Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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575. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the cost of increasing the income disregards by €1 for the one-parent family payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37459/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The One-Parent Family Payment is a means tested payment for lone parents, under 66, whose youngest child is under seven.

The current earnings disregard for One Parent Family Payment is €165 per week. In addition, 50% of earnings above this figure is also disregarded in the assessment of means.

Increasing the disregards by €1, to €166 per week, could result no change to the lone parent’s personal rate of payment. This is because, where a person has means, their personal rate of payment is determined using the relevant scheme payment rate table, with payment rates grouped into bands. In the case of these payments, these bands are in increments of €2.50 means.

For example, one of the rate bands is for means ‘over €90.11 up to €92.60’. Therefore, a person who is assessed as having means of €90.10 per week after all disregards have been applied receives the same personal rate of payment as a person assessed with means of €92.60 per week, after all disregards. In this case, the personal rate of payment remains at €159 per week. It is not possible to identify how many individuals would move to a different rate band with a €1 increase in income disregards, or the associated cost.

To determine a cost of disregard increase a larger increase in income disregards of €2.50 must be considered, such that each individual moved to a different rate band. If the income disregard on One-Parent Family Payment was to increase by €2.50 the estimated cost would be approximately €960,000.

The payment rates and bands for all schemes are published in the SW19 booklet ‘Social Welfare Rates of Payment 2025’, which is available on Gov.ie.

The above estimated costing does not take account of any equivalent increase in the Jobseeker's Transitional Payment.

I trust this clarifies the position.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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576. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the cost of expanding the free travel scheme to recipients of the domiciliary care payment. [37460/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government 2025 has committed to examining extending the Free Travel scheme to include children benefitting from the Domiciliary Care Allowance.

Domiciliary Care Allowance is a non means tested payment payable at €360 a month per child. In addition, all recipients of Domiciliary Care Allowance qualify for the Carer's Support Grant in June of each year. The current rate is €2,000 per year.

If the Free Travel scheme was extended to include children benefitting from the Domiciliary Care Allowance, it is estimated that up to 65,000 children would benefit from the measure in 2026. Based on 65,000 children benefitting from the Domiciliary Care Allowance, it is estimated that extending the Free Travel scheme to include those children, would cost in the region of €7m in a full year.

The modelling of the cost is complex and needs to take account of multiple factors, including all children under five already have free travel on public transport and children under 16 benefit from significantly reduced rates. It is also important to remember that it is the parent or guardian who receives Domiciliary Care Allowance - it is not paid directly to the child.

The extension of Free Travel will have to be considered in the context of the budgetary resources available.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.