I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I acknowledge and welcome Shelbourne's new 250-year lease on its grounds, which is positive and will secure the club's future. I believe it signed the lease yesterday with Dublin City Council. It can develop the way a club of its standing should. It is a great community club. I also want to wish the Irish under-17s, with Colin O'Brien as manager, good luck in the World Cup. Their first game today is against Panama and I wish the team well.

Last month, the Government announced €3 million in funding for the establishment of League of Ireland academies. This was very welcome. It is long overdue and a small step forward. The sad fact is that our international team is a pale shadow of its former self and our domestic league is miles off where it should be and could be if it had the investment it desperately needed over the years. We are simply not able to compete at an international level and are at present incapable of sustainably developing players or clubs from a grassroots level.

We need a seismic shift in funding and a completely new approach to Irish football by the State. Unfortunately, €3 million is not enough. It is a good start, but more has to be committed to. Some €4.5 million was requested by the Football Association of Ireland, FAI, for academies in its pre-budget submission, but this baseline figure was not delivered in the budget. If we want to see the likes of Italia 90 and Euro 88 again, the very basic requirement must be the proper funding and resourcing of our academies.

A significant number of young players are eager and passionate to develop and succeed here and fulfil their potential, but they simply do not have the opportunity or contact hours they need to develop and grow, not to mention a lack of facilities and coaching staff. We have unbelievably good football people in Ireland, along with great sports people and committed volunteers who do Trojan work each and every day to support their communities and Irish football. There is a huge appetite for football in the country. Before practically every international campaign, the nation is filled with hope for the matches ahead and an eagerness to see our boys and girls in green succeed. Too often, however, this hope is let down by the obvious lack of ambition or interest in football by the State going back decades.

The investment compared with other countries competing between positions 50 to 100 shows that we lag way behind in the world rankings. This has resulted in a base of players which is simply not up to scratch compared with other countries of a similar size and stature to Ireland. No change in manager will transform our international team into one capable of qualifying for major tournaments. The reality is that we have to take a systemic and grassroots approach. We cannot sit around and wait for success to magically come our way. We have to invest in the sport at a community level to enable our young players to develop skills and progress through their career.

The key to this is the League of Ireland and its academies, which allow players to engage in football in their own towns and cities and gives them the contact hours and education they need. The league has been long abandoned by the State, with outdated infrastructure and a lack of recognition by broadcasters and policymakers. Its popularity is steadily growing in spite of the challenges, but underfunding remains the primary obstacle to the long-term success of Irish football. I urge the Government to finally recognise the vital importance of the League of Ireland to Irish football and ask the Minister of State to lay out whether the Government has plans to develop the league to meet its potential.

I wish Shamrock Rovers success on Sunday in the FAI cup final, which should be a great occasion. Cork had a poor season, but it is great to see two big clubs in Irish football play in a showcase tournament.

Before I call on the Minister to reply, I welcome Scoil Chrónáin Naofa from Bray. You are most welcome to Seanad Éireann. I am delighted you could come. I do not know whether you heard about the unofficial role of Seanad Éireann, but there is no homework for the rest of the week when you visit Seanad Éireann. If the teachers do give you homework for the rest for the week, let me know and I will write to them.

That same rule does not apply to Ministers who appear before the Seanad, does it?

No, Ministers have to do their homework.

I thank Senator Andrews for raising this matter. The Irish under-17 team are appearing in their first U-17 World Cup match in Qatar today, against Panama. I wish them well in the match. It is good to see that it will be shown live on RTÉ 2. Likewise - and, being from Donegal, I can be more neutral than Senator Andrews - I wish Shamrock Rovers and Cork well in what I hope will be a really good showcase for League of Ireland football in the FAI Cup final this Sunday. I was glad to attend the FAI Women's Cup final Sunday week last in Tallaght Stadium. It was a really good game of football between Bohs and Athlone Town, and congratulations to Athlone Town on a well-deserved win. It is good to be here today, particularly on the back of the recent budget commitment from the Government to the development of Irish football, young footballers and, in particular, an academy system.

The programme for Government includes a commitment to explore new mechanisms for the creation of football academies with the Football Association of Ireland and the League of Ireland. An important piece of work in this context is supported by an additional funding grant by the Department of €1 million to the FAI last year. That funding enabled the FAI to appoint an academies administrator to support the development of new academy programmes and to track their impact.

The grant has also enabled the FAI to produce its League of Ireland global findings report, by the internationally recognised Double Pass football consultancy, on developing football academies in Ireland, including an audit of existing academy structures and needs. The report outlines 50 recommendations which, if implemented in the coming years, could create a strong academy system that would underpin a sustainable domestic football league and, ultimately, strengthen the quality of players coming through to the national teams.

As part of budget 2026, I was pleased to announce a €3 million multi-annual allocation to the FAI to support the development of a modern and professional academy system that will provide the structures and pathways required to support future generations of Irish players, male and female, and maximise the potential of Irish football. Specific details as to how this investment will be rolled out will be set out in due course by the FAI and Sport Ireland.

The development of football is fundamentally a matter for the FAI, which, like all governing bodies of sport, is an independent, autonomous body that is responsible for the organisation and development of its own sport.

While the FAI has sought significant State funding to support its academy development plans, it is important to note the sizeable financial support directed to the FAI and to football more generally over the past few years. We have seen some €75 million in State funding allocated to the FAI between 2019 and 2024, including €30 million specifically to support football development and aimed at promoting participation in football by young people, with the balance of funding comprising Covid-specific and energy supports to the FAI and the wider football sector. In terms of State support for the development of facilities, more than €100 million in capital funding was allocated to Irish football in the second half of 2024. Under the large-scale sport infrastructure fund, €54 million was allocated in November of last year to football stadium projects at Finn Harps, Dalymount Park, Sligo Rovers and Wexford FC. I am pleased to note the recent approval by Dublin City Council of a financing proposal that should allow construction of a new Dalymount stadium to begin in 2027. In addition, we have seen €50 million allocated from the community sports and equipment fund last year to develop grassroots club facilities nationwide.

Considerable financial support has been provided by the State for the development of football in Ireland, particularly through the 2020-23 memorandum of understanding, which was also updated at the end of last year, when a new memorandum was signed with €6 million per annum in funding for the period from 2024 to 2027, with the majority of that going towards the FAI's youth field sports grants. Those grants are aimed at developing the grassroots of the game, improving coaching and playing standards, growing participation numbers and embracing communities outside of the traditional base of the sport.

The investment is welcome. My concern is that if you look at many of the sports capital projects, clubs put in an application for €100 million and they get €50 million. The reality is that they cannot deliver that project because they do not have what they need to deliver out on the project. They were looking for €4.5 million to make the project work. My concern is that the €3 million will not allow them to finish out that project, the development of academies, in the way that is required to make it work into the future. I always believe it is an investment. It is not a grant or some handout; it is an investment. It is investment in communities and Irish football. We have great football people, but I am concerned that if they do not have the full allocation that they requested and that they need to make it work, falling short of that figure will hamper them. That is my concern.

Senator Andrews will know as well as I do that, across all sectors of society, and with the organisations we deal with and the demands in terms of public services, the asks are always far more every year than the capacity to develop. In terms of running a good economy, we have to have the capacity to incrementally improve things every year. The Government commitment to football in this budget saw football as the sport that was prioritised by far the most within the increase in budgetary allocation. For example, €10 million extra was allocated to Sport Ireland this year. Some €3 million of that is for soccer academies. That cannot be the case every year in terms of one sport getting such a big increase but it has been the case this year. It is a multi-annual commitment and it is something we will look to build on. The point I made on budget day was that this is a big vote of confidence by the Irish Government in the future of Irish football. We want to see it supported and we want to see it growing. We want to see young people across the country get the opportunities they deserve to maximise their potential. Participation is obviously crucial, everyone having the opportunity to participate, be healthy and enjoy football as they do every other sport, but we also want to ensure that that excellence is fostered and that people can be the best players they possibly can be. In particular, we want to see that feed the wonderful renaissance we have seen in the League of Ireland, which we want to support as a Government both through capital funding for the development of facilities and through the grassroots and the academy system.

This is a big step forward. It has been welcomed as such by the FAI, and we look forward to working with the FAI and through the auspices of Sport Ireland to make sure that this makes a real impact on the ground and that we see it really deliver in the future and feed through not just at grassroots level but right to our national teams, including at under-17 level, with the match that team will play today. We hope to see much more of that in the future and right through, ultimately, to the senior national teams as well.

I thank the Minister of State for his response.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, for being back in the House again. We have discussed this previously in the Seanad. As we head into mock exam season, there is an urgent need for clarity and certainty for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia in the 2026 leaving certificate. A 2009 expert advisory group recommended immediate roll-out of extra time in exams in the leaving certificate for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia. More recently, Dr. Keith Murphy, from TU Dublin, and child psychologist Dr. Colman Noctor have echoed those requests, 17 years later. We have seen no major progress.

The impact is heartbreaking in a lot of cases. A few weeks ago, at a meeting of the Oireachtas joint committee on education, we had before us Sive O'Brien, who is a senior cycle student in the Bower, in Athlone. Sive outlined the fact that, despite being an incredibly intelligent student and having the ability to answer the questions in exams, she did not finish one of her junior certificate exams.

Students study 12, 13 or 14 subjects to exam for the junior certificate. She did not finish one of them. Dyslexia Ireland has consistently called for a national roll-out of this. I raised this in the Oireachtas committee. I put it out on my social media channels and the feedback I got was absolutely overwhelming, from both the students themselves and their parents. I have been stopped on the street to be thanked for raising this on behalf of students to try to get the right thing done. This is the right thing to do for the 2026 leaving certificate across the board nationally. It is already the norm at third level. Basically, the State Examinations Commission, SEC, is about to engage in a review project of the pilot scheme that is going to be potentially done in the 2026 leaving certificate, if it continues as it says it has and goes ahead with what it is planning to do. However, the third level researchers who will review it are already implementing extra time when they give their students exams. It is ten minutes per hour or part of an hour of an exam. That is the norm at third level where we are going to ask them to review what is happening at second level and I do not think that makes sense.

From the State Examinations Commission itself, we had Ms Feeney in. In that joint Oireachtas committee, she claimed that significant progress, in her words, and significant change has happened. In 17 years since the first expert advisory group told it to immediately roll it out nationally, it has not. It may roll it out on a pilot project basis in 2026. It does not get the lasting damage this does to students. It does not get the fact that it is creating a self-image of failure and inferiority when we set students up to fail. They cannot process the information in time to get their answers out on paper and it is causing them severe anxiety and dismay when they fail their exams through no fault of their own because of the system that is set up to make them fail.

We do not need expensive pilot programmes or reviews. We need extra time right now for students in the 2026 leaving certificate. I know the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is not here today. She is the eighth senior Minister who has had this on their table. It is not her fault but I really need her to intervene right now and tell the SEC to do what it should have done years ago, which is to roll it out nationally in 2026 and give students extra time. One final thing: it will not cost a cent - not a single cent - to the State to give them extra time in exams and I think it is a no-brainer.

I am grateful to the Senator for raising this really important issue once again. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for education.

As the Senator is aware, the State Examinations Commission has responsibility for the reasonable accommodations at certificate examinations, RACE, scheme. A central tenet of the RACE scheme is to ensure equitable treatment for all candidates. The range of accommodations provided within the scheme has been designed to ensure fairness for all when facilitating candidates in demonstrating their level of achievement. It is important to note that access to the scheme is needs-based rather than based on a specific diagnosis. This is in line with best practice internationally and with well-embedded special education policy in Ireland.

Candidates who have learning difficulties, including dyslexia, are provided with accommodations on the grounds of a learning difficulty without the need for any diagnosis. This is established by criteria, such as a standard score test for reading and-or writing conducted by the school, and by the description of the candidate's normal way of working in school in the application form. The SEC, as the Senator is aware, is currently undertaking a review of the RACE scheme in the context of senior cycle redevelopment and of the wider special educational needs policy landscape. This is a comprehensive and system-wide review of the scheme.

The programme for Government commits to developing an appropriate mechanism to allow additional time for students with specific needs and, in certain circumstances, and to ensure that those who use assistive technology can do so in State examinations. The review by the SEC, which is now well under way, will seek to take account of these and other relevant issues and best practice internationally.

The review is directed by the board of commissioners of the SEC and overseen by a steering group, with the terms of reference published on the SEC website. The inclusion of internal SEC members as well as external members is to ensure that rolling changes can be implemented as the review progresses, rather than awaiting a big bang approach at the end of the full review period. This will ensure any changes are implemented as early as possible and, quite clearly, in the interest of students.

Already, and on a pilot basis for the 2025 examinations, additional time for vision-impaired candidates, who are under the care of the visiting teacher service, was increased from ten minutes per hour or part of an hour to 15 minutes for junior cycle, leaving certificate applied and leaving certificate. These arrangements were piloted for all those students nationally who were deemed eligible.

Given the wide range of difficulties for which accommodations are sought, the review is seeking the views of users through extensive consultation and engagement to capture all perspectives and ensure all voices are heard equally. This will include and has included young people with special educational needs, their families and representative organisations. I understand the State Examinations Commission has met a number of times with Dyslexia Ireland, for example, among other bodies. I know it has appeared before the joint Oireachtas committee. These consultations will inform any appropriate changes to the shape of the scheme for the 2026 State examinations and beyond.

The State Examinations Commission has recently issued the RACE instructions for schools for 2026. While the SEC has not confirmed any adjustments to the RACE scheme for the 2026 examinations within this publication, it has confirmed that it is continuing to work on piloting arrangements for additional time to be in place for the 2026 examinations. The SEC is actively working to determine appropriate conditions of eligibility. All those nationally who meet the appropriate conditions of eligibility will be included.

The SEC acknowledges that there is increasing complexity in the special educational landscape and, by extension, in the impact on candidates with special educational needs taking the certificate examinations. The extensive consultation and engagement to be undertaken as part of this comprehensive review will provide an opportunity for the views of those affected to be fully reflected.

I thank the Minister of State. I have to be brutally honest. As a language teacher myself, that is not a good enough response. It is coming from the SEC. I know it is not the Minister who is directly responding there - she has to liaise with the SEC to be able to respond - but that is not a good enough response and it lets students down massively in this country. It is becoming increasingly frustrating to have to deal with the SEC when it is basically digging its heels in. It might as well be honest and say that it is worried that if it increases exam time for all students across the board with dyslexia and dyscalculia, it may disadvantage other students. It is worried about the overall integrity of the exams. That is the basic honesty of this. It is saying it is in line with best practice to roll it out on a pilot project basis and try to control the lack of a big bang at the end. Let us listen to Dr. Colman Noctor, a child psychologist. Let us listen to Dr. Keith Murphy in TU Dublin. Let us listen to the experts who are telling us it is not best practice to put students under time pressure in exams.

Take Irish, for example. Some 14% of students are asking for exemptions. One of the main reasons is they feel under pressure to spit stuff out on paper under massive time pressure in an exam and it is just not good enough anymore. In 2009, an expert advisory group told the SEC to immediately roll it out nationally. In 2026, we are looking at what is in line with best practice to try to make sure there are appropriate conditions for eligibility. Give them the extra time. I am sorry; this is not the Minister of State's fault but this is becoming so frustrating and it is just not good enough anymore. We cannot accept this. For people of the country, as TDs and Senators, we are supposed to make sure the best outcomes happen in the education system for students. This is just not good enough and I am sorry, I just cannot accept that response.

The point I would make is that more than one in four candidates at the 2025 certificate examinations were provided with some form of reasonable accommodation within the RACE scheme to support them in accessing the State examinations, underlining the importance of the scheme. In 2025, 36,000 candidates in 750 post-primary schools were accommodated in the scheme. I completely understand the Senator's frustration; I am not going to mince my words here. He and I had this discussion before and it was raised and replied to in good faith. Of course, the Minister welcomes the SEC's intention to pilot a scheme of additional time on a national basis at the 2026 certificate examinations. There are processes in place for a good reason. It is not my reason. I share the Senator's frustration. It makes absolute sense, for me, to add additional time but all I can say is I will convey the Senator's very real frustration and that of thousands of families around the country to the Minister and the SEC.

I thank the Minister of State. I understand Senator Curley is taking over from me here. I thank him very much.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. Ceapaim go bhfuil sé ag fanacht le haghaidh an Seanadóir Joe Flaherty. The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond is continuing for the third and fourth Commencement matters.

Ar dtús, I know we lauded the successes of many people in soccer at the outset but before I get to the important business of my Commencement matter, I wish to single out the heroics of young Donegal man Dylan Browne McMonagle over the weekend, who was crowned Irish Champion Jockey. He unseated six-time winner Colin Keane with 95 winners. Not only that, on Saturday night, he went over the US and recorded an historic Breeders' Cup win for Willie Mullins and is now heading off to Tokyo for the off-season in Ireland.

He will no doubt return to perform more heroics next year. I hope the House will, on his return from Tokyo, invite him and his family to Leinster House to applaud what has been a huge success for this stellar young man in Irish sport.

The matter before the House relates to the EPA's report on large-scale illegal peat extraction. Like many people in rural Ireland, I am increasingly perplexed by the EPA, particularly in the aftermath of the report in question, which is riddled with inconsistencies. I am worried that we are relying on the EPA as we try to secure the continuation of our nitrates derogation from the EU. I am obliged to ask whether, on the basis of the detail in the report, anyone actually polices the EPA.

The report covers nine counties. It is riddled with significant and misleading errors. I will focus on the four sites in County Longford that are mentioned. I do so on the basis of an application for information under the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations. I will deal with the four sites in order. The site at Coolcraff is owned by Bord na Móna. In its report, the EPA said that Bord na Móna has ceased commercial harvesting and that large-scale remediation programmes are under way. How can the EPA honestly include this site in a report on large-scale illegal peat harvesting when the inspectors are fully aware that production at the site ceased in 2020?

The second site at Clooniher and Annaghcooleen comprises a very small area of bog measuring just under 5 ha. This site is being used for horticultural peat, and the rest is of the peat is being used for domestic fuel. How can the EPA honestly include an area of just under 5 ha as large-scale illegal peat harvesting when its inspectors are fully aware that it covers just 5 ha?

The next site lies across the three townlands of Derrymore, Trillickacurry and Ballymakeegan. The EPA took legal proceedings against Derrymore Peat Limited in relation to this site in August 2022. On foot of that court case, it was proven without doubt that there was no hydrological connection to any other area. In his ruling, Judge Owens dismissed all the charges against the defendant in the case. Peat in the area is now being harvested by Derrymore Peat, which applied to Longford County Council for a section 5 exemption. The council subsequently submitted that application to An Bord Pleanála on 20 January last. We are still awaiting a decision on it. EPA inspectors have visited the site on numerous occasions. How can the EPA honestly state that this site is being used for large-scale illegal peat harvesting when its inspectors are fully aware that the site is less than 28 hectares in size?

I welcome the Minister of State’s response on those questions. I hope to deal with the remaining site when I come back in.

Let us call a spade a spade. I am quite constrained in what I can answer here. The Senator will understand why. I will go through the detail now.

The EPA is an independent public body established under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992. The purpose of the EPA is “to protect, improve and restore our environment through regulation, scientific knowledge and working with others”. This reflects its three core roles: as an environmental regulator; as a key source of trusted scientific evidence and knowledge; and as a voice for the environment through leadership, advocacy and collaborating and partnering with others to deliver better environmental outcomes. In carrying out its mandate, the EPA performs a wide variety of functions.

The key point to reiterate is that the agency is an independent public body established under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992. As a result, it is entirely independent in the exercise of its functions, including enforcement, under that Act. While it would not be appropriate to speak to individual enforcement actions carried out by the agency, the enforcement of legislation that protects our environment should be supported.

The large-scale commercial extraction of peat is subject to planning legislation. Exemptions apply in specific circumstances and, depending on the scale of the activity, may necessitate the granting of an integrated pollution control, IPC, licence from the EPA. The regulatory regime is designed to control how the large-scale commercial extraction of peat takes place in order to ensure that the activity is carried on in an environmentally sound manner consistent with national and EU legislation. The EPA has been active in its efforts to control the unregulated large-scale peat sector and has committed to continue its enforcement actions in this regard. Details of the enforcement action taken by the EPA are set out in the agency’s Large Scale Illegal Peat Extraction report, which was published, as the Senator set out, in June. The report notes that the EPA was in the process of investigating 38 large-scale peat extraction operations over seven counties. The report also notes that the EPA engaged with the relevant local authorities in terms of the sector’s enforcement of environmental legislation and summarises the legislation that is applicable in the context of peat extraction, including with regard to planning, environmental impact assessment, appropriate assessment and IPC licensing.

As previously stated, while it would be inappropriate to speak to individual enforcement actions taken by the EPA, the enforcement of any legislation that protects our environment should be supported. Perhaps there is another forum at which the Senator might be able to bring in the EPA to go into the detail on the matter he has raised.

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that he is probably restricted in much of what he can say, but he has to understand the frustration being felt across rural Ireland that we have an independent State agency that is seemingly answerable to nobody.

The fourth site to which I refer lies across a number of townlands. The EPA, Longford County Council and everyone living in the areas surrounding the site are aware that there was no peat harvested there from as far back as 2020, and at least 2022. The EPA is aware of that, yet it included the detail in a report. Arising from that report, there was a piece in the Longford Leader which stated, "four sites above 50 hectares - an area of more than 200 hectares in total - has been identified in county Longford with heavy machinery used during industrial type operations." That is totally misleading. It is deeply wrong that the EPA can publish something as flawed as that. It is absolutely incorrect. It was aware that Bord na Móna lawfully operated nine different peatland complexes across 13 counties. It cited that as fact when that is not correct. It also gave export figures in the report which, again, were deeply flawed. It clearly has no insight into or grasp of how those export figures are calculated.

There is deep frustration with the EPA across rural Ireland. We are concerned because it appears that nobody is policing this. A big bone of contention and concern for us in rural Ireland is that we are relying on the EPA to bat for us when we are seeking the retention of our nitrates derogation from the EU. I am adamant that the EPA does not want to hold onto that derogation. It very much has a biased single agenda. It is anti-rural Ireland and anti-farming.

The Department of Climate, Energy and Environment, on behalf of which I am taking matter, is responsible for setting the policy and legislative framework within which the key environmental regulators discharge their functions, including the agency with regard to the environmental licensing of large industrial installations. The Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment, Deputy O’Brien, is constrained by the provisions of sections 79(3) and 86(5) of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 to exercise any power or control in relation to the performance in particular circumstances by the agency of a function assigned to it. The agency continues to inspect sites where it believes peat extraction may be taking place illegally and has engaged with the relevant local authorities in terms of that sector’s enforcement of environmental legislation.

On the points raised by the Senator, there are various forums at which the agency can be held to account. I encourage him to seek to deal with the agency at those forums.

In relation to the point on the nitrates directive, we put all our faith in the Minister for agriculture, Martin Heydon. I certainly have faith in him.

I welcome the Minister of State. I wish to speak about something simple but powerful, namely communication and the role it plays in tackling loneliness and isolation among our older people. The telephone support allowance was introduced in 2018 to help people living alone with the cost of staying connected through a phone or home alert system. It is paid at a rate of €2.50 per week. In seven years, that has never once been increased. To put this in context, a landline can cost anywhere from €30 to €40 a month and the monitoring fee for a personal alert system can be up to €90 per year. This small allowance no longer meets a fraction of those costs. It is also a highly targeted support available only to those who live along, qualify for the fuel allowance and are already receiving payments like the state pension or disability allowance. These are some of the most vulnerable people in our communities who often live alone and are struggling financially.

I am asking for a modest, but meaningful change, which is to increase the allowance by at least €7.50 per week, develop a benchmark so it keeps pace with real communication costs, and expand it to include broadband, renaming it the telephone and Internet support allowance. The cost estimated by ALONE is an additional €64.7 million, which is small compared with the social benefit it would deliver.

ALONE is a national organisation that enables older people to live well at home and as long as possible. It works to improve physical, emotional and mental well-being through an integrated network of staff and volunteers across the country. In Roscommon, ALONE is doing incredible work supporting older people to age at home with dignity and independence. ALONE has 141 active volunteers in Roscommon supporting over 600 older people so far this year. Each one of these people depend on being able to stay in touch, whether it is a phone call from a volunteer, check-in from a support worker or even a video call from a family member. Communication is often their lifeline. Loneliness and isolation are not small issues; they are public health challenges. We know that being cut off socially can have the same impact on health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. A phone line or broadband connection may seem like a simple thing, but it is often the first and easiest way to prevent loneliness. It keeps people connected with family, friends, neighbours and services. It allows older people to pay bills, book medical appointments or simply hear a friendly voice at the other end of the line. We cannot talk about digital transformation, inclusion and connected communities and leave behind the very people who most need these connections.

I am asking for the telephone support allowance to be increased by a minimum of €7.50 per week, a benchmark to be created so it stays in line with real costs, and for it to be expanded to include broadband, renaming it the telephone and Internet support allowance. This would help more than 160,000 people by 2027. These are people living alone, people who are already struggling and people for whom communication means safety, dignity and connection. We must review the telephone support allowance. When we talk about tackling loneliness, this is one of the most effective and immediate ways to start. A phone call, an email or a video chat seem small, but they can mean the world to someone who lives alone. Let us make sure that no older person in Ireland is left disconnected.

I thank the Senator for his extremely emotive and clear advocacy in his contribution. The telephone support allowance is a weekly payment of €2.50 for people on certain social welfare payments who are getting both the living alone increase and the fuel allowance. The primary objective of the telephone support allowance is to support access to critical communications infrastructure for the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including older persons and those with disabilities. This critical communications infrastructure can, of course, include broadband access.

While the proposal by the Senator is to be welcomed, all proposals, including the proposal to increase the telephone support allowance by a minimum of €7.50 could only be considered while taking account of overall Government policy and budgetary considerations. This also applies in respect of any commitment to develop an appropriate benchmark for the payment. In respect of the expanding the payment to include its use for broadband charges, while another objective of the telephone support allowance is to help maintain access to personal alarms or phones for security, it can of course also be used towards the cost of broadband. It is worth noting that the payment is automatically paid with a person’s main weekly social welfare payment.

The Government is committed to supporting older persons. Given the many competing demands for the limited funding available to the Department of Social Protection, there was no increase to the telephone support payment announced in budget 2026. However, other supports were provided by the Department for older persons. These supports were increased, including an overall package of €1.15 billion. This significant package balances payment rate increases together with a targeted package of measures aimed at supporting the most vulnerable in society. A weekly €10 increase was secured in the maximum weekly rate of all primary social welfare payments from January 2026. There will be proportionate increases for qualified adults and people getting a reduced rate. Furthermore, a €5 increase in fuel allowance, from €33 to €38 per week, from January 2026 was also secured, and this will provide an additional €140 during the annual fuel allowance season. A Christmas bonus will also be paid to over 1.47 million long-term social welfare recipients in December 2025. In order to receive the telephone support allowance, a customer must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and also in receipt of both the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance. This means that those in receipt of the allowance already receive considerable support from the Department of Social Protection.

The living alone increase is paid at a rate of €22 a week - a yearly total of €1,144 - in recognition of the greater challenges facing those living alone in avoiding poverty. Since 2019, the living alone increase has more than doubled in value from €9 to €22. The rate of fuel allowance payable has also increased significantly in recent years and, from January 2026, will provide support of €1,064 to a household during the fuel season. Increasing the rate of household-based schemes such as the living alone increase and the fuel allowance provides targeted support to households that are at a higher risk of poverty, as evidenced by recent ESRI research. Those in receipt of the telephone support allowance also have access to the household benefits package, which comprises of an electricity or gas allowance and the free television licence. This provides a further €580 a year to this cohort. Furthermore, the Department of Social Protection provides for additional needs payments as part of a supplementary welfare allowance scheme to help people meet essential expenses that they cannot pay from their weekly income or other personal and household resources. These payments are available through community welfare officers.

While I fundamentally believe that the Senator's suggestion is merited, it is important to look at it in the context of the overall package that was delivered for people in receipt, notwithstanding the vital need to ensure that communication is at the heart of addressing isolation, particularly in rural areas such as Roscommon.

I thank the Minister of State very much. I fully welcome all of the additional supports that were put in place following the budget. I am looking forward to 2026. As part of the programme for Government, there was a review put in to review the fuel allowance, the household benefits package and the living alone allowance, and they were all welcome. However, I would not be doing my job if I did not try to fight for every penny to support this demographic and for every opportunity to give them that extra bit of financial support and financial independence. These people get up in the morning and make decisions whether they will use one service or another or whether they will eat twice a day, because they are living on the margins. The isolation and mental health impact costs the State significantly more than what we are talking about in investment here.

I know it is not possible to produce this sort of money overnight. We are looking at the next budget cycle and I will speak to the Minister about this, but I would not be doing my job if I did not stand up for this particular demographic and for the 9,117 ALONE volunteers who, in 2024, delivered 264,000 voluntary hours to this particular sector, something that ALONE has estimated is valued at €7.81 million in voluntary hours support. It is about providing a lifeline, keeping in touch and keeping connected. By doing so, it is enabling these people to have independent living, which we are all here to support and support them in doing.

I agree with the Senator that we need to ensure that older people are not left behind in an increasingly digital world. In this regard, I commit that the Government will not be found wanting. The Senator rightly cites and commends the volunteers of ALONE. It is a brilliant organisation to which we are all indebted. As previously outlined, the Department of Social Protection provides targeted payments to help people with their household costs, including fuel allowance, the living alone allowance, the household benefits package and the additional needs payments. While these supports can, of course, help older persons with the cost of digital services, providing access to these services is also a priority for this Government. In this regard, the Government is providing significant funding through the national broadband plan, which will and is improving to be a game-changer in making sure people are maintaining access. It is important to keep a focus on that.

The existing supports within the Department, along with recent budget increases, will continue to support this important cohort. However, I understand the points that the Senator is making. I absolutely believe this is something that perhaps he could take up further as the social welfare Bill passes through the House. Moving from €2.50 to €10 per week in one step is a large amount in one go for 164,000 people. We can all do the maths in our heads if we want to, but that does not mean that it not without merit. I commend the Senator on raising the issue and encourage him to keep pushing it with the relevant line Ministers.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit.