It is really important that we put the details of how this is going to work out there. Geotagging, photos and apps for uploading photographs will be a minefield for a certain percentage of farmers. I understand the texts will go out to farmers from June. In some cases, farmers will get a text message from the Department to say they are in the red. Then they will have to go about getting the photograph uploaded. It is important that as much information as possible is put out there because that is going to pose diffi…

I understand with the satellite mapping and the changes that are coming in that there will be an element of wait and see. It will be a new system for farmers and some will find it difficult in the context of the level of technology that is coming into farming anyway. Uploading photographs and all that is going to pose problems for some farmers. That is one element. Second and most important of all is the worry and fear for farmers about payment dates for this year. While they will understand and appreciate that the…

What long-term measures and proposals are in place to avoid a reoccurrence of the felling licence backlogs we saw previously? Why have some farmers and forestry owners been given two-year rather than ten-year licences?

What are the average turnaround times for felling licence applications? How long are applicants waiting to get those licences approved? On the wider issue of licences, the Minister of State referenced the fact that the new forestry programme has not yet been approved. I ask her to update the House in that regard. I welcome her remarks on licensing and publishing something in that regard. It is important. Many farmers have lost faith in forestry. It is important that we get the forestry programme right and that all …

The Minister of State stated that applicants would not necessarily be given a two-year felling licence unless they intended to fell within those two years but I have been contacted by applicants who do not intend to fell within two years, yet were given a two-year licence. That needs to be considered. The standard licence is for ten years. It is important that be in place and that farmers and forest owners have clarity in that regard. That will feed into what it is hoped will be a much more successful forestry prog…

On top of the thousands of families with eviction notices and those with notices to come, there is another cohort of people, mainly women, that is hugely affected by the housing crisis. A case I really wanted to raise today is that of a constituent who fled an abusive marriage. She has two young children and is currently in a refuge. She has been offered one room with two beds in it for her and the children. One child will get their own bed, the other will sleep with the mother and there is a fridge and a sink at t…

Last year, 286 notices to quit were served in County Galway and 58 HAP tenants in the county have been given notices to quit. There are zero properties available within the HAP limits. There are zero properties available in most of the towns where people can actually rent, including Ballinasloe. There is a waiting list for emergency accommodation for County Galway. Roscommon County Council told me yesterday that it is still awaiting direction from the Government on the formal cost-rental scheme for those who are no…

I also listened to the Minister and he spent ten minutes doing what he accused Sinn Féin of doing when he said we were playing politics. I listened to the debate. We have put on the Dáil record the reality for people with eviction notices and what they are facing. They are not a cohort of people the Minister has spoken to or about, in relation to this contribution. In fact, he spent most of his contribution criticising Sinn Féin, which is playing politics, precisely what we have not done. We have brought the voices…

Does the Minister intend to carry out a review of the JobPath scheme now that referrals to that scheme have ceased? Given the amount of taxpayers’ money that has been spent on JobPath, it is very important that the scheme be reviewed now that referrals have ceased or else to have a guarantee that such a review will take place once it is fully finished.

I thank the Minister for the reply. The JobPath scheme has cost over €322 million of taxpayers’ money. Any time I hear a Government representative speaking about JobPath, they speak of it as a success. However, I cannot understand how 350,488 people were referred to JobPath, some twice, some three times and a very few a fourth time, and then that was stopped. Some 29,041 people have found work that has been sustained for one year, which is 8% of total referrals finding a job for one year. At the committee in Februa…

To be fair, I am not actually accusing the Government of anything but the figures speak for themselves. Some 350,000 people were referred to a scheme and 29,000 secured work that lasted for a year. It should also be borne in mind that referral fees of €311 were paid to private companies, in some instances two, three or four times in respect of the same person. Over €300 million of taxpayers' money was paid to private companies. We had great difficulty in getting information about the many fees involved in JobPath. …

I welcome the recently announced changes to CE schemes. However, I do not believe they go far enough. With regard to the reduction of the qualifying period from 12 months to nine months in respect of Ukrainian refugees, will the Minister of State consider extending that reduction across the board given the high and growing number of vacancies on CE schemes?

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I remember raising concerns with regard to CE and the number of vacancies when there were 1,200, 1,300 and 1,400 vacancies on CE schemes posted online. Today, there are more than 3,600. It is an excellent scheme, as the Minister of State knows. I know he engages with the organisers, which is really important, but, at the end of the day, what has been announced will not go far enough when we have more than 3,600 vacancies and that figure is rising. We really need to go…

Going on that, perhaps a broadening of that reduction from 12 to nine months beyond just those from our new communities could be looked at later in the year or even after the summer because, at the end of the day, there is a very high number of vacancies. The Minister of State will have been told the same thing I have been, which is that projects are not getting referrals and are struggling to fill places, which is putting really important community services on the line in an awful lot of areas where those services…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. I commend Deputy Harkin and the Independent Group on bringing forward this really important motion. As the Minister will know, the need to review carer's allowance is an issue I have raised many times. From listening to the discussion this morning, however, the issue is clearly much broader than that. There is a clear need to put a plan in place with regard to carer's allowance and those income supports for family carers going forward. It is very clear that we canno…

I have been contacted by staff in EmployAbility services throughout the State who are worried about the upcoming tendering out of their services. This is due to be published in April. The Taoiseach will know EmployAbility services are unique because they support people with disabilities and long-term illness into employment. There are genuine fears among staff regarding possible changes to that service. Given that EmployAbility services deal with some of the most vulnerable citizens, I ask that a level of certainty…

Today is not only an opportunity to acknowledge the many inequalities that continue to exist for women in Ireland in 2023, but to commit to ending those inequalities. On days like today, I think in particular of places where women really come to the fore in our State. One example in this regard is caring. I am thinking here of family carers, home care workers and lone parents, who are predominately women. We have so much to do to support all of those women in the caring that they provide day in and day out, sometim…

I was contacted by an elderly gentleman in my constituency who returned home from hospital recently and now has to use an oxygen supply at home. This is obviously increasing his energy bills considerably. His electricity bill recently arrived. It was for €1,248. He then received a revised bill, after his meter was read, of €1,700. He cannot afford this bill and he knows that he will not be able to afford that level of bills going forward. He is, of course, one of many. The question is, how are these people supposed…

I spoke to a number of sheep farmers outside the Houses this week. They came here seeking action from the Tánaiste's Government to save their sector. Sheep farmers in Roscommon, Galway and across the State are experiencing real financial hardship and have described the €12 per ewe delivered by the Minister as an insult. It clearly needs to be increased. The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, has called for an emergency package to be funded through the Brexit adjustment reserve fund. Sheep farmers are…

I welcome this motion and the debate on this important issue. This is a very important issue, particularly in rural areas where people tend to live more remotely and further away from hospitals. Like every other Deputy, I am contacted by constituents every now and again who are frustrated and annoyed because they have contacted an ambulance and have waited and waited for it to arrive. This causes great distress. People call ambulances when they are in need. Sometimes people are not aware of the way in which ambulan…