I congratulate the Deputy on her new role and wish her well. I look forward to working with all Deputies in my role in the Department of Social Protection. Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner’s contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. However, as the Deputy is aware, on 22 January 2024, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the entitlement of an unmarried cohabitant to a widow'…

I absolutely agree that grief does not distinguish, including in the circumstances we are discussing. Under the draft legislation, it is proposed that a person who becomes eligible for the scheme will be able to claim, irrespective of the date of death of his or her partner. It is also proposed that the claims will be backdated to the date of the judgment, which is 22 January 2024, that found the existing law to be inconsistent with the Constitution. Where the death preceded that date, it is not proposed to backdat…

I would not like to create an expectation. I want to be very careful. People are going through enough without me creating false expectations. We will look at the kinds of cases involved and the figures to see whether there is some way forward. I do not have any flexibility regarding the date of backdating, which is the date of the judgment. However, I want to try to be flexible. People are going through a terrible enough journey without inflexibility adding to their burden.

I congratulate the Deputy on his election to this House. I look forward to working with him. The State has always distinguished in a number of its laws between the rights of couples whose relationship is formalised in a marriage or civil partnership and the rights of other couples whose relationship is not formally registered. There was a backdrop to that in regard to succession, property rights and taxation. Since the Supreme Court judgment, we have been reflecting on the changes we need to make. We prioritised th…

I do not have that specific figure but I will seek to provide it to the Deputy. The analysis carried out by my Department anticipates that there will be 500 new cohabitant recipients expected annually in the initial years, with an annualised cost of approximately €50 million. It is difficult to predict those numbers with certainty. It is the Department's intention, once we have the legislation passed, to engage in an information campaign so that people who may not be aware of their entitlement will be made aware of…

I do not want to create an expectation that the Department will not be able to meet. While I understand where people are at, our hands our tied to the 22 January 2024 judgment date. However, there are other supports that we may be in a position to make available to families in this situation and we will look at those. However, in relation to the specific payment and backdating, I am looking at 22 January 2024 as the judgment date. I would like to engage with people around this but people have been through enough wi…

The carer’s allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently 98,311 people in receipt of carer's allowance. Expenditure on the scheme in 2025 is estimated at over €1.24 billion. The primary objective of the carer's allowance payment is to provide an income support to people whose earning capacity is substantially reduced. In the case of other payments to people aged under 66, this may be because the person is ill, disabled or becomes unemplo…

We have been clear that we will increase the income disregards for carer's allowance in each budget. It is our intention to phase out the means test during the lifetime of this Government. We were clear on that in the programme for Government and I am clear on it as Minister for Social Protection. I value the work of carers, which is incredibly important, but I would be wrong to say we will do this by a certain date. We have five budgets. We will engage with the carers organisations as we prepare for the first budg…

No one has an exclusive concern for carers. The last Government did a great deal of work in increasing the income disregard and the carer’s support grant. I intend to engage with all the carers organisations around that. I am very focused on the work they do and the burden they face on a daily basis. There is a commitment in the programme for Government that we will phase out the means test over the lifetime of the Government. I do not know where we will be this time next year or this time two years in relation to …

I thank the Deputy and congratulate him on his election. I look forward to working with him. In November 2023, the Department of Social Protection published a report on the inclusion of long Covid in the occupational injuries benefit regulations. This report concluded that Covid-19 did not satisfy the statutory criteria for recognition as an occupational illness or accident at work. Specifically, it found that presumptions about workplace transmission would not be sustainable as it is not possible to establish with…

My own Department has 78 people in receipt of illness benefit with a Covid-related certification. Covid-related claims account for 0.6% of all illness benefit claims that were awarded so far this year. As well as illness benefit, my Department provides an invalidity pension and a disability allowance scheme for those who cannot work due to an illness or disability. That includes those who have not recovered following a Covid-19-related illness. I do not have statistics for the number of persons on these schemes who…

The temporary scheme of paid leave for public health service employees was identified in the report my Department published in November 2023 as the appropriate channel to target specific supports for employees in our health services. That scheme is being dealt with by the Minister for public expenditure. He has extended it. I will bring the Deputy’s concerns to him about its future extension and maintenance and running.

I thank the Deputy and congratulate him and welcome him back to the House. Carer’s allowance is an important income support for people who have caring responsibilities. That is clear from the fact that there are nearly 99,000 people in receipt of the payment and expenditure on the scheme in 2025 is estimated to be over €1.24 billion. In common with other welfare payments to people aged under 66 years the purpose of the payment is to provide an income support to people whose earning capacity is substantially reduced…

I absolutely acknowledge the work of carers, which we see at first hand, and that is why it is also important we acknowledge the extent of the improvements the previous Government brought in for carers over recent years. We introduced the long-term carer's contribution scheme in January 2024, which allows a person who has been a full-time carer for an incapacitated dependant for 20 years or more to use long-term carer's contributions to cover gaps in their contribution records, allowing them to qualify for a contri…

Absolutely. Carers' work is extraordinary and there is also the benefit of having somebody remain at home. Leaving aside the financial sides of things, having somebody remain at home is much better for their long-term recovery and long-term living. In the context of budgetary discussions, we will review all the figures. I will engage with the carers' organisations but also with the committee on social protection, when it is established, and we will look at all those issues. I absolutely assure the Deputy, and all D…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis as a bheith tofa agus ar a leanbh nua i gCill Dara. Comhghairdeas leis féin agus lena bhean chéile agus guím gach rath orthu. A newborn baby grant of €280 was announced in last year's budget to be paid to families of babies born on or after 1 December 2024. This grant is paid alongside, but in addition to, the first month's child benefit payment of €140, so parents of newborns will receive a total first payment of €420. This increased payment during the f…

I thank the Deputy. As I look around, I think that, apart from the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I am the longest serving Deputy in this House, and on every day of those 18 years, I have heard references to trying to make ours a family-friendly Oireachtas, although we seem to be going further away from that. Even so, a lot of work has been done in respect of parental leave for Members of the Oireachtas and that should be continued during this term. I see that Deputy O'Gorman is in the Chamber, and I acknowledge his suppor…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The social welfare appeals office is responsible for considering and determining appeals of first-instance decisions of the Department's deciding officers in relation to people's social welfare entitlements. The appeals service is designed to provide free-of-cost access to a second opinion by an officer at a senior grade within the Department. Prior to submitting an appeal to the appeals office, applicants also have the option of seeking a review of the decision by the rel…

The backlogs are a matter of concern to me. That is why there has, as stated, been a lot of investment in additional appeals officers. A new IT system went live in November 2023. This facilitates an online capability to provide a more efficient and streamlined service for people who are making appeals. At end of 2024, a new update provided functionality on mywelfare.ie for people to make appeals. This new feature supports the end-to-end electronic processing of appeals and addresses some of the issues raised by the…

For context, the average time taken to process an appeal in 2024 was 23.5 weeks. That jumped from 16 weeks in 2023. The average processing time for an appeal dealt with summarily in 2024 was 24.5 weeks, which, again, was an increase on 2023. As of 31 January last, the current processing times for social welfare appeals is 19.4 weeks. We are beginning to make progress. I will be very focused on reducing that to the shortest period possible. It has to capture the information, give people a chance to engage in the pro…