Grant Payments
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
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Maeve O'Connell (FG), Dublin Rathdown

According to the Skillnet Ireland talent report for 2025, 58% of businesses report that they have difficulty in attracting required skills. There is a huge opportunity for society and for the individuals themselves in people reskilling and upskilling, thereby contributing more to society and improving their own lives. However, we are effectively putting barriers in place, preventing people from engaging in this upskilling by not enabling them to fully access all the supports that would be available to them were it not for their personal circumstances. In order to finance their return to education, people are returning to live at home, having been in rental accommodation or overseas. Many people in Dublin Rathdown have been in touch with me to highlight how they were not aware that, if they allowed their children to move back home, they would suddenly no longer be eligible. These are individuals who regard themselves as fully mature and independent. They just want to make a greater contribution to society and improve their own opportunities.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29