I had a similar question on the paper and it was not put together with this one. I ask the Minister and I have raised it before, which is exactly that same question in respect of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan’s Department. Can the Minister inform the House as to what the response to that question from that Department has been because it is something she has said previously she has sought? Again, in my constituency in Roscommon and in Galway, but particularly in Galway, there is a very significant backlog and dema…

When it comes to the energy crisis, workers and families are really being failed by this Government. The Government announced a cost-of-living package back in February when inflation was at about 5.5%. For much of that time the Government added what was announced then with what was announced in the budget four months beforehand, which was the Government's cost-of-living budget. Throughout recent months, inflation has climbed to more than 9% yet people are still waiting for help. Aside from the electricity credit, w…

I ask the Minister about the new process in place for the additional needs payment.

It is really welcome and I welcome the income limits that are there as well. I welcome the advertisements, the fact that awareness is being raised of what is available and that it is available to workers as well as those who rely on social welfare. I asked previously that putting this online be looked at because I came across a lone parent in her late 40s who had worked all her life. She is in that school situation whereby she has to sign on for the summer months. It was difficult for her. She said she could not go…

Will all the data for those who apply and receive or do not receive an additional needs payment be collected? I presume a person can ring the contact centre, ask for an application form and it will be posted to his or her house. That is welcome. While the online access will be helpful for some, as will phone and email, for others it will not be. In my home town we have Syrian and Afghan refugees and now Ukrainians. We do not have an Intreo centre in the town. There are difficulties. Previously, a person could walk …

When will the Minister publish the implementation plan to address the cost of disability?

With regard to the report now going to the steering group, is there a timeline for the work the group will do on the report and when it will come back to the Minister? Will the straw-man proposal to look at restructuring long-term disability payments include the domiciliary care allowance? I believe it should. Most people would agree that there are ongoing difficulties in this regard. When you deal with someone applying for domiciliary care allowance, you find that it can take two or three applications before that …

I ask the Minister to give a timeline as regards publishing the straw-man report because it is important that this work is done. It is welcome it is being done but a timeline would be helpful, particularly for the implementation plan on the back of that cost of disability report, which the organisations are seeking. I hope too that in the work that will be done now on restructuring those payments, what they look like and how they work, we also look at people in receipt of disability allowance who are working. There…

The working family payment scheme is very important for people in low-paid employment. Will the Minister consider expanding it in the budget?

The Minister of State will be aware of the report published yesterday showing that there are now 62,000 children living in consistent poverty. That this is the case in this day and age is one of our greatest sources of shame. I accept we have the roadmap to social inclusion, which is important, and I know work is under way in regard to that, but this is something we really need to get to grips with. One of the targeted measures put forward yesterday by the Children's Rights Alliance was to extend the fuel allowance…

I welcome the measures that have been taken. I also welcome the increase in the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. That is an important initiative and it is important that it was increased, especially this year. Something does not add up if we have approximately 370,000 people working in low-paid jobs and we have 47,000 people receiving the working family payment. Many more people should be accessing the working family payment, which is an important support, in particular when it comes to the current l…

As I rise to raise this issue, Irish resident, Robert Pether is an Iraqi prison. He is in a 14 ft room with 23 other men. They have cushions and some bunk beds. He gets outside for 20 minutes, three times a week, on the weeks that he does actually get outside. He can speak to his family once a week. His three children and his wife are thousands of miles away. They live in my constituency, in Elphin, in County Roscommon. They miss him desperately. Robert is a renowned engineer. He has spent much of his working life …

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is important that he made reference to the fact that Mr. Pether's wife and children are living here and they are, indeed, Irish citizens. All four members of the family are Irish citizens and while we and the family understand that consular assistance has to come from Australia, we too have a part to play. I acknowledge what has been done to date but I take the opportunity today, as the Dáil rises, to raise this case. I have been in touch with the Minister for Fore…

The programme for Government commits to a pensions solution for carers. The Taoiseach will know that the Commission on Pensions in its report put forward a number of recommendations as to how that can be done. While I appreciate there are different views on the pension age, there should be no delay in providing a full State pension to family carers, and that needs to include foster carers. I ask that this be looked at ahead of the budget, the plan being to introduce it in the budget. Family carers have waited this …

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the ending of many local employment services and job clubs throughout the State. The Taoiseach knows there was a commitment in the programme for Government to increase the availability of activation services. It specifically stated it would include those run by local employment services. Unfortunately since then, as the Taoiseach knows, there has been a tender. It will move away from the community not-for-profit base and towards a for-profit model. There are 26 local employment ser…

I too commend Deputy Cairns and the Social Democrats on tabling this motion. The latest data we have from the survey on income and living conditions were published in May. While the Minister of State was quick to welcome the reductions nationally across the rates for the key social inclusion indicators, those same data alarmingly show increases across the board for people with longstanding health issues, as the Central Statistics Office, CSO, calls it. The figures relating to who is at risk of poverty are up to 39%…

Yesterday, researchers from NUI Galway launched the 2022 edition of the local authority finances website. It shows that Galway County Council has a budget of under €144 million for this year, which is equivalent of €802 per person in Galway. If you look at the counties surrounding Galway, you can see that Mayo has a budget of the equivalent of €1,256 per person, Clare has a budget of €1,167 and Tipperary has a budget of more than €1,200. Galway is bigger than all of these counties and has a population that is far g…

The Taoiseach will be aware of the thousands of organisations in our communities that are supported by and rely on the rural social scheme. Of the 2,969 participants on the scheme today, nearly half of them will be forced to leave next year should the six-year rule go ahead. This is on top of 380 current vacancies. Galway Rural Development provided us with a list of 172 organisations in County Galway alone, from schools to the parish council in Ahascragh and from GAA clubs to Brothers of Charity services across Gal…

When I speak on issues relating to the cost of living, issues that Sinn Féin has been raising for a long time, I usually recall the real life stories and situations that are brought to my office and those of other Sinn Féin Deputies, but the Government knows all of this, or at least it tells us it knows it all. It tells us that it knows and understands, yet still it will not act. The Government amendment to the motion says it all. Of course, it says nothing new. The Government is still speaking about social welfare…

It is very hard to go back to a carer and tell them they are on the waiting list but unfortunately there is no respite for them. I recently had to go back to a lady in her 70s who is caring for a daughter in her 40s and was looking for overnight respite that simply is not there. I am sure it is something everyone in this House has had to do and it is really difficult. She is caring for her daughter who is in her 40s and wants to keep her at home for as long as possible. The Brothers of Charity, which provides much …