Social Welfare Payments
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-15
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Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP), Dún Laoghaire

Yes. I know there is some flexibility and discretion, so I accept that. The maximum limits as set down by the Department, though, have not been adjusted for years and they are completely out of line with where rents are actually at. I have had cases where it has been true that, eventually, after some difficulty, anxiety and concern for people, you sometimes get them sorted. I take the point that most people have moved onto HAP. These temporary, emergency, special or exceptional needs payments, where for one reason or another people are not on HAP, are very important to the people who get them. They should not, though, be the starting point in a context where the limits do not make any sense. They need to be reviewed. At the moment, they are almost meaningless. This is the case in Dublin, Kildare, the commuter areas and so on. These limits have to be reviewed upwards, even if it is a relatively small number, as the Minister has outlined. A figure of €52 million still means a lot of people are getting it, so these limits need to be reviewed upwards.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-15