An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25
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Anne Rabbitte (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach

The visitors are very welcome. I want to raise the issue of meals on wheels. At its meeting earlier this morning, the social protection committee had representatives from a number of the LEADER companies before it. They were setting out their strategy for the next five years. Representatives from the Offaly Local Development Company raised the fact that it is providing meals on wheels and that there is a shortage of funding for it. When we are having the conversation about the cost of fuel, we also need to be cognisant of the needs of older persons. Could we also have a conversation or a debate with the Minister of State with responsibility for older persons in the interests of ensuring that the six regional executive officers, REOs, have sufficient funding? This would allow the REOs to ensure that all of those who are responsible for meals on wheels would, in turn, have adequate funding, not just for their work from Monday to Friday but also to provide meals on wheels that are being delivered through many day care centres and that they are able to get to the most vulnerable on a seven-days-a-week basis. That would be really welcome, and I would appreciate the opportunity.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-25