I thank the Ceann Comhairle. People who do not qualify for social welfare but are just outside the threshold are working away on ordinary incomes. The Minister for Finance will know them as the middle four deciles. These people are under increased pressure on their finances, which makes it difficult to meet the costs of living. Has the Minister looked at measures to see if they can qualify for different schemes to support them with the costs of living, whether it is working family payments or income disregards for …

Tá an folúntas seo ann ó d’éirigh an sáirsint as in 2019 i mBaile Bhuirne. Bhí réamheolas ag an am sin ag na gardaí toisc go raibh an sáirsint ag druidim le haois faoi leith agus go mbeadh air éirí as. Tuigim go raibh iarrachtaí éagsúla déanta chun duine a fháil don phost ach níor éirigh leo ar feadh i bhfad. Tá roinnt mhaith plé déanta ag an gcomhchoiste póilíneachta, JPC, thar na blianta, mar gheall ar fholúntas Bhaile Bhuirne a líonadh. Aithnítear gur chóir do Ghaeilgeoir a bheith ann. Dar ndóigh, aon uair a bhí…

Ní fheadar cad a déarfaidh mé. Is í an deacracht is mó ná go bhfuil daoine roghnaithe ar an bpainéal. Tá na ceapacháin ullmhaithe le scaoileadh ach arís is arís eile feicimid go bhfuil áiteanna eile á gcur chun tosaigh agus nach bhfuiltear ag freastal ar mhuintir na Gaeltachta. Tá sé seo luaite arís agus arís eile ag an gCoimisinéir Teanga. Glacann Coimisinéir an Gharda Síochána go bhfuil gá leis. Nuair atá painéal ar fáil, ba chóir dóibh brú ar aghaidh agus an folúntas sin a líonadh. When the panel has been select…

I understand that there is an increasing number of people seeking asylum. I wish to establish what additional measures are being put in place to deal with these people to have their applications and needs met in a timely manner.

A 191% increase is a phenomenal increase and a huge burden. It is also a huge burden on the people themselves who are coming in, where they are being processed and almost pushed out to other centres of emergency accommodation throughout the country. We have seen situations where people are arriving to emergency accommodation with no blue card and no PPS number and, as a result, they would not have access to basic services such as medical services and a range of other services. One can well imagine that this is a ve…

I will focus on the non-Ukrainian people coming from many other areas. There is a system for dealing with Ukrainian people seeking assistance but there are people coming from so many other different areas. Has the Minister identified why there is there is such an increase? Is the UK's decision on Rwanda having an influence on this and has she found the root cause because that would be significant in dealing with and handling the issue? Accommodation was already a significant challenge for people. What measures are …

The well-being framework is about understanding and improving our quality of life by pulling together a framework of the things that are important to us across housing, mental and physical health, biodiversity and many other different measures. I understand the framework will be reflected annually in the summer economic statement and in the budget day documents. We are seeing that the summer economic statement is being advanced and the second report of the well-being framework has been published. Is it envisaged th…

Social housing applications can take some time to be processed. In the meantime applicants are without rent support and possibly struggling to pay. For many applicants for social housing, their primary focus is to get up and running on the housing assistance payment, HAP. Secondary to that is being considered for social housing. The length of time it takes to process applications is hitting people hard in the pocket. What kind of targets are set out for those processing times and are they being met?

This is hugely stressful for people who are planning on travelling or need to travel for funerals or other reasons, including holidays and are waiting for documentation and a passport to be available in order to facilitate that travel. For a question to emerge at the last moment creates another scramble and means people are tighter on time. Why can applications not be validated once they arrive into the Passport Service? It would be an obvious action. People could queue afterwards if there is an issue, and they nee…

I thank the Minister for checking out the question about the photograph. It will be interesting to see what the situation is and to make sure that that problem can be corrected. I also acknowledge the huge effort that has been made in improving the Garda form, because that had been a major problem for people. The validation of an application, once it arrives, also needs to be corrected such that, as soon as an application comes in, it is checked to make sure that if there are any issues, people have the opportunity…

Many parts of the country need upgrades to public transport. The response to the humanitarian crisis has added demand in some places more than others. Have these places been identified to Connecting Ireland? Is an agreement in place to accelerate these services for the benefit of the local population as well as the increased population coming in as a result of the crisis?

The Connecting Ireland plan had a public consultation late last year and was due to be published this summer, then implemented over five years with some routes coming in more immediately. Routes such as route 40, which serves Killarney to Macroom, Ballyvourney and on to Cork, and, similarly, route 257, which serves Killarney, Millstreet, Macroom and goes on to Bandon, were identified for improvement in the context of Connecting Ireland. They are needed. More than 300 people have come to Millstreet in recent weeks a…

I thank the Minister for that. There is a large group of people in Millstreet who are in need of transport. There was always a need to upgrade those services for people who have been there over many years, long-term residents. I will work with the Minister on following up on those routes and link-up routes with them, for example the 233 going on into Cork, to give people access to services. Many of the refugees are keen to work but very few of them have access to transport. If they want to be able to get over to Ki…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. Táim ag fiosrú mar gheall ar an tslí a bhfuil an scéim teanga ag feidhmiú ina Roinn féin. Mar a luamar, tá Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla (Leasú) nua le teacht i bhfeidhm sa tréimhse amach romhainn. Tá spriocanna dúshlánacha ann maidir le 20% den earcaíocht nua agus tá go leor nithe eile ag baint leis. Cad iad na hullmhúcháin atá á ndéanamh chuige sin? Glacaim go bhfuil an scéim reatha chun leanúint go dtí go mbeidh an córas nua i bhfeidhm. Roimhe sin, shamhlófá go mbeadh ul…

In the days ahead, secondary schools will be finishing up and primary schools will also finish their terms in the weeks ahead. School secretaries will be finishing work as well. A great deal of background work has been done in getting an agreed plan together, and I acknowledge everyone who has been involved in that. There are more than 3,000 schools involved across the country. Time is very tight. Is it envisaged that the new pay system for school secretaries will be in place for when they finish up? What kind of w…

We saw how the Covid-19 restrictions disrupted supply chains and led to price increases in many scarce materials. China has severe lockdowns at present and Ireland does a great deal of trade there, at in excess of €28 billion in goods and services. What measures are being taken to minimise disruption to supply chains and to minimise price increases? Many people here are already struggling with the cost of living and inflation.

I understand the Shanghai consulate is supporting Irish citizens and the business community there. Does the Minister have a measure of how the lockdown is impacting on them, their businesses and their ability to conduct business back and forth to Europe and globally? More than €20 billion in goods is traded each year. There are now more than 500 vessels stuck in congestion outside Shanghai and other major Chinese ports. This will have an impact on the individuals and their businesses. The availability of these mate…

I thank the Minister. Many people here are struggling with the cost of living and inflation is running at almost 7%. Energy prices are seen as a huge component of this. More and more everyday items are becoming involved. This is impacting on the cost of living and challenging people. As I said earlier, we saw how the disruption in insulation and timber impacted on construction costs after our lockdown. This is affecting €20 billion worth of all types of goods, including machinery, electronics, dishwashers, fridges …

The time it takes to get a passport is causing a lot of stress for people who are planning to travel. There are particular issues with regard to first-time applications and the guardianship form that is signed in a Garda station. When the Passport Office is not able to verify the form, the application is sent back and this causes huge stress for families. I have raised this at joint policing committee meetings and also directly with An Garda Síochána. Gardaí are getting a large volume of calls from the Passport Off…

The 20% reduction in the cost of bus fares made a meaningful difference to the cost of living for many travelling daily to college or work. However, it is not available on every bus service. Some communities have only the express bus available to them. Is there a way in which communities served only by express buses will have an opportunity to avail of the cost-of-living measures?