Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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490. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to outline the reason the adult dependant was excluded from the recent additional payment of €200 that was issued to persons in receipt of social protection payments, and no additional pro-rata payment was paid in respect of the adult dependent; if this matter can be examined and a payment made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24816/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The €200 Spring lump sum payment was paid to 1.3 million recipients in receipt of long-term social welfare payments. This lump sum was paid in late April and cost approximately €261 million.

The payment was made to primary recipients of a qualifying social welfare payment only.

This lump sum is one of a range of Spring Cost of Living supports valued at over €410 million announced in February this year, this includes a €100 Child Benefit lump sum in June, an additional €100 on the rate of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance and an extension of the Hot School Meals programme.

The February package follows on from a €2.2 Billion Social Protection Budget 2023 Package - the largest in the history of the state – which included eight lump sum payments in the last quarter of 2022.

My Department also brought in measures earlier in 2022 to help households with increasing prices, for example, two Fuel Allowance lump sums were paid in March and May and the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance was increased by €100.

Since March last year, therefore, Government has been keeping the situation under review and has responded providing a range of unprecedented supports to protect people and families as the Cost of Living has increased.