Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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695. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his position on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63695/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Further to Budget 2026, €28.9 billion will be spent on social welfare in 2026, including over €1.15 billion of new measures targeted to assist households. The measures contained in the Budget are designed to support the most vulnerable in our society with the increased cost of living and there is a particular focus on tackling child poverty with over €320 million in targeted measures to alleviate Child Poverty. This includes the largest ever increase in the Child Support Payments of €8 and €16 per week for children aged under 12 and 12 and over respectively which will benefit those in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit and Jobseeker’s Allowance, including those in part-time employment.

Budget 2026 also provides targeted supports for low income working families by raising the income thresholds for Working Family Payment by €60 per week from January 2026 and extending the benefit of the fuel allowance scheme to families in receipt of the Working Family Payment.

The Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit is a fundamentally new scheme and is being monitored as the first full annual cycle of the scheme progresses. My department is assessing the impact of the scheme and of the pay-related approach to a benefit payment, in terms of economic and behavioural metrics, and will consider any potential changes as the scheme continues to roll out.

The maximum rates available on Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit for those either with five-plus years contributions or contributions of between two and five years, €450 and €300, respectively, remain considerably higher than the personal rates for other working-age social welfare schemes, which will increase to €254 from January 2026. As of end September 2025, the average weekly payment was €394.20 for the initial 13-week period of entitlement for those with five years PRSI contributions.

In addition, Budget 2026 increased the National Minimum wage, which means that people earning the National Minimum wage who become unemployed will benefit from a higher rate of Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit than previously.

Any future changes to the scheme will be considered in a wider policy and budgetary context.