I thank the Minister of State for his reply and I do not believe anyone in this House would disagree with the fact that community employment provides essential and key services and supports right across the State. They provide services that in many cases would otherwise simply not exist. The supervisors and the assistant supervisors, in particular, have a significant responsibility when it comes to the running of these schemes, particularly because of the people and the communities they serve and their importance. …

I thank the Minister of State and I appreciate that he cannot speak to the ongoing deliberations within the WRC but this is a welcome move. The supervisors, be it in Tús, RSS or in community employment, have not seen a pay rise since 2008, which is a long time. During that period, they have had additional workload and responsibilities because of the demand within the communities for the support of those schemes. In many cases, there has been a great deal more demand from the public and people in communities for ass…

I will ask the Minister about co-operation between Departments to support communities where refugees have arrived. Ballaghaderreen in my constituency is a prime example. More than 400 refugees and international protection families have arrived since 2017. This is a small, rural town that has seen zero supports and nothing additional for it. There are issues around healthcare and education, and additional resources are needed for the likes of the local family resource centre. This is not fair to the refugees who are…

It is an appalling indictment to think that in 2023 so many children are in need of support throughout the State. This includes various levels of support, whether it is therapy or supports through CAMHS. They are being so severely failed. Of course, this is not a new issue. In my constituency, there are 247 children in CHO 2 across counties Roscommon, Galway and Mayo who are all on CAMHS waiting lists. These are children, who are very young in some cases, whose childhoods are being destroyed. Parents, in particular…

Hundreds of people in Roscommon and Galway remain on waiting lists for home care. Some wait for up to 18 months. With the recent loss of step-down beds, nursing home closures and a lack of respite available in both counties generally, home care is even more essential. There have been clear issues around the recruitment and retention of home care workers for a long time. A report was published by the Minister last November which had 16 recommendations. Of course, there were no surprises in the findings of that repor…

If this Government had dealt with the forestry licensing crisis that has been ongoing for some time now and treated existing forestry owners, including those with ash dieback, fairly, more farmers and landowners would plant forestry. Targets set by the Government would actually be met and we would not be in a situation where there is now an attempt to sell off rural communities. Coillte's plans will take over thousands of hectares of farmland in rural communities to line the pockets of a foreign investment fund. Th…

I ask the Minister for an update on the development of a rural-proofing mechanism.

I thank the Minister very much. It is of course important that we get this model right. The work that has been done to date is welcome. Looking at the international perspective allows us to take the best bits, to look at the challenges faced where rural-proofing models are in place and to ensure that we develop the best model possible to ensure that our rural communities are not adversely impacted by policies brought forward by the Government and by State bodies, which I hope will also be included. This is a propos…

I urge that the model be put in place as quickly as possible. I appreciate that much work has been done and that it is important to get this right. It is welcome that the Minister is ensuring that this is being brought forward, because it is extremely important. We have seen the consequences of the failure to not look through this rural lens in respect of the north and north west, which is now a region that is no longer developed in the eyes of the EU. If rural-proofing had been in place, then perhaps we might have…

The Minister will be aware that islanders and their representatives, including Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, have been seeking a specific stand-alone subregional area for the islands when it comes to LEADER. What engagement, if any, has the Minister's Department had? Deputy Connolly referred to the presentation here last month by islanders and their representative bodies to seek this stand-alone, specific subregional area with regard to LEADER. Has the Department engaged with the islanders and their representative…

Clearly, the Minister's Department engaged but, unfortunately, it did not listen. One only has to look at the spending on LEADER and the difference it made to the development of the islands when there was a specific local action group, LAG, in the period 2007 to 2013. More than €527,000 was spent on Mayo islands in that period compared to €129,000 in the last round of LEADER. If one looks at the Galway islands, it is very stark, in that €1.5 million was spent in the period where they had their own LAG versus €197,0…

I ask the Minister of State for an update of the roll-out of the town centres first policy. Will he provide an update on it? I understand it has 33 actions. Will he tell us about the recruitment for town regeneration offices across our local authorities?

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. Those town regeneration officers are going to be critical to the roll-out of this policy and will have a key role in ensuring all actions are implemented. Due to their being based in their own areas through the local authorities, they will have good knowledge of the situation on the ground and the towns in question. Is there a timeline for having all those officers in place and appointed? On the Croí Cónaithe scheme, it was raised with me last week that you cannot get the €30,00…

I welcome that funding. This is an important policy, especially for towns in rural areas that really suffered after the 2008 crash and throughout that period. In many cases they are yet to recover from that. There is much vacancy and dereliction across many rural towns and I have no doubt this policy, once implemented fully, will make a difference but putting those regeneration officers in place and ensuring they are there as soon as possible will be key to that. On the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, I appreciate it is …

It is still not clear to me why the decision was made that the islands would not be afforded that specific stand-alone subregional area status, although I appreciate it was considered. In 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the special situation of islands. Through EU policy, islands are to be treated as distinct territories. That seems to be totally against what the Minister and the Department have decided with regard to LEADER. Why can the islands not be dealt with as one subregion, as recommend…

I have been contacted by a mother in Roscommon whose child requires occupational therapy and speech and language therapy but is not receiving it. In her email she said it is one year since the provision of services transferred from the Brothers of Charity to the HSE. During this year the situation has been intolerable for her family, with having to beg at ministerial level for services. Her child is one of thousands, and in our own community healthcare organisation, CHO 2, 1,600 children are waiting for that initia…

Earlier this week I received an email from a CE scheme supervisor who has been left with no option but to resign. She was running a scheme with 32 participants, supporting 20 sponsors, covering an area of 85 km and responsible for €500,000 in Government funding through the scheme. She was working without the support of an assistant supervisor because they have not been able to recruit anyone due to poor pay. She is not the only one. I heard what was said with respect to the Department of Public Expenditure and Refo…

I have just listened to a weather expert on radio advising households as temperatures are expected to drop below freezing for what he called "a prolonged period." He suggested those unable to access the fuel allowance, which is the majority of workers and families, can access an additional needs payment. If only it was that simple. This is, of course, an important support in cases of emergency or an urgent situation. I am aware of applications that are still taking between ten and 12 weeks to be processed. Househol…

I want to ask the Taoiseach about Garda presence in our rural communities. We know from recent data released by my colleague, Deputy Martin Kenny, that Garda membership across the State has fallen since 2009 while the population has grown by over 11% in that time. Since 2009, Garda numbers in Galway have increased by just 19. The wider division of Mayo, Roscommon and Longford has got 17 additional gardaí in the past 13 years. Those are three mostly rural counties. Crime is on the rise. Burglaries are up 47% in Rosc…

I welcome that the Minister has agreed to look at this. It is very important. A number of Members in the Opposition have raised concerns, as have Government backbenchers, about community welfare officers and accessing them. As well as those of us in the Opposition, organisations like the Society of St. Vincent de Paul have raised concerns about accessing community welfare officers. We have been raising the issue for some time, so this really needs to be done. CWOs will be under very significant pressure, as are peo…