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The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Health
- The Irish Sun
Thousands MORE qualify for little-known €500 & €1,000 ‘free services' PRSI payments as increases revealed after changes
THOUSANDS more are set to qualify two little-known "free services" PRSI payments amid new increases. The Treatment Benefit covers a vast range of dental, optical and aural services. Advertisement 1 Several changes were made Credit: Getty Images This can include eye tests and oral examinations, contact lenses and hearing aids. People suffering from certain conditions such as alopecia or undergoing chemotherapy may also be able to avail of wigs or hairpieces covered by the And now new changes to the payment will mean even more people will qualify for €500 or €1000 sums. The Minister for Social Protection Advertisement READ MORE IN MONEY €500 PAYMENT The €500 contributes towards one medical device, such as one hearing aid per ear every four years Prior to 2021, the Department covered 50 per cent of the cost of hearing aids up to €500 per ear once every four years. New regulations introduced in 2021 removed the need for the patient to cover half the cost of their hearing aid. Now they must only cover the cost themselves if their hearing aid is over €500 per ear. Advertisement MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN In May 2022 a €500 euro hair replacement benefit was also introduced. This is an annual payment for those suffering from hair loss under certain conditions. €1,000 PAYMENT The €1,000 payment can be claimed against the cost of This is split in two parts of €500 per eye and is paid out once every two years. Advertisement Prior to 2022 this payment was made every four years. QUALIFYING CHANGES Since April 2022 you must have paid 39 paid Class A, E, H, P or S social insurance contributions if you are aged between 25 to 28. This is significantly lower than the previously required 260 contributions over five years of employment. As it stands, to qualify those under 21 must have at least 39 contributions at anytime. Advertisement In the category of 25-year-old to 28-year-old the 39 contributions must be paid or credited in the governing contribution year or 26 paid contributions in each of the second and third last contribution years. Those aged over 29 must have at least 260 paid contributions and again at least 39 paid or credited contributions in the governing contribution year or 26 paid contributions in each of the second and third last contribution years. QUALIFYING FOR PEOPLE OVER 66 There are very specific requirements for over 66s to qualify. They must have 260 PRSI contributions paid at any time and 39 paid or credited contributions in the relevant tax year or the year immediately before it. Advertisement Otherwise they must have 260 PRSI contributions paid at any time and 26 paid contributions in both the relevant tax year and the year immediately before it. However, if you turned 66 between 1 October 1987 and 6 July 1992, you need 208 paid contributions. DENTAL CHANGES The The Department will pay the cost of a full oral examination once per year. Advertisement However, from January 2024, the fee paid to a dentist for providing an Oral examination, including x-ray, was increased from €33 to €40, available once per calendar year.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- General
- The Irish Sun
‘Vulnerable people paying price' alert as social welfare appeal wait times for key group skyrocket amid €625 shake-up
IRELAND'S most vulnerable people are paying the price for a botched social welfare system, it's been claimed, as people are waiting weeks for their carer's allowance appeal outcome. 3 Carer's allowance appeals are being granted more frequently according to new figures Credit: Getty 3 A new boost to the payment will come in July Credit: Getty The Carer's Allowance is a weekly social It's a means-tested payment given to the primary carer for each person being cared for. An appeal can be made if someone's claim to the allowance is not granted. And figures show that there has been a 33.73 per cent increase in the waiting times for those who have appealed the initial decision. Read more in Money It means that, should someone's claim to the welfare be rejected on first application, they could be waiting up to 23 weeks to get a second opinion. And as the wait times increase, so too do the number of appeals which are granted. O'Reilly said: "While appeal waiting times are increasing, appeal success rates are also increasing. "In 2024, a third of all those who appealed their application for 'We have a system that forces our society's most vulnerable through an arduous administrative process that is onerous, alienating, humiliating and pushes them further into poverty. Most read in The Irish Sun "Many give up along the way, or do not realise that if they just appeal the same application that was rejected they have a very good chance of acceptance." PUSHED INTO POVERTY The "Those waiting for a decision on their appeal have reported forgoing to see a 'A shocking proportion of respondents report going into debt while waiting for social welfare income payments. 'While the Minister for Social Protection may have hired more staff to act as deciding officers, these figures show that this strategy alone is not sufficient. PAYING THE PRICE "I encourage the department to be transparent and share its protocols and circulars used to instruct deciding officers. 'These issues run deeper than staff shortages. There is a clear issue with the department's management culture, and Ireland's most vulnerable people are paying the price.' O'Reilly's claims have come just weeks after a major INCOME DISREGARD Minister for Social Protection It means that a certain amount of a person's earning will not be taken into account when they apply for social welfare payments. The income disregard means that Carer's Allowance will be increased from €450 to €625 for each individual person being cared for. And it will be upped from €900 to €1,250 for a person with a spouse or partner. He said: "The income disregards for carers are already the most generous in the social welfare system and are being further improved. "This July, the weekly income disregard will increase further from €450 to €625 for a single person, and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner. "This means that a carer in a two-adult household with an income of approximately €69,000 will still retain their full carer's payment and even with an income of €97,000 will retain a partial payment." He added: "Means tests are used within the social welfare system to target the support to those most in need in a manner that is progressive in terms of income distribution. He added: "There are currently 99,256 people in receipt of carer's allowance, which accounts for €1.24 billion of my Department's budget." 3 Louise O'Reilly claimed the most vulnerable are paying the price for the wait times Credit: Getty
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Heather Humphreys confirms she will not run in presidential election
Ms Humphreys, who was the Minister for Social Protection in the last Dáil, decided not to run in the last general election in order to spend more time with her family. Since her announcement that she was to leave politics, Ms Humphrey's name has been considered as a potential Fine Gael candidate for the upcoming Presidential election. Ms Humphries said after much consideration, she has decided she would not run. 'I have made my decision, and I have to say, I have been quite humbled by the number of people who have approached me and said that I should run for the presidency,' Ms Humphreys said. 'I have given it a lot of consideration and a lot of thought, and while it is very flattering and a great honour to be considered for the highest office in the land, I have decided that I will not be running for the presidency,' she added. Spending more time with family and friends was again the reason for her decision not to enter the race. 'I said at that time I wanted to spend more time with the family, and that my time in public life was over, and that doesn't mean I'm not committed to public service, but I made that decision then, and it is the same,' Ms Humphreys said. Speaking on the Joe Finnegan Show on Northern Sound Ms Humphreys said she gave a bid for the Áras 'very, very serious consideration'. 'I said at the time, if I was younger, I wouldn't be leaving politics, and the same applies to the presidency. I want to do other things in life, because I have been working. 'People probably don't realise this, between the bank and the credit union and politics, I have worked full time for 47 years,' she said. Committing to the presidency was a significant decision and Ms Humphreys said she would only have considered it if she was willing to give it 100pc. 'I just feel that it's a job for somebody else this time,' Ms Humphreys said. The former minister said she would support any Fine Gael candidate selected, but did name check Mairead McGuinness. 'If she decided to put her name forward, she'd have my support. I've known her for many, many years. I've canvassed with her. She's been a brilliant MEP, a fantastic European Commissioner, and she has been a great ambassador for Ireland,' Ms Humphreys said. 'So I know her well, and as I say, she'd have my support,' she added. Ms Humhreys said she did not discuss her decision with Tanaiste and leader of Fine Gael, Simon Harris. 'I didn't discuss it with anybody. This was my own decision. I discussed it with my family, and so many people have said it to me, and I felt that it was time now to let people know what my decision was,' she said.
Extra.ie
12-05-2025
- Extra.ie
Calls for crackdown amid increasing attacks on social welfare officers
Attacks and threats of violence against Social Protection staff have more than doubled since 2022, new figures show. Now Fianna Fáil TD Pádraig O'Sullivan has said the State needs to 'crack down' on the growing level of attacks on the workers. There were 358 violent incidents and threats made to staff working for the Department of Social Protection in 2022, while in 2023 it doubled to 687, with a further increase to 791 last year. The figures for the first four months of this year, 272, indicate the trend is still growing sharply. Pádraig O'Sullivan. Photo: Leah Farrell/ Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary said: 'These are disturbing figures that point to a growing culture of violence. We know about the difficulties public transport and our gardaí and hospital workers face, and this is now spreading into welfare offices. 'This is all the more egregious given that social welfare offices are the front-line for people in need and difficulty.' He added: 'Attacks on welfare staff are also attacks on the needy and on people who are in crisis.' Mr O'Sullivan, whose Dáil question revealed the figures, said: 'This must be nipped in the bud now. We need to crack down on this swiftly. Attacks on welfare officers are an act of social sabotage and should be treated in that fashion.' Responding, Minister Calleary said: 'My Department has a staffing complement of approximately 7,300 both permanent and temporary staff who deliver services through a nationwide net work of offices, with a very high level of public engagement, both through front office services (via Intreo offices, Public offices and Branch offices) and by phone through a number of contact centres.' Dara Calleary. Pic: Tom Honan Mr Calleary said the increase in incidents was 'attributable in part to increased reporting, with the introduction of the department's internal Health and Safety Incident Reporting app, which allows staff to more easily record and report relevant incidents'. The Minister added: 'My department takes its duty of care to staff very seriously, actively encouraging reporting of any incidents and with a range of robust procedures in place to respond to threats to staff, including the support of line managers, regional safety advisers and engagement with the Civil Service Employee Assistance Service. 'Staff working in our public offices undertake frontline customer services training, which includes de-escalation and diffusing techniques and procedures where required for positive customer engagement.' Mr O'Sullivan welcomed the training, but said: 'It is an unfortunate scenario where staff have to undergo such training, but the figures reveal it is necessary.'
The Irish Sun
07-05-2025
- General
- The Irish Sun
New €360 monthly payment update for 58k Irish parents as social welfare rule extension ‘discontinued' in new decision
A MONTHLY €360 social welfare payment will not be extended for the care of children up to 18 years of age, it has been confirmed. The non means-tested cash, which is received by 58,416 Irish families, is currently only available for those aged up to 16-years-old. Advertisement 1 The payment was increased from €340 to €360 per month in January Credit: Getty Images - Getty Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly payment for children aged under 16 with a severe disability. However, despite plans to expand the rules of the DCA to include children up to the age of 18, the Minister for Social Protection confirmed that this proposal has been "discontinued". "Based on the feedback received during the public consultation, the process was discontinued." Advertisement READ MORE IN MONEY The Minister said that, although the DCA ceases to be payable when a child reaches 16, this is aligned with the age of eligibility for Disability Allowance. However, the Disability Allowance is means-tested, meaning only people earning under a certain amount can qualify. This is unlike the Domiciliary Care Allowance, which is not means-tested and allows people to qualify for it regardless of their income. Calleary said: "Domiciliary Care Allowance ceases to be payable when a child reaches 16 years of age. This is aligned with the age of eligibility for Disability Allowance. Advertisement MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN Exclusive "If the young person continues to suffer from a disability that significantly impacts their daily living activities, they can then apply for a Major warning over emergency social welfare scam texts as thousands could be targeted Those who qualify for Disability Allowance may also get extra social welfare benefits with their payment and other supplementary welfare payments. DCA stops when the child reaches 16, meaning the last payment will be for the month of the teenager's 16th birthday. The Department of Social Protection will write to the parent receiving the cash three months before the end, reminding them that the payment will stop and what other options are available. Advertisement If the child is eligible, they should apply for Disability Allowance a few months before they turn 16, to allow time for the application to be processed. However, those affected have been warned to rememberer that the qualifying conditions are different to those of the DCA. MEDICAL CRITERIA THE law says to get Domiciliary Care Allowance, a child must have "a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention, substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age". This means a child's eligibility for DCA is not based on the type of disability or illness they have, but on the level of care and attention they need as a result. They must need this care and attention for daily living and for at least 12 months. The Department's Medical Assessor looks at the following information before deciding on whether a child meets the medical criteria: The history of the case All medical reports received The parent/guardians description of the care and attention needed by the child This means a child is not automatically entitled to DA because they were getting DCA. The means test for Disability Allowance assesses the means of the child, and the parents or guardians income is not taken into account. Advertisement Minister Calleary also confirmed that there are over 66,000 children whose parents or guardians are receiving the Domiciliary Care Allowance. He said: "From January 2025, the rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance increased from €340 to €360 per month. "As of March, there were 58,416 families in receipt of the payment in relation to 66,044 children. "Expenditure in 2025 is estimated at over €301 million. Domiciliary Care Allowance claims have increased over 100 per cent since 2015, with a 50 per cent increase in the past five years." Advertisement
