Written answers
Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Social Welfare Benefits
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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90. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people in receipt of partial capacity benefit for the years 2020-2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50662/25]
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) is paid if you cannot work to your full capacity. The rate of payment is based on a medical assessment of your incapacity to work. You may qualify for PCB if your restriction on capacity for work is assessed as moderate, severe, or profound.
To qualify for PCB, you need to be currently getting either Illness Benefit for a minimum of 6 months, or Invalidity Pension.
The number of recipients of PCB at the 31st December in each of the years 2020-2024, and at the 31st August 2025, are shown in the table below.
Table 1: Recipients of Partial Capacity Benefit, by year
Year | Recipients |
---|---|
2020 | 3,227 |
2021 | 3,348 |
2022 | 3,092 |
2023 | 2,891 |
2024 | 2,945 |
2025 (at 31st August) | 3,052 |
John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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91. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people in receipt of disability allowance for the years 2020-2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50663/25]
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Disability Allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a disability. You can get it from 16 years of age. If you are in education when you turn 16, you can continue to attend school while receiving this allowance.
The number of recipients of Disability Allowance at the 31st December each year from 2020-2024, and at 31st August 2025, is shown in the table below.
Table 1: Number of recipients of Disability Allowance, by year
Year | Recipients |
---|---|
2020 | 152,580 |
2021 | 155,181 |
2022 | 157,807 |
2023 | 162,326 |
2024 | 167,633 |
2025 (as at 31st August) | 171,177 |
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