absolutely agree with everything the Deputy said about the work of carers and family carers right across the country. That is why significant improvements have been made and we will continue to make them. I am engaging with the Minister for public expenditure around budget 2026 with a view to progressing further supports for carers. On the work carers do, the point I would always make is that without that work there would be considerable extra pressure on our health system and on other parts of government. Without the commitment of carers, as the Deputy said, based on love and family, this country would be a lot worse off. That is why we have considerably changed and enhanced the investment in carers in recent years. That is why we have commitment in the programme for Government to phase out the means test which, as I said, is a major change in social welfare policy. I will ensure that is completed during the lifetime of the Government.
Sentiment score: 0.24