I thank Deputies O'Reilly and Wall for their ongoing work on this issue. The DCA is a monthly payment to a parent or a guardian in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability and requires care and attention substantially over and above that needed by a child of the same age. The payment is not means tested. There is no restriction on the number of children for whom a person may claim the payment. The current rate of appeal for DCA is not disproportionately higher than that of similar medical-based schemes administered by the Department. In 2026, to the end of May, the appeal rate was 20%, with 6,742 decisions made and 1,366 appeals submitted. It is important to note that where decisions are allowed in the receipt of an appeal, this may not mean that the initial decision was incorrect. A decision is more often revised because the person making an appeal provides additional information that was not available when the decision was first made. In other jurisdictions, appellants are not allowed to submit additional information, but instead are required to submit a new application. By referring the appeal papers back to the Department's decision team for review, our process is more flexible. As a result, 692, or 62%, of the 1,111 DCA appeals granted in the period from January to May 2026 were decided by way of a revised decision by the scheme's deciding officers. This shows the Department's efforts to ensure that as few cases as possible have to go through the full appeals process. To reduce the level of appeals, we encourage those to provide all relevant information in the initial application. In a further effort to assist customers applying for DCA, claims can now be made online and improvements are being introduced to make that process easier for families. The number of DCA appeals on hand has reduced significantly. At the end of 2024, there were 1,709 appeals on hand. This reduced to 664 by the end of 2025. There are 610 appeals on hand this year to date. This is in the context of a significant increase in applications for DCA in recent years. The number of applications increased by 17.5% in 2025, with a similar rate of increase evident so far this year.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I have placed considerable emphasis on this since being appointed. At the end of 2024, there were 1,700 appeals on hand. At the end of 2025, there were 664 appeals on hand, and we had a 17.5% increase in applications in 2025. As I said at the end of my previous contribution, we have a similar increase this year. We have allocated additional resources to manage it. By moving it online, we have taken some of that paperwork burden out of it. I am very much open to feedback. We are doing a review of all the forms and processes at the moment. It is important for us to get a balance between getting the information we need to make a decision and to allow people to make an informed decision. I do not want a situation where we are adding to the challenges of a parent's life and, most importantly, a child's life. I need to strike a balance and I am very much open to feedback from offices about the design of any of our forms, but particularly the DCA form. I do not want people to have to go through any more challenges than they already do in their daily lives.
Sentiment score: 0.16
We have the online option. The average time to award a payment in 2026 to date has been seven weeks. The target is nine. We have also put a fast-track system in place between our medical assessors and my officials to ensure that all medical issues are expedited. I am trying to take all the blockages out of the application system. In response to the work of Deputies O'Reilly and Wall, who have consistently raised this, often outside the Chamber as well, we are keeping a very sharp focus on delays in the appeals. We have to strike a balance between getting the full information to make an informed decision efficiently and effectively. I have asked my officials to remember at all times the day-to-day experiences of the parents and guardians applying for it and of the children in particular.
Sentiment score: 0.23
As the Deputy knows, the carer's allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support for carers. Currently, just over 108,000 carers receive this payment, with a provision of over €1.4 billion euro this year. The carer's support grant is a separate payment that was paid to over 147,000 carers on 4 June 2026, at a rate of €2,000 per person being cared for, marking an investment of €336 million. The programme for Government has set out a commitment to significantly increase the income disregards for carer's allowance in each budget, with a view to phasing out of the means test during the lifetime of this Government. This process is well under way. Last July, the amount of weekly earnings disregard was increased to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple. As part of budget 2026, I announced further improvements to the means tests. They will be introduced from 2 July. From then, the weekly income disregard will increase from €625 to €1,000 for a single person and from €1,250 to €2,000 for carers who are part of a couple. These are the largest ever increases in income disregards. They are higher than for any other payment. In its recent report, Family Carers Ireland acknowledged the significant progress made in increasing income disregards. The report states that 68% of Irish households are now falling within the financial eligibility criteria. The impact of the increases will mean that those recipients on a reduced payment due to their means will see their payments increase. In addition, more carers will qualify for the carer's allowance. For example, a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €110,000 will retain a full carer's allowance payment and a carer with an income of €138,000 will retain a partial payment. When one considers that the commitment to remove the means test is estimated to cost a minimum of about €600 million, it is clear that a commitment can only be phased in through a number of budgets. I intend to do this over the lifetime of the Government, in keeping with the conditions of the programme for Government.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I am very aware of the work of Family Carers Ireland. We host a forum specifically for carers every year. We did that in May. I am very aware of the challenges being faced by carers in terms of respite and other supports. The Deputy may have missed the point within the report that over 68% of families would now receive a carer's allowance payment as a consequence of the income disregards being changed from July.
Sentiment score: -0.03
This means that somebody on an income of €110,000 can receive a full carer's allowance payment and those on €138,000 can receive a partial payment. So, we are making very substantial progress in phasing out the means test. It is a commitment in the programme for Government and I will continue to progress it. I also have other commitments and I want to ensure that we look at the people who are on existing carer's payments for support. Carers are very important and we had a full morning of engagement with them at our carers forum, where many of the issues in the Family Carers Ireland report were raised. We are working through those with other colleagues across the Government.
Sentiment score: 0.44
The lifetime of this Government is to 2029. I have my ambitions to maintain this commitment. Any situation where a social protection support is available to a family on €110,000 per year in full or to a family on €138,000 in part represents very good progress. These are the biggest increases in the income disregard for the carer's allowance and will come into effect on 1 July. However, I also must have consideration of other pressures and priorities within my Department. I must have consideration for the people receiving carer's allowance at the moment. That is why we were able to introduce a €10 increase in the weekly carer's allowance for 2026. I am very much aware of, and determined to implement, that programme for Government commitment. We will continue our work with Family Carers Ireland. We had a very good carers forum and there are many issued raised within "The State of Caring 2026" report that I will work on within my Department and with colleagues across the Government. I assure the Deputy that, given what we are doing from 1 July with the biggest increases in income disregards since the allowance's introduction, I am very much delivering to my party's commitment in this area.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I thank the Deputy. We are very committed in the Department to reducing any administrative, financial or other barrier that may prevent people from accessing their social protection entitlements. Our schemes are generally accessed through two main mechanisms: by assessing the PRSI contribution record of a person in respect of social benefit schemes; and by applying a means test and other conditions as appropriate in the case of social assistance schemes. In respect of contributory schemes, we have broadened access and entitlements in recent years through the introduction of new schemes such as jobseekers pay-related benefit; the expansion of access to existing schemes, for example, to carer's benefit for the self-employed; and the extension of the duration of schemes. In respect of means-tested social assistance schemes, significant adjustments have been made in income disregards, which have enabled more people to qualify for schemes such as carer's allowance, fuel allowance and disability allowance in recent years. The statistics back up the fact that people are increasingly facilitated in accessing our Department's schemes. Annual transaction volumes have increased from 3.2 million in 2024 to over 3.4 million in 2025. We have sought to make it easier, as we discussed earlier in the context of DCA, through the expansion of the Department’s digital and IT platforms. These developments allow, for example, the auto-award of many payments, including the automatic award of approximately 85,000 back to school clothing and footwear allowance payments, which will be done over July, and the automatic award of 147,000 carer support grants in recent weeks. Many child benefit claims for second and subsequent children are also auto-awarded while the sharing of information with Revenue means that many jobseeker claims can also be awarded without recourse to seeking prior employment records. The Department is also witnessing a very considerable increase in use of our online service platform, MyWelfare.ie. We are continuing to provide in-person and phone-based support services. I will address the issue around the medical cards in my subsequent reply.
Sentiment score: 0.44
To put Deputy O'Reilly's remarks in context, we discussed this at committee last week. I followed it up. I am going to follow this up with the Deputy. It was raised by many Deputies following her intervention. The Department of Social Protection does not require applicants to obtain private assessments or specialist medical reports to submit an application for a social welfare payment. All available evidence submitted as part of the application is considered. In addition, the Department funds GPs to complete the medical portion of relevant social welfare application forms. I am going to follow that issue up within the Department and with the Deputy. We are happy to engage with any Deputy where there is this issue. We do not need to know the specific circumstances. I do not want people being unable to access social protection support for the want of not having income. It goes against everything the social protection system stands for, with a lack of resources preventing someone from accessing the system that is supposed to help them. I am very focused on this. I am going to be doing a lot of work on this but this is my initial response and I am happy to engage with the Deputy on it.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I thank the Deputy. We will engage with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, in relation to the communication of this. It is something we have noticed coming up in forums as well - that there is a genuine consideration that we require very complex medical assessments. We do not. I also meant to emphasise in relation to the domiciliary care allowance earlier that we do not require assessments of need. That is still out there. We are trying to minimise the burden on those seeking to access the services. I certainly look forward to feedback from all Deputies in relation to this. We will continue to work with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I will also ask my Department's officials to communicate this and make sure that this is communicated as we redesign forms and application processes. Forms, for many people, are no longer the means of accessing our services. We will communicate very clearly what is required and, most importantly, what is not.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I thank the Deputy. As he knows, the State pension is the bedrock of our pension system in Ireland. As reflected in data from the CSO, it is effective in ensuring that our pensioners do not experience poverty. We, as a Government, are committed to ensuring that this remains the case for current pensioners, including those nearing State pension age, and today’s young workers, including those only starting their careers. Over €12 billion was allocated to State pensions in budget 2026, an increase on budget 2025. From January of this year, the weekly State pension increased by €10, which now means the maximum rate of the State contributory pension is €299.30 per week. Since 2021, the State contributory pension has increased by €51 per week, which shows a commitment to supporting older people. This continues to be a priority for me. It is recognised that the cost of living for a person living alone is greater than the individualised cost of one of two or more people living together. That is why a weekly living alone increase of €22 is payable to all those aged 66 and over, who are in receipt of a State pension payment from my Department. The living alone allowance has risen by over 144% since 2019, when it was €9 per week. It is paid to about 260,000 people every week. All of these recipients also qualify for the so-called free schemes under the household benefits package, including an electricity or gas allowance and a free TV licence. The telephone support allowance and the fuel allowance payment which, as the Deputy will be aware, was extended by a further four weeks in 2026, is also available subject to a means test. The rates of primary and secondary payments to pensioners, and their adequacy, are considered in the context of the annual budgetary process. In doing so, we consider evidence from a wide range of sources, including agencies such as the CSO, and also research from groups such as the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice and its minimum essential standard of living, which has just been published today. I am very conscious about the pressures facing those living alone. It will very much feed into my work in the context of budget 2027.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I am very aware of the people of Belmullet. I had the privilege of being there recently at a 100th birthday, and with a neighbour who is 101. I give my good wishes to Mrs. Ginnelly who is 100 today. That is three people in one village breaking the 100 year mark. I am very aware of it and of older people everywhere, including in Dublin Bay South. We want to ensure there is an adequacy of income, particularly for those living alone. I am very aware of the gap and the cliff edge - for want of a better phrase - that people face when they lose their partner. They are left with the same expenses but their income is reduced. We are definitely looking at the living alone allowance but, as I said, when you look at the level of increase since 2019, it is 144%. It was €9 per week in 2019, so there has been a very definitive increase there, and also when you look at the other payments that are available. The fuel allowance is paid to many pensioners. That was extended for four weeks to bring it to 1 May. We are looking at the telephone support allowance and the free TV licence. We are looking to see if those payments continue to be relevant in the context of different forms of communication, such as streaming services, etc. I want to make sure that communications are as relevant as possible because for somebody living alone, communications and the ability to have them are essential.
Sentiment score: 0.22
The fuel allowance is paid to many people, such as pensioners, but it is paid to allow them make decisions about their own fuel and energy. I am certainly open to ideas as to how we make sure it can help people directly with fuel payments. People's fuel demands and fuel bills are different, depending on their use of fuel, what kind of heating systems they have and where they live. The whole basis of the fuel allowance, which we increased by €5 per week and extended by four weeks, is that people have the choice to use that money to make the payment for their fuel in whatever way they want. We have seen proposals and had proposals and debate about how that gets targeted but I am not sure, by taking away people's choice, whether we will worsen the situation inadvertently. There are proposals that we should give it directly to energy companies but I am not convinced that will work. For many people, that might not be their fuel pressure in terms of income. I am very open to proposals on how we can use the fuel allowance to ensure we have more targeting. I look forward to the proposals in the Deputy's budget submission.
Sentiment score: 0.08
I thank Deputy McAuliffe for his question and his ongoing work on this. As a result of that work, there have been significant improvements in the fuel allowance scheme, particularly in relation to the income thresholds for those who are 66 and over. In January 2023, in order to allow more pensioner households qualify for the fuel allowance, a new fuel allowance payment was introduced for those aged 70 and over. People over 70 no longer needed to be in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment to be eligible for fuel allowance. A single person with means of up to €500 per week or a couple with €1,000 per week became eligible. The amount of savings and investments that are disregarded was also increased for those aged 70 or over from €20,000 to €50,000. From January 2025, this measure was extended to applicants aged 66 and over, with an increase to the weekly means that could be disregarded to €534 for a single person and €1,068 for a couple. Recent expansions to the scheme have resulted in many more households qualifying for the payment and have resulted in the budget for the scheme increasing to an estimated €557.4 million in 2026 compared to an expenditure of €290.45 million in 2020. Since 2020, when the Deputy was elected to the Dáil, an additional 100,000 households have become eligible for the fuel allowance. I am aware there may be exceptional circumstances where a person does not qualify for the fuel allowance but may need support. It is for this reason that we can make additional needs payments, through the local community welfare service, to meet essential expenses. The programme for Government includes a commitment to examine key benefits such as the fuel allowance, the household benefits package and the living alone allowance increase to support vulnerable groups. This will be ongoing activity as part of our annual budget planning process. I intend to continue to make improvements to the key benefits, such as the fuel allowance. I am very aware of their necessity and the support they give to older and vulnerable cohorts.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I thank the Deputy for that example. Those are the anomalies I am looking at in the context of my previous discussion with Deputy Hayes. We are also looking at the living alone allowance. A person living on their own does not necessarily have half the costs. It is a rather arbitrary figure. In particular, it is especially challenging for somebody who goes through the trauma of losing a spouse or partner and is immediately faced with that cliff-edge. That is definitely something we will look at and particularly for the older cohort, who have higher bills for energy and food and less chance to make up that in terms of day-to-day earnings. In the context of looking at the living alone allowance increase and the fuel allowance payment for budget 2027, they are areas we will be considering. I look forward to engagement across the House ahead of budget 2027 in October.
Sentiment score: 0.09
I will work with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on that. The living alone allowance is also available for people in that situation and it is €1,144 a year. The weekly rate for the living alone allowance is higher than the 28 weeks of the fuel allowance payment. I will say it to everybody about the household benefits package. There are many people who qualify for the households benefits package who are not in receipt of it. We all need to work with those who come into our offices to make sure they are in receipt of everything they are entitled to receive. That is one package in particular that I have noticed the numbers are down on. I will be doing some work on that. The proposals and suggestions Deputy McAuliffe has made in the context of household composition and how we assess that are very worthy and could potentially make a difference. They will have to be looked at in the context of budgetary decisions and negotiations. We will be doing that.
Sentiment score: 0.12