While I acknowledge the year-on-year increase in funding, I want to convey the disappointment of the National Youth Council of Ireland because it released a statement and I am not sure it got the acknowledgement and the recognition it deserved. It did a lot of work coming up to the budget, as many organisations do. It sought €15 million and outlined exactly what that amount was needed for. The council has also raised concern that, with additional funding of only €7 million, the new youth work strategy is at risk of…

We have two supplementaries before the Minister of State comes back in. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh is first.

In 2011 the accident and emergency department at Roscommon was closed. At that time a commitment was made by Fine Gael that there would be 24-7 advanced paramedic cover because we were further away from the nearest accident and emergency department. This commitment was made. Five years ago we had 13 advanced paramedics in the Roscommon ambulance base. Today we have three. The NAS keeps telling me it cannot fill the post yet at the same time it has suspended the training of advanced paramedics and has done so since …

I welcome the engagement by the Minister, and I know he engaged with Senators, particularly regarding the NDAs and the amendments that will be brought forward accordingly. I welcome that. That engagement was important. The second change that is being brought in, related to the private records and ensuring that they are protected, preserved and that no harm comes to them, is obviously an important amendment. It is something that has been highlighted. Again, I commend the Minister, having engaged with those who were …

Deputy Sherlock is most welcome. I thank the Minister and welcome this important legislation. It is clear the Minister was very adamant this was done and passed and that we would move swiftly to do so. I commend him on that. This legislation has important elements. I welcome them and acknowledge all the Minister's work on it. Allowing the postponement of maternity leave for mothers when they are seriously ill is an extremely important move. Like the Minister, I commend the Irish Cancer Society on the wonderful "Lea…

I wish to raise the terrifying case of Najwa Alsabbagh, who is 74 years old and is trapped in northern Gaza which has been and remains under deadly bombardment. An Irish visa was granted for her to travel here back in February and eight months later she is still trapped in Gaza. I have raised this with the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach several times, and I have also raised it with the Tánaiste's Department. Her daughter Sherin, an Irish citizen, living in Ballaghaderreen in my constituency is at home waiting for her. …

We are moving on. At the rate we are going, we will barely hit the next question.

The budget announced this week by the Minister will see the average cost of a tank of petrol or diesel rise by €12, making Ireland one of the most expensive countries in Europe for fuel. For workers and families in rural communities, particularly those such as mine in counties Roscommon and Galway, this will make it even more expensive to run a car, which is, of course, a necessity in many of these areas. It also makes it more difficult for young drivers who are starting out. This measure will hit rural communities…

I ask the Minister to just deal with the issue.

My question is about capacity in the childcare sector. There are major deficiencies, with thousands of children without a childcare place. What actions does the Minister intend to take to build capacity urgently in the sector?

I thank the Minister. The first point he made relates to capital expenditure and the provision of extensions and new builds under the building blocks scheme. However, the 33,000 children who need a childcare place today cannot wait for the capital projects and extensions, which, in many cases, I presume, will require planning permission. Some providers have the physical space needed but they have closed rooms because they cannot get the staff. They physically cannot staff those rooms. In order to build capacity, we…

I acknowledge that. However, the last pay increase that was achieved was 65 cent. It took 14 months to negotiate it. It could not be done around the table, with workers having to seek assistance from the Labour Court. If they wait another 14 months and get about 60 cent, we will lose the early years educators we desperately need from the sector. There are childcare places that would be available if the providers could staff the rooms, particularly baby rooms. I have seen that in my county of Roscommon, where baby r…

What is the specific number of payments, not the number being processed, that have been made to survivors of the mother and baby homes under the payment scheme?

It is welcome that just under 1,800 payments are in the process of being made or have been made. However, the fact that 34,000 survivors are eligible to apply for the scheme shows the need for the public awareness campaign. People who are entitled to this payment and can apply for it clearly have not done so, for whatever reason. We need to make sure the process is as easy and straightforward as possible. I know of two cases to date where the person who applied passed away while waiting for their payment. People wh…

I thank the Minister. He has acknowledged the delays and such is the nature of applications. There are sometimes delays where additional information is needed or the applications need to be looked at again. How many people are dealing with the processing and issuing of these payments? I was recently contacted by a survivor who had received a letter to state they would be given the enhanced medical card. The letter included a full list of what the survivor could access in home care and other supports. The person con…

This is to ask the Minister about the possibility of examining opportunities to use the social enterprise model. This is something we had put forward in our childcare plan and which should be looked at as a way to quickly build the capacity that is badly needed in the childcare sector.

I had engaged with Social Enterprise Ireland ahead of Sinn Féin's policy and it had spoken about a pilot of €20,000 that would allow it to do a feasibility study which would identify community centres and community enterprise centres across Ireland. For €20,000, it is not a lot. I think doing that job of work of identifying spaces where childcare could be incorporated would be really worthwhile because when they are in a shared space, it keeps costs down, rent is shared and electricity is shared. It makes a differe…

I ask the Minister to consider looking at that proposal from Social Enterprise Ireland. It is €20,000. It will do the job of work of identifying those buildings where there is existing capacity and where childcare could be brought into those buildings. In some cases they are not used at all. I think that would be a worthwhile job of work and would be a way in which we could build capacity quickly within the sector. The social enterprise model has been proven to work already. For a small amount of money, I think it …

I want to ask the Minister about the anomaly that exists in the nine-week payment for parent's leave and benefit for one-parent families and the fact that if someone has a baby and is part of a two-parent family there will be two nine-weeks of paid parent's leave whereas if it is a one-parent family there be just nine weeks. That is an anomaly that should be corrected.

I welcome that parent's leave has increased from two to nine weeks and it is a great support for parents, particularly when maternity leave is only 26 weeks and paternity leave at the moment is only two weeks. Despite all of that, regarding the one-parent family, if a baby is born into a one-parent family and the other parent is deceased, for example, there will be nine additional weeks; but for a baby born into a two-parent family there will be 18 weeks. That is not fair and we should have equality on this. It wou…