Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for her question and for raising this issue. As she will be aware, the Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 provided for changes to the social welfare means test to exclude child maintenance payments from assessment in all means-tested payments that my Department provides. This was one of the recommendations of the report of the child maintenance review group into the social welfare system. This change to the social welfare means test came into legal effect from June 2024. As a result of this change, the full amount of child maintenance a person receives is no longer being assessed in the means test for any social welfare payment. This change means that people on reduced rates of payment may have seen their payment increase and those who may not have qualified at all up to then may now be able to access a payment.

Following the introduction of this change, my Department reviewed approximately 65,000 claims for one-parent family payment and jobseeker's transitional payment in payment. As a result, child maintenance payments were removed from the means assessments of approximately 15,800 people, something we can all agree is a positive measure.

The means test or income assessments for other State services, such as the medical card, are a matter for the relevant Minister with responsibility for those payments or services. On foot of our discussions arising from the Deputy’s question, I will highlight what has been achieved in my Department with colleagues in relevant Ministries.

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