This relates to the benefit in kind for company cars, the fleet that people have out there, day in, day out, just to keep them doing their job and earning their income. There is a financial hit on people with this proposed change. The question is whether there is an opportunity to improve that for people.

I thank the Minister for the overview and very detailed response. It is a financial hit on people now more than ever due to the pressure from the cost of living and fuel prices. The electric car charging network has not been rolled out as we would have liked. Someone travelling around the Cork and Kerry region, or anywhere in the country, will be under pressure to find public charging points. I appreciate the Minister's point about the measure being flagged. Is there an opportunity at this point to delay it and giv…

The agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, is open for applications and there is a great number of farmers keen to take part. Budget 2023 provided for up to 30,000 farmers to take part initially. The applications have been open since mid-October and will run until later in November. It is a very tight timeframe. Farmers are engaging planners and advisers to put together the application, but there is a scramble to make that date at the end of November. If advisers and planners want to go on-site and see the g…

Tá sé an-tábhachtach go mbeadh an Garda ábalta teagmháil a dhéanamh le pobal na Gaelainne agus tá Coimisinéir an Gharda tar éis a rá go ndéanfadh an Garda feabhas ar chúrsaí. Bhí ceapacháin sáirsintí déanta ar fud na tíre roimh an samhradh agus tá panel ar fáil anois, ó thús na bliana, do sáirsintí a cheapadh, daoine le Gaelainn ina measc. Ach fós níl sergeant ceaptha i mBaile Bhuirne agus i gcomhair Ghaeltachta Mhúscraí, in ainneoin is go bhfuil daoine ar fáil. Tá an Garda tar éis a soiléiriú go bhfuil sé ag cur r…

The introduction of the €1,000 reduction in third level fees is a positive development and has been widely welcomed. For various reasons, however, some students find themselves excluded. Has the Minister engaged with the various institutions and examined opportunities and ways in which the students can be included within the ambit of this fee reduction, if this is possible?

I thank the Minister for the overview of this area. Typically, I understand that the free fee scheme acts as the qualifying criterion in this regard. For a whole range of different reasons, though, students may be attending different courses and they will be feeling the same pressures in respect of accommodation, energy and food cost-of-living issues as everybody else. Being in that situation is not determined by the course being pursued. For these students, therefore, to be able to access the fee reduction is impo…

I thank the Minister and draw his attention to several other students also falling outside this scheme, even though they are part of the free fees scheme. I refer to part-time students. Many people doing the green certificate, for example, will do it part time. People could be doing part-time courses for a variety of reasons. People who are repeating a year are finding themselves excluded from it as well. If there was some way of supporting them in the scheme, that would be important. During the pandemic, many peop…

I thank the Minister for the comprehensive response. There is a wide range of positive supports. When people reach 16, they need to confirm that they are in full-time education to be eligible. Clearly, full-time secondary school education is the threshold to be eligible. They continue to be in that situation, with the same costs, throughout the leaving certificate cycle, whether they are 16, 17, 18 or even 19. They are similar costs and will not differ. Many do not have the opportunity to work and would be so focus…

The measures and the focus on lower income families is positive and constructive. I agree with the Minister on it. Not every household is on social welfare. There are those that are just beyond the threshold. They also feel the burden of costs. Choices must be made. You have to cut your cloth according to measure but to do that you must measure. Has the Minister measured how many people would be involved if this support was made available? Has she examined what the cost would be? It is hugely important. One cannot …

There are approximately 16 cables off the coast. They are significant arteries of communication, transferring financial, personal and many other kinds of data from individuals, small businesses and global headquarters based here. Having seen the Nord Stream situation and the Russian exercise being conducted in this area, where those cables are at their shallowest depth, earlier this year, this is a real concern for many people. It is good to know the Minister has additional finance for the armed services and the na…

I thank the Minister for outlining that detail. I understand that undersea capacity is being developed to conduct monitoring but, from the sound of it, it is not days, weeks or months away but will come in over a much longer timeframe. That is a concern. Is there an opportunity to expedite the delivery of that capacity? Is it the case that people need to be trained up or is it a matter of purchasing and deploying equipment? I understand that there is only so much the Minister will be able to say but it is important…

Do we?

Has the Cabinet committee on health discussed the recruitment of people into the health service? There is a very serious situation with more than 20% of posts for care assistants, for example, in the Cork-Kerry region to be filled. Home helps are a vital service in supporting people who want to live at home and in their own communities, and to avoiding people having to go to hospital. The home help service is also a great support for their carers. This issue has been constantly raised by people in my office. They h…

The income threshold for housing has not changed in many years. In the meantime, the cost of housing has continued to climb, adding further pressure to households. We have seen the reports. Aside from the reports, people need to see movement on the day-to-day and the bread and butter. The cost of living has continued to increase, which puts further pressure on people on top of existing pressure. We have seen thresholds being changed in response in respect of fuel allowance, general practitioner cards and various ot…

The cost of living - just ticking over and keeping going - has continued to rise since that threshold was set. People who were just under that threshold and barely ticking over now find themselves losing eligibility for it. We have seen the largest social housing push locally in my area, with more than 150 families having moved into brand new social housing over the past year and a half. More houses are being built but I want everybody locally who has that low income to be considered and to have an opportunity to b…

Like householders, businesses are seeing a dramatic increase in their energy bills. Owners of supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and many other businesses locally have been highlighting to me the threefold increase they are seeing in their electricity and gas bills. It is just not sustainable for them. Not alone is it wiping out any profit but it is costing them to open the door and do business. Many of them have already taken a number of different steps, including reducing their energy costs by changing fridges, fo…

I thank the Tánaiste for his response and overview. I draw his attention to the hospitality sector. Often, when money is tight, eating out and staying somewhere overnight are things people will tighten up on as early as possible. Those businesses will possibly see a dramatic drop-off in their income. They are going to be pushed from both sides because many of their costs will remain high even if their restaurant or other facility is only half full or two thirds full. They will still have to run the same demand on f…

The local improvement scheme is essential for tarring rural roads. It is the first stretch of road that people will drive in the morning, the last they will drive in the evening and probably the most frequently driven piece of road. The local improvement scheme is the only hope for tarring these roads. Having enough funding and making it available to the widest number of people is important. Can the Minister give an outline of funding to run that important scheme?

I thank the Minister for the update. I want to acknowledge the increase in funding, as it is very constructive. What it means locally is that in our own area, there are four lanes instead of three being tarred. Additional families can benefit from that. As well as the increase in funding, there is also, unfortunately, an increase in the rules and conditions that apply. That is a difficulty for many of the participants. The Minister is familiar with the demand for the scheme and that some people have been waiting fo…

Irrespective of whether the money comes from the Department of Transport or the Department of Rural and Community Development, the priority is having it available. We want to make sure the maximum number of householders can benefit from it. In the context of the change in the conditions, people who were queueing for several years may now find they are not able to get everybody involved to participate in the scheme. It may be that a landowner is not taking part or the land is rented. By the way, there is no appeal m…