Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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338. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 405 of 23 April and 209 of 30 May 2024, to provide updated long-term projections; how the level of pension and other social supports payments are calculated; whether they are adjusted in line with inflation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28759/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The position is unchanged with regard to Question No. 209 of 30 May 2024. No further projections are available at this time.

This Social Insurance Fund forecast is prepared annually for the Stability Programme Update and is produced on a no policy change basis. This means that potential future measures, such as increases to the rate of payment for social protection schemes were not taken into account. However, account was taken of measures that had already been announced when the forecast was produced. For example, the forecast took account of the future impact all Budget 2024 measures, even if they had not been implemented at the time the forecast was produced.

In relation to the expenditure forecasts, the following was taken into account:

• All measures included in Budget 2024 (note no provision for once-off measures in future years, including the Christmas Bonus)
• Increasing recipient numbers on pensions and related schemes due to demographics

• Macro-economic forecasts produced by the Department of Finance for the years 2024 to 2027
• PRSI increases of 0.1% from October 2024, 0.1% from October 2025, 0.15% from October 2026 and 0.15% from October 2027, which had been agreed by Government prior to the forecast being produced.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.