Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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601. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will consider increasing the household benefit package to take into account the increases in electricity costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51184/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Household Benefits Package comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €308 million this year on the Household Benefits Package.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to examine key ancillary benefits such as the Fuel Allowance, Household Benefits Package and Living Alone Increase to support vulnerable groups. This is an ongoing activity as part of the Department's budget planning each year and I will continue, as part of the budget planning process, to consider if improvements can be made to ensure that these benefits continue to target vulnerable groups. Any future decisions including any decision to increase the Electricity/Gas element of the Household Benefits Package will, of course, have to take account of the availability of financial resources.

Finally, the Department of Social Protection provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. Any person who considers that they may have an entitlement to an Additional Needs Payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office. In addition, applications can be made online via www.mywelfare.ie.

I trust that this clarifies these matters for the Deputy.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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602. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for an update on the status of a jobseeker's application for a person's (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51203/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned submitted an application for Jobseekers Allowance on 13/08/2025.

Jobseekers Allowance has been awarded from 01/08/2025 at €244.00 per week.

The first payment, including arrears will be available to the person concerned into their nominated back account on the 30/09/2025.

A notification of this decision was been sent on 25/09/2025.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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603. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process jobseeker's allowance applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51215/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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604. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process jobseeker's benefit applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51216/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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605. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process disability allowance applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51217/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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606. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process carer's allowance applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51218/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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607. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process carer's benefit applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51219/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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608. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process invalidity pension applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51220/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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609. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process child benefit applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51221/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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610. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process disability pension applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51222/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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611. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process maternity benefit applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51223/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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612. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process parent's benefit applications, per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51224/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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613. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process paternity benefit applications per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51235/25]

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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614. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process domiciliary care allowance applications per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51236/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 603 to 614, inclusive, together.

The Department is committed to providing a quality service to its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing eligibility criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of health-related schemes, can take longer to process. Similarly, means-tested schemes can also require more detailed investigations and interaction with the customer, thereby lengthening the decision-making process.

Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised. In addition, the staffing needs of all areas are regularly reviewed, having regard to workloads and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources.

My Department does not collate statistics on processing times broken down by county. The average number of weeks to award a claim, the targets and performance in August 2025 and August 2024 for the schemes requested are provided in the tables below.

Table 1: Performance standard and average weeks to award for various schemes in August 2025

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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615. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process supplementary welfare allowance applications per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51237/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system and helps eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. Supports available under the SWA scheme, can consist of a basic weekly payment, as well as single Additional Needs Payments (ANPs). The SWA scheme is 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.

It is important to note that, where my officials are aware that a customer has an urgent or immediate need, every effort is made to ensure that the person in question receives a prompt service, usually on the same day.

When considering an application from people in financial difficulty for any payment under the SWA scheme, the CWO must consider all 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 is complete and accompanied by the required documentation, an application for a Basic SWA is generally processed within 1 week and where the application relates to an ANP it is generally processed in ten working days. However, where an application is not finalised within this timeframe, the delay is generally due to additional information or documentation being requested from the person to support their application.

My Department currently does not hold statistics relative to the processing times of SWA payments per county. However, I can assure the Deputy that presently there are no backlogs in SWA claims and work on hand is within normal CWS processing levels.

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 for the Deputy.

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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616. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeframe to process widowed parent grant applications per county, in tabular form; the measures being taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51238/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Bereaved Parent Grant (formerly known as Widowed Parent Grant) is a once off grant for widows, widowers, surviving civil partner's or surviving qualified cohabitants, who have one or more dependent children residing with them. In order to qualify for this grant, a person must be entitled to, or in receipt of Bereaved Partner's Contributory Pension, One Parent Family Payment, Death Benefit (under the Occupational Injuries Scheme), State Pension (Contributory) or State Pension (Non-Contributory), which includes a child support payment.

The average processing time for a Bereaved Parent Grant application is one week.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.