Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions.

The DA scheme is under constant review to ensure people with disabilities, who cannot work, are supported by my Department. The policy and rate changes introduced to the DA scheme since 27 June 2020 are set out as follows:

Payments made by the State Claims Agency for claims in respect of the Pandemrix vaccine settled on or after 1 October 2020 were exempted from the Disability Allowance means assessment.

From 1 September 2020, an annual limit of €20,000 will be disregarded from the Disability Allowance means assessment for the Disability Allowance recipient and their spouse/partner who have been granted a Stipend towards completing a PhD (Level 10 qualification). This is available for a maximum of 4 years.

In January 2021, there was an increase in the allowance for a qualified child, free fuel allowance and living alone allowance.

In June 2021, the weekly income disregard increased from €120 to €140.

In June 2022, the upper limit of disregard from earnings from work was increased from €350 to €375.

The means rate bracket was changed to benefit people getting a reduced payment rate of Disability Allowance, the first means band increased from €0.00-€2.50 to €0.00-€7.50.

In January 2022, the weekly primary rate increased by €5.00.

In January 2022, there was an increase in the allowance for a qualified adult, qualified child, free fuel allowance and living alone allowance.

Effective from 12th July 2022, a rental income disregard of up to a maximum of €269.23 per week applies to an owner-occupier’s means assessment, where the room(s) is rented as living accommodation for at least 28 consecutive days to person(s) other than immediate family members or employees.

Disregard of the Accommodation Recognition Payment of €800 per month received for hosting temporary protection beneficiaries who are not in receipt of a housing support payment from the Department, or others, with similar effect.

Several bonuses were paid during 2022 as part of Budget 2023 in a package of measures to assist people with the Cost of Living

• Double weekly payment in October 2022
• €400 bonus on fuel allowance in November 2022
• €200 bonus on living alone allowance in November 2022
• €500 bonus for long term disability payments in November 2022

The Christmas bonus was paid at 100% in December 2022.

In January 2023, the weekly primary rate increased by €12.00.

In January 2023, there was an increase in the allowance for a qualified adult and qualified child allowance.

In January 2023, the weekly income disregard increased from €140 to €165.

A €200 cost of living spring bonus was paid in April 2023.

At end of May 2023 there are 159,194 recipients in receipt of Disability Allowance. Please see below breakdown by county.

County	Total
CARLOW	2,591
CAVAN	2,326
CLARE	3,782
CORK	19,053
DONEGAL	6,283
DUBLIN	37,780
GALWAY	8,685
KERRY	5,939
KILDARE	6,034
KILKENNY	2,992
LAOIS	2,951
LEITRIM	1,232
LIMERICK	8,386
LONGFORD	1,918
LOUTH	4,707
MAYO	4,516
MEATH	4,639
MONAGHAN	1,731
OFFALY	3,174
ROSCOMMON	2,277
SLIGO	2,424
TIPPERARY	6,885
WATERFORD	4,588
WESTMEATH	3,544
WEXFORD	6,125
WICKLOW	4,488
Unknown	144
TOTAL	159,194

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Illness Benefit is a weekly payment made to people aged under 66 who satisfy prescribed PRSI contribution conditions and who are medically certified as being unable to attend work due to illness.

In January 2021, there was a €5 increase in the personal rate for Illness Benefit and increases in the rates paid in respect of qualified adult dependants and child dependants.

In March 2021, a change in the Illness Benefit scheme saw a reduction in the number of waiting days from six to three. There is no payment for waiting days.

In January 2022,there was a €5 increase in the personal rate of Illness Benefit and the rates paid in respect of qualified adult dependants and child dependants.

In December 2022, those who had been in receipt of Illness Benefit for a period of at least 12 months received the Christmas Bonus payment. This was the first time Illness Benefit was included in the Christmas Bonus payments.

In January 2023, there was a €12 increase in the personal rate of Illness Benefit, bringing it to €220, and the rates paid in respect of qualified adult dependants and child dependants.

In April 2023, those who had been in receipt of Illness Benefit for a period of at least 12 months received the €200 Spring Cost of Living Bonus.

Since March 2021, the number of Illness Benefit customers who have received a payment from day four of their claim broken down by county is in the table below.

County	Number of Customers
Carlow	5,091
Cavan	5,824
Clare	7,644
Cork	44,029
Donegal	10,367
Dublin	88,368
Galway	20,584
Kerry	10,214
Kildare	17,416
Kilkenny	6,133
Laois	6,359
Leitrim	2,404
Limerick	16,498
Longford	3,241
Louth	11,842
Mayo	10,487
Meath	14,924
Monaghan	4,369
Offaly	5,800
Roscommon	4,579
Sligo	4,937
Tipperary	12,384
Waterford	10,008
Westmeath	7,492
Wexford	11,805
Wicklow	9,438
Address outside of State	3,197
Total	355,434

These figures exclude any customers who received Enhanced Illness Benefit since March 2021. Customers did not have to serve waiting days to receive Enhanced Illness Benefit - this scheme closed in September 2022.

I trust that clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government has committed to the continued support of working parents to achieve a better work-life balance. Parent’s Leave and Benefit falls into this category and encourages the sharing of parental responsibilities equally between couples.

The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced two weeks of paid Parent’s Leave for each parent of a child born or adopted after 1 November 2019.

In Budget 2021, Parent's Leave increased from 2 weeks to 5 weeks. Budget 2022 increased Parent's Leave further from 5 to 7 weeks from July 2022.

The rate of payment increased by €12 in Budget 2023.

Parent’s Benefit is paid at a weekly flat rate of €262 for seven weeks to employed and self-employed people who avail of parents leave and who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution and other conditions. The rate of Parent’s Benefit is the same as the rates of Paternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Maternity benefit.

A total of 51,400 applications for Parent’s Benefit were awarded in 2021 compared to 16,700 in 2020. A total of 74,000 claims were awarded in 2022 representing an increase of over 140% on the previous year. Since the start of 2023,a further 35,000 applications have been awarded.

It should be noted that parents can make more than one application.

The number of parents who have availed of Parent’s Leave and Benefit, by county, from June 2020, is set out in tabular form below.

The counties with large populations tend to have the most claims, namely Dublin and Cork with some 37,437 and 18,934 applications awarded respectively since June 2020. My officials regularly review county statistics to look for emerging trends across all schemes administered by the Department.

It should be noted that while a claim for leave may be awarded in one month, the leave and benefit could be availed of at a different time, or over a period of months, as it is available to use one week at a time. It is also the case that parents can submit up to 7 separate applications for leave during their child’s first two years of life. The figures attached represent the number of individual parents who had claims awarded for the period requested.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

County	1st June 2020 - 31st May 2023
Antrim	28
Armagh	102
Carlow	1786
Cavan	2696
Clare	3375
Cork	18934
Derry	69
Donegal	4488
Down	278
Dublin	37437
Fermanagh	155
Galway	8959
Kerry	4489
Kildare	7981
Kilkenny	2983
Laois	2367
Leitrim	1160
Limerick	5773
Longford	1215
Louth	3803
Mayo	4337
Meath	6866
Monaghan	2375
Offaly	2137
Roscommon	2005
Sligo	1973
Tipperary	5027
Tyrone	72
Waterford	3739
Westmeath	3078
Wexford	4483
Wicklow	4243
Total	148413

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The scheme operates from June to September each year.

The allowance is payable in respect of eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid, and eligible children between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid.

To qualify for the allowance a person must meet a number of conditions, namely:

• The child must meet the age criteria,
• The applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and getting an increase in that payment for the qualified child (except in certain circumstances) in the period 1 June to 30 September,
• The assessable income for the household must be within prescribed limits,
• The applicant and the child (or children) in respect of whom the allowance is claimed must be resident in the State.

For the 2020 scheme, the eligibility criteria for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme was extended to include the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment as a qualifying payment for the allowance. Recipients of this payment also needed to satisfy all the other qualifying conditions in order to qualify.

In Budget 2022, the income limits for one parent families were increased to bring them in line with the income limits for two parent families, widening the eligibility for that cohort of customers. Also in Budget 2022, the rates of payment for the scheme were increased by €10 to €160 for children aged between 4 and 11 years and €285 for children aged 12 and over.

In July 2022, as a once-off measure to assist families with back to school costs in 2022, the rates of payments were increased by €100 for each eligible child under the scheme.

In February 2023, as part of the cost of living measures announced, the €100 increase for each child was maintained for the 2023 scheme year.

Each year, the income limits have increased to ensure the increases in weekly social protection payments rates introduced in each budget does not negatively impact on an individual’s entitlement to the allowance.

The 2023 Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme opened to new applications on 8 June and will remain open until the end of September. Customers can apply for the allowance online on www.mywelfare.ie.

The number of recipients, by county, who received the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023 is set out in tabular form below.

-				Total Number of Recipients (families) Awarded
County	2020	2021	2022	2023 (as at 26 June)
Carlow	2,590	2,403	2,611	2,166
Cavan	2,623	2,442	2,730	2,180
Clare	3,172	3,008	3,679	3,094
Cork	13,615	12,953	14,700	12,147
Donegal	6,480	6,126	7,033	5,929
Dublin	36,560	35,352	39,128	32,830
Galway	6,598	6,272	7,189	5,799
Kerry	4,322	4,136	5,130	4,461
Kildare	6,134	5,863	6,292	5,096
Kilkenny	2,446	2,266	2,538	2,061
Laois	2,858	2,678	2,849	2,310
Leitrim	1,080	1,021	1,202	1,035
Limerick	6,476	6,321	6,889	5,643
Longford	1,964	1,904	2,073	1,664
Louth	5,465	5,475	6,047	5,073
Mayo	4,033	3,780	4,312	3,777
Meath	5,269	4,951	5,592	4,543
Monaghan	2,074	1,986	2,159	1,736
Offaly	2,799	2,572	2,817	2,297
Roscommon	1,836	1,745	1,942	1,649
Sligo	1,901	1,818	2,108	1,852
Tipperary	5,405	5,223	5,674	4,642
Waterford	4,468	4,289	4,826	4,019
Westmeath	3,182	3,047	3,391	2,766
Wexford	6,022	5,757	6,209	5,191
Wicklow	3,952	3,780	4,297	3,576
Total	143,324	137,168	153,417	127,537

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Carer’s Support Grant (CSG) is paid to people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance. Other people who are not in receipt of a social welfare payment but who are providing full time care and attention may also be eligible and can apply for the grant. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means but is subject to certain conditions, one of which is that the period of full-time care and attention must last for at least six months. For the purpose of approving this grant, this period of care must include the first Thursday in June.

As part of Budget Measures 2021, the rate of the grant was increased by €150. The new rate of €1,850 is the highest rate of the grant since its introduction.

The overall cost of the grant in 2023 is expected to be over €268 million.

All recipient of the grant benefit from rate increases. The following table sets out a comparison of the number of carers in receipt of the Carer’s Support Grant, by county.

Table: Carers in receipt of Carer's Support Grant May 2020 and May 2023

County	Recipients 2020	Recipients 2023
CARLOW	1,816	2,010
CAVAN	1,829	2,074
CLARE	2,881	2,971
CORK	13,518	15,170
DONEGAL	5,045	5,276
DUBLIN	24,770	28,085
GALWAY	6,025	6,430
KERRY	4,041	4,314
KILDARE	4,466	5,151
KILKENNY	2,189	2,346
LAOIS	2,147	2,422
LEITRIM	897	995
LIMERICK	6,056	6,815
LONGFORD	1,387	1,494
LOUTH	3,364	3,895
MAYO	3,644	3,856
MEATH	3,805	4,408
MONAGHAN	1,379	1,546
OFFALY	2,550	2,829
ROSCOMMON	1,912	2,069
SLIGO	1,744	1,758
TIPPERARY	5,020	5,487
WATERFORD	2,986	3,327
WESTMEATH	2,635	2,908
WEXFORD	4,545	5,036
WICKLOW	3,191	3,605
County Total	113,842	126,277
Other/outside ROI	86	229
Overall Total	113,928	126,506

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The widowed or surviving civil partner grant is a once-off payment of €8,000 and is available to widows, widowers or surviving civil partners who have one or more dependent children living with them at the date of death, or a widow or surviving civil partner whose child is born within 10 months of the date of death of her spouse or civil partner. The applicant must also qualify for certain Social Protection payments.

As part of Budget 2021, from January 2021 the rate of widowed or surviving civil partner grant was increased by €2,000 to €8,000.

My Department does not have a breakdown by County of the number of people who benefited from the measure readily available.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Farm Assist is a statutory means-tested income support specifically for farmers on low incomes. There are just under 4,300 claims in payment at present. The Government has provided €49.4 million for the scheme in 2023.

I have introduced a number of improvements to the means test for Farm Assist since 27 June 2020.

Further to the commitment in the Programme for Government and in the Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, in 2021 my Department reviewed the means assessment disregards for Farm Assist. The report is available on the Government's website. One of the key recommendations of the report was to provide for an extensive expansion to the list of agri-environmental schemes that qualify for a disregard, which I introduced from June 2022. I further extended this list from April 2023. In Budget 2023, I announced an increase in the amount of income from these schemes that is disregarded to €5,000 from €2,540, with 50% of the balance assessed as means, and this measure took effect from January 2023.

In terms of the rates of payment for Farm Assist, I secured a series of increases in social welfare payment rates, including the Farm Assist scheme, in Budgets 2021, 2022 and 2023. The current maximum weekly rates of payment for the scheme are €220 for the personal rate, €146 for a qualified adult, €50 for a qualified child aged 12 years and over, and €42 for a qualified child aged under 12 years.

Any further changes to the Farm Assist scheme would have to be considered in a budgetary context.

The number of recipients by county, as of May 2023, is set out in the tabular statement below.

County	Recipients
Carlow	31
Cavan	132
Clare	184
Cork	303
Donegal	908
Dublin	54
Galway	361
Kerry	293
Kildare	48
Kilkenny	45
Laois	40
Leitrim	190
Limerick	27
Longford	87
Louth	36
Mayo	691
Meath	26
Monaghan	209
Offaly	39
Roscommon	146
Sligo	103
Tipperary	126
Waterford	34
Westmeath	48
Wexford	95
Wicklow	21
Total	4,277

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Maternity Benefit is paid for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution and other conditions.

In Budget 2022 I provided for a €5 per week increase in the rate of Maternity Benefit bringing the rate to €250 per week from January 2022. In Budget 2023 I provided for a further increase of €12 per week, brining the rate of Maternity Benefit to €262 per week from January 2023.

The number of Maternity Benefit recipients by county, benefitting from changes I have introduced to Maternity Benefit, is set out in tabular form below.

-	Recipients	Recipients
	January 2022	January 2023
Carlow	230	236
Cavan	344	328
Clare	518	421
Cork	2,507	2,182
Donegal	619	603
Dublin	5,992	5,436
Galway	1,210	1,059
Kerry	597	497
Kildare	1,153	1,059
Kilkenny	401	419
Laois	374	325
Leitrim	156	127
Limerick	778	781
Longford	181	151
Louth	603	548
Mayo	538	512
Meath	1,004	958
Monaghan	351	266
Offaly	322	275
Roscommon	263	238
Sligo	285	230
Tipperary	729	602
Waterford	485	454
Westmeath	452	374
Wexford	659	606
Wicklow	616	573
Others	166	140
Total	21,533	19,400

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Adoptive Benefit is a payment made to a parent who is on Adoptive Leave from work and covered by social insurance (PRSI). Adoptive Benefit is paid for 24 weeks from the date of placement of the child.

The Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 amended the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 to enable adoptive couples to choose which parent may avail of Adoptive Leave and Benefit. This rectified an anomaly in the legislation which had prevented married male same-sex couples from availing of these supports. The Act also removed the presumption that the adoptive mother be the primary caregiver, thereby facilitating families to choose the best option for their family. It further provides for the availability of Paternity Leave and Benefit to the parent who is not availing of Adoptive Leave. These provisions came into effect from April 2021.

In Budget 2022 I provided for a €5 per week increase in the rate of Adoptive Benefit bringing the rate to €250 per week from January 2022. In Budget 2023 I provided for a further increase of €12 per week, brining the rate of Adoptive Benefit to €262 per week from January 2023.

The number of Adoptive Benefit recipients by county, benefitting from changes I have introduced to Adoptive Benefit, is set out in tabular form below.

-	Recipients	Recipients
	January 2022	January 2023
Carlow
Cavan
Clare	1
Cork	1
Donegal	1
Dublin	2	5
Galway
Kerry		1
Kildare		1
Kilkenny
Laois
Leitrim		1
Limerick
Longford		1
Louth	1	1
Mayo		1
Meath
Monaghan
Offaly		1
Roscommon
Sligo
Tipperary		1
Waterford
Westmeath		1
Wexford	1	1
Wicklow	1
Others
Total	8	15

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability and requires continual or continuous care and attention in the home, substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and the child must be likely to require this level of care for at least 12 months.

As part of Budget 2022, the period of time in which DCA remains in payment, where a qualified child is admitted to hospital on a full-time basis, was increased from 13 weeks to 26 weeks in any 12 month period. This measure took effect from January 2022.

As DCA is a demand led scheme, the number of children in respect of whom DCA is already in payment, who are admitted to hospital for periods in excess of 13 weeks but under 26 weeks will vary from year to year. However, based on the numbers of such cases advised to DCA administration in recent years it is estimated that over 100 children and their families will benefit per year from this payment extension.

Additionally, as part of Budget 2023 measures, DCA will also be payable in respect of a child (who is otherwise eligible for DCA) that remains in hospital immediately after birth due to illness or disability. DCA will also be payable in such cases, for up to 26 weeks in such circumstances. This provision has applied from January 2023, in respect of children where, immediately after birth of the relevant child, they remains in hospital or are transferred to another hospital.

Prior to January 2023, DCA was payable only in respect of children who were being cared for in the home or where in existing cases, DCA was already in payment before the qualified child was subsequently admitted to hospital. It is estimated that approximately 100 DCA families per year could benefit from the this measure.

Furthermore, as part of Budget 2023 measures, the DCA payment rate was increased by €20.50 to €330.00 per month with effect from January 2023. This rate increase will benefit over 55,000 children and their families.

As Information relating to the scheme is not collated on a county basis, the above figures are not available by county. However, for information, the following table sets out the number of DCA claims in payment, including the number of qualified children for year(s) ending 2020 to date.

Year ending	Number of Recipients	Number of Qualified Children
2020	44,279	48,980
2021	46,211	51,373
2022	50,126	56,044
2023 to May 2023	51,662	57,825

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.

People in receipt of certain social welfare payments other than CA or carers benefit who are providing full-time care and attention can retain their main payment and receive another payment, depending on their means, up to a maximum of half-rate CA. Therefore, a person who may have an underlying entitlement to another social welfare payment, such as State Pension (contributory), can transfer to that payment and continue to receive up to a half-rate CA.

These arrangements apply to almost all weekly social welfare payments and to people in receipt of qualified adult allowances. Recipients of Jobseeker’s Allowance or Benefit are not eligible given the job seeking nature of these payments. However, a person may be a qualified adult on these payments and receive half-rate CA.

There have been a number of changes to the carers payments over the last number of years which would have also benefitted those carers in receipt of a half-rate CA Payment. These include:

•In Budget 2020, the number of hours that carers can work or study outside the home was increased from 15 to 18.5 per week with effect from January 2020;

•In Budget 2021, the Carer’s Support Grant increased by €150 from €1,700 to €1,850 per year.

•In Budget 2022, for carers who work, the weekly income disregard was increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.

•In Budget 2023, the weekly rate of social welfare payments increased by €12 with proportionate increases for people receiving a reduced rate.

As there are a number of qualifying criteria for CA and the Department does not record each criteria met by individual recipients, it is not possible to produce the information you requested. I have attached a breakdown of the number of carers in receipt of half-rate CA by county in tabular form.

Table: Carers in receipt of half rate Carers Allowance May 2020 and May 2023

County	Number of half rate Carers Allowance Claims May 2020	Number of half rate Carers Allowance Claims May 2023
Carlow	686	747
Cavan	580	662
Clare	980	1,020
Cork	4,563	5,037
Donegal	1,747	1,816
Dublin	9,090	10,010
Galway	1,809	1,919
Kerry	1,285	1,326
Kildare	1,394	1,518
Kilkenny	730	776
Laois	728	798
Leitrim	340	362
Limerick	2,198	2,513
Longford	563	601
Louth	1,223	1,329
Mayo	1,215	1,301
Meath	1,055	1,262
Monaghan	427	503
Offaly	886	1,001
Roscommon	658	673
Sligo	591	633
Tipperary	1,868	2,040
Waterford	1,151	1,248
Westmeath	869	998
Wexford	1,678	1,905
Wicklow	1,074	1,167
Total	39,388	43,165

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.