1991. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration has been given to developing a single, unified eligibility-checking tool for the public to identify which schemes and services administered by his Department they may be entitled to, beyond what is currently available on MyWelfare.ie; if his Department has assessed how the current spread of scheme information across platforms and formats represents a barrier to accessing these entitlements (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60295/26]

2023. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current eligibility-checking functionality available to members of the public through MyWelfare.ie; whether this functionality covers all schemes and services administered by his Department or only a sub-set; if there are plans to expand MyWelfare.ie's eligibility-checking functionality to cover the full range of schemes listed on the Department's social welfare schemes and services collection page on gov.ie, last updated 13 August 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60239/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1991 and 2023 together.

My department has developed MyWelfare, its customer facing self-service portal which enables individuals apply for schemes, manage claims, upload supporting documentation and request statements. While members of the public can access a number of calculators and estimators, and can apply online for many schemes, comprehensive eligibility-checking facilities are not available across the full range of social welfare schemes and services. Eligibility assessments and formal decisions are made by deciding officers with access to the complete range of information, evidence and data required to make an informed determination.

My department is currently undertaking a comprehensive review into technical solutions designed to enhance the customer experience when searching for and assessing eligibility for available supports. Upon completion of the analysis and feasibility phase of this work, my department will consider any proposals arising from the process and these will be carefully assessed.

My department administers more than 140 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. We are fully committed to ensuring that members of the public are fully aware of the welfare supports and services available, and to ensuring key changes are communicated to them.

Decisions around how information is circulated about schemes and services is informed by a range of criteria including the needs of our customers, the best channel to communicate any message, the cost and the resources available.

We promote the schemes and services available via a number of channels:

• We provide information on gov.ie with dedicated pages for individual schemes, and this includes information in an accessible easy-to-read format, using SEO (search engine optimisation) to ensure it is easily found by those seeking this information. Gov.ie meets the WCAG 2.1 AA international accessibility standards and our approach to content development on all platforms reflects these standards:

• Using Plain English

• Ensuring the hierarchy of headings is logical and consistent

• Using alt text on all images so they can be understood by those using screen readers,

• Colour contrast

• Choosing HTML over PDFs whenever possible

• Requirements for all videos to be captioned

• Public information campaigns play an important role in raising awareness about the schemes and services available. These campaigns include press releases, paid media, use of our social media channels to promote information organically, as well as engagement and information shared directly with other public bodies where relevant.

• Our Customer Service team attend events each year, including the Pregnancy and Baby Fairs and the National Ploughing Championships. At these events the team engage with attendees to help ensure they are aware of supports available to them and how to apply for these supports. These events are also promoted via our social media channels to encourage people to attend.

• My Department also funds the Citizens Information Board (CIB), which is a statutory agency tasked with providing independent, impartial, confidential, and non-judgmental information, advice, money advice and advocacy. CIB also acts as a signpost for people and provides information in local Citizens Information Centres and through the Citizens Information website as well as periodicals and publications. We provide the Citizens Information Board with details on all public information campaigns prior to commencement and any content updates published on gov.ie to ensure that the most up to date information is available to them.

• Intreo centres play a key role in providing information and guidance directly to customers and serve as a single point of contact for all employment and income supports.