Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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1776. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the projected cost in 2026 of increasing the income disregard for carer’s allowance to €750 (single) and €1,500 (couple); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41415/25]

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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1881. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the carer’s allowance income disregard to €750 single, and €1,500 for a couple; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44042/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1776 and 1881 together.

Income disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, their income from work - up to the level of the income disregard - is not assessed in the means test.

As part of Budget 2025, the Carer's Allowance disregard was further increased to €625 for a single person, and €1,250 for carers with a spouse/partner, a measure which took effect from July 2025.

A very high-level estimate is that the cost of increasing the disregard so that its level is €750 for single people and €1,500 for couples would be in the region of €16.9 million in a full year. However, this is subject to a number of assumptions and caveats and the Department does not currently have all the available data to accurately provide a detailed costing.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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1777. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a more efficient system could be considered for seasonal workers who are temporarily laid off for the summer months and need to avail of jobseeker’s benefit (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41430/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Seasonal workers who wish to avail of income support while temporarily laid-off during the summer months can apply for a jobseeker’s payment. A jobseeker’s payment is paid for days of unemployment that the person is not being remunerated for by their employer, including receipt of any holiday pay entitlement during the temporary lay off period.

The person applying must satisfy all the qualifying conditions to receive a payment. This includes completing the relevant claim application forms and providing supporting documentation in a timely manner while also being available for full-time work and genuinely seeking work during the summer months.

Seasonal workers, for example, those working in the Education Sector, who have previously had a claim with my Department are issued with a repeat jobseeker’s application form and a holiday entitlement form in advance of the summer lay off period. This advance process facilitates an efficient service to these customers and allows for speedy processing of their claims when the period of unemployment actually arises provided they return the form and requester information in a timely manner.

Over the last number of years my Department has dedicated teams working solely on seasonal Education Sector Workers claims in order to streamline processes and minimise delays for people. As each claim is assessed individually, and each person's employment history, including previous claims is different, the payment due will also be different. The large volume of jobseeker's claims received at the school breaks means that some decisions on these claims may take a number of weeks to process. If any customer is in urgent financial need my Department’s Community Welfare Service may provide assistance while they wait for their claim to be processed.