Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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100. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for an overview of his Budget 2026 measures to support people seeking employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62065/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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On Tuesday 7th October, I announced a €1.15 billion package of new social protection measures for Budget 2026.

The Government has prioritised a number of targeted permanent measures as part of Budget 2026 to support people seeking employment. These include:

• An increase of €10 in maximum personal weekly rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance payments from January 2026, with proportionate increases for qualified adults and people getting a reduced rate.
• The largest Child Support Payment increase in the history of the state, consisting of a weekly increase of €16 for children aged 12 and over and an increase of €8 for children under 12.
• Allowing people on Disability Allowance and Blind Pension to retain Fuel Allowance for a period of 5 years if they leave the payment to take up employment from September 2026.
• Extending the Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) to recipients of both the Blind Pension and Disability Allowance.
• A €5 increase in the top up for Community Employment, Tús and Rural Social Scheme participants to €32.50.
• A €10 increase on current payment for Job Initiative participants.
• A Christmas bonus to be paid to over 1.47 million long-term social welfare recipients in December 2025.
• In addition, the Budget measures also provided for CE projects to claim an additional €1,000 towards their materials costs.
• It also provides a wider cohort of people with the opportunity to contribute providing services to communities while providing employment support opportunities through the implementation of recommendations of the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) Review.