Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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289. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if advice will be provided for a person who is living in Ireland but was born in England and has Irish citizenship in relation to pension matters (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22451/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the social security arrangements between Ireland and the United Kingdom, the respective authorities exchange social insurance record details for pension entitlement assessment purposes.

State pension (contributory) applications are examined to establish entitlement based on a person’s Irish contribution record. If a person does not qualify for a pension or qualifies for a reduced rate pension, their entitlement using UK contributions or contributions from other countries covered by EU Regulations or countries with which Ireland has bilateral agreements is examined.

If the person concerned has at least 52 reckonable contributions and credits in Ireland, where at least 1 is a full rate paid contribution, they should complete and submit the standard State pension (contributory) application form (SPC1). If they do not have Irish contributions, they can apply for their UK pension through my department by completing the EU pension form (EUP65).

If the person concerned indicates that they worked in the UK, an application for a UK pension will be forwarded electronically to the UK authorities on their behalf, together with their Irish social insurance record. If their UK social insurance record is required to determine entitlement to a pension from my department, a copy of their record is requested from the Department for Work and Pensions in the UK.

Due to incomplete information and the complexities of identifying older records, in the absence of a UK national insurance number (NINO), applicants should give as much information as possible in relation to their work history, employer details, addresses where they resided and any other information that could assist to identify their records. Where the Department for Work and Pensions fails to locate a record, it would be a matter for them to contact the person concerned and engage with them directly to investigate.

It is open to the person concerned to apply for the means-tested State pension (non-contributory). State pension (non-contributory) is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, who have a right of residence and habitually reside in the State and who do not qualify for a State pension (contributory), or only qualify for a reduced-rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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290. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when recipients can expect payment under the revised terms of the widow's or widower's pension, particularly in respect of non-married or cohabiting couples, following the judgment of the Supreme Court on 22 January 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22462/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership.

On 22nd January 2024, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the entitlement of an unmarried cohabitant to a Widower's Contributory Pension. The Supreme Court judgment overruled a previous High Court decision and found in favour of the claimant and his children.

In simple terms, the Court found that section 124 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended) is inconsistent with the Constitution insofar as it excluded the claimant from the category of persons entitled to benefit from it. The Court reached that conclusion on the basis of the equality guarantee contained in Article 40.1 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court judgment notes that to resolve the issue raised by the judgment, a legislative amendment is required.

In June 2024, the then Government approved the priority drafting of the legislative changes required to respond to the Supreme Court decision. The General Scheme of a Bill was referred to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for priority drafting and to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny. The Committee issued its report and recommendations on the 26th of July 2024.

The draft legislation raised a number of complex issues that required the advices of the Office of the Attorney General and ongoing engagement between officials in the Department of Social Protection and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.

I am pleased to say that following Government approval, the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025 was published on 13th March and Second Stage concluded in Dáil Eireann on 27th March.

Under the Bill it is proposed that payments will be backdated to the date of the Supreme Court judgment of 22nd January 2024 or the date of death of deceased partner, whichever is later. Payments to surviving qualifying cohabitants will be made once the Bill is enacted.

I look forward to working with the Oireachtas in ensuring this important legislation is enacted.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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291. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average time it takes for a successful additional needs payment to be paid after receipt of an application. [22463/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet expenses that an eligible person cannot pay from their weekly income. The ANP scheme is demand led and administered by Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) in the Community Welfare Service (CWS), taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

Work on hand nationally for ANPs is within the scheme's normal processing levels and fully completed applications, where the required documentation is supplied, are generally processed and paid within ten working days. Where it is clear that a person has an urgent or immediate need, every effort is made to ensure that the claim is processed on the same day. CWOs are very experienced and assess when a case is so urgent that it requires an immediate response.

When considering an application from people in financial difficulty for any payment under the SWA scheme, the CWO must consider all of the relevant circumstances when examining a case in determining the most appropriate scheme type and level of assistance required. The CWO may ask for a number of supporting documents to ensure the customer receives a level of payment appropriate to their needs. Where an application cannot be finalised promptly, the delay is normally due to the need for additional information or documentation and the time it takes for the information to be provided. Upon receipt of this information, the application is then processed quickly.

The CWS operates services every day from over 50 Intreo Centres across the country, where CWOs are available to meet and deal with customers, including any person who presents with an urgent or immediate need.

The CWS is committed to providing a quality service to all citizens, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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292. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount of domiciliary care allowance applications received; the amount of domiciliary care allowance applications awarded; the amount of domiciliary care allowance applications withdrawn; the average time in weeks to award; the amount of domiciliary care allowance applications that were carried over to the next year; the amount of appeals made regarding domiciliary care allowance; the amount of appeals allowed; the amount of appeals partially allowed; the amount of appeals rejected; the amount of appeals carried over to the next year, by year from 2020 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22464/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The requested figures for applications for Domiciliary Care Allowance are shown below. The figures for 'Average Weeks to Award' is the average number of weeks between an claim being registered and the claim being awarded for successful claims.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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293. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount of disability allowance applications received; the amount of disability allowance applications awarded; the amount of disability allowance applications withdrawn; the average time in weeks to award; the amount of disability allowance applications that were carried over to the next year; the amount of appeals made regarding disability allowance; the amount of appeals allowed; the amount of appeals partially allowed; the amount of appeals rejected; the amount of appeals carried over to the next year by year from 2020 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22465/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The requested figures for applications for Disability Allowance are shown below. The 'Average Weeks to Award' is the average number of weeks between a claim being registered and the claim being awarded for successful claims.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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294. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will provide an up-to-date breakdown of the number of recipients of disability allowance by qualifying medical condition, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22466/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The medical condition of qualifying recipients of Disability Allowance were submitted by their doctor as part of the application form. The application is then assessed by the Department’s medical assessors, who are experienced doctor’s with various sub-specialty qualifications and hold full registration with the Irish medical council.

In March 2025, there were 168,698 recipients of Disability Allowance. Of these, 112,892 (67%) have an ICD-10 code* recorded. The main medical conditions of Disability Allowance recipients where a code is recorded are: Mental and Behavioural Disorders (48%), Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue (15%), Nervous System (7%), and Circulatory System (5%).

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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295. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for an estimation of the cost to extend jobseeker’s pay-related benefit to part-time, seasonal and casual workers, who find themselves periodically out of work and are currently eligible to avail of jobseeker’s benefit; the number of part-time, seasonal and casual workers in receipt of jobseeker’s benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22467/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit is a new social insurance income support which has replaced the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme for people who are fully unemployed and whose first day of unemployment is on or after 31 March 2025.

The Jobseeker’s Benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance schemes remain available to workers who are part-time, casual or seasonal and who claim income support. There are currently some 5,300 Jobseeker’s Benefit claimants who are categorised as part-time or casual workers.

The cost of extending the Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit scheme to these workers is not available. Should Government decide at a future point in time to extend the scheme to these categories of workers, detailed modelling, including a cost analysis, would be considered as part of the development of the scheme design.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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296. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he plans to disregard farm income from environmental schemes such as ACRES for the purpose of farm assist applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22475/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Farm Assist is a statutory means-tested income support specifically for farmers on low incomes. There are approximately 3,400 claims in payment at present. The government has provided almost €47 million for the scheme in 2025.

Under the Farm Assist means test, income from a range of agri-environmental schemes attract a disregard of €5,000, with 50% of the balance assessed as means. The amount disregarded was increased from €2,540, with effect from January 2023.

Further to a commitment in the Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, my department reviewed the means assessment disregards for Farm Assist in 2021 and the list of agri-environmental schemes that qualify for a disregard has been significantly expanded in recent years. The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) was included in the disregard from April 2023.

In line with the recommendation contained in the review, I am committed to continuing to work with my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to identify any additional schemes contained in Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 that could be considered for inclusion in the list of agri-environmental schemes which attract this disregard.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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297. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to examine the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22527/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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.

A primary qualifying condition for CA is that the applicant provides full-time care and attention to a person in need of such a level of care. The person being cared for must be so incapacitated as to require full-time care and attention and be likely to require this full-time care and attention for at least 12 months. The time spent providing care must not be less than 35 hours per week.

However, in order to support a carer’s continued attachment to the workforce and to support broader social inclusion, carers may engage in some limited employment, including self-employment, education or training, of up to 18.5 hours per week, while still being regarded as being in a position to provide full-time care.

Decisions in relation to all Social Welfare schemes are made by Deciding Officers appointed by the Minister. Once a claim is decided, a written notification of the decision issues to the customer. This notification advises the customer of their decision and their responsibility to notify the Department of a change in circumstance such as a change in their income or a change in their hours of employment.

The Department's goal is to improve customer service and improve efficiency through more online engagement. Therefore, the Department issues reminder notifications via MyWelfare to customers regarding their responsibility to inform us of any change in circumstance.

Customers can notify the Department of a change in circumstance by post or email, although the quickest way to inform the Department is via MyWelfare. Customers with a verified MyWelfare account can upload their document regarding a change in circumstance via the Manage my Claim option. The customer will then receive an instant notification confirming that the document has been uploaded.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.