Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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1342. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a second carers allowance application for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44969/25]

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 provides full-time care and attention to a child or adult with a disability that requires such a level of care.

An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 1 August 2025.

As part of the decision process, the application was referred for the professional opinion of a Department Medical Assessor. The claim was disallowed as the Deciding Officer, having regard to the opinion of the Medical Assessor, decided that the information supplied did not show that the care recipient required full time care.

The person concerned was notified of this decision on 22 August 2025. They were also notified of their right to have the decision reviewed (where further information is available) or to appeal the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).

A request to appeal this decision was lodged with the Department and forwarded to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO). The file was sent to the SWAO on 27 August 2025.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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1343. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his plans to provide an additional level of child benefit to a remaining parent in circumstances where the other parent has passed away; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44984/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Child Benefit is a universal payment to all families with children up to the age of 16 years. The payment now continues to be paid in respect of children until their 19th birthday where they are in full-time education or have a disability, a measure which was taken in Budget 2024 in order to provide continued financial assistance to parents under these conditions.

Child Benefit is paid to the person with whom the qualifying child normally resides and the payment is based on the rules of residency, which state that, where a qualified child resides with his or her mother, the child is deemed to be resident with the mother and with no other person. In effect, the mother is the qualified person to receive the benefit in respect of that child. In instances where the qualified person has died, the Child Benefit payment will be payable to the surviving parent.

While there are no current plans to provide an additional level of Child Benefit to a remaining parent in circumstances where the other parent has passed away, there are a number of schemes in place to help provide financial assistance to bereaved partners.

The Bereaved Parent Grant is a one-off payment to widows, widowers, surviving civil partners or surviving qualified cohabitants with dependent children. This grant is payable to bereaved parents who have one or more dependent children living with them at the date of death or a child born within 10 months of the date of death of their late spouse or partner. This grant is a once-off payment of €8,000.

Additionally, an individual may qualify for the Bereaved Partner (Contributory) Pension on the basis of their own social insurance contribution record, or the contribution record of their deceased partner or spouse. The Bereaved Partner (Contributory) Pension is eligible for a Child Support Payment increase for dependent children. A Child Support Payment is payable in respect of each qualified child who normally resides with the customer at a rate of €50 per week for each child aged under 12 years old and €62 per week for each child over 12 years of age.

Other payments made by my Department include the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance. Each of these payments have their own qualifying criteria.

Furthermore, my Department operates Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people of any age who have an urgent need which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers.

There are currently no plans to extend the universal Child Benefit entitlement beyond its current scope. Any changes to universal Child Benefit would have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.