Part of the Government's response to the cost-of-living crisis to date has been supports available through the local community welfare officer. However, the figures speak for themselves and we have seen a fall in the number of exceptional needs and urgent needs payments made. In the period 2016 to 2019, there were between 90,000 payments to over 100,000 payments made. Last year it was 55,000 and to date it has been about 18,000 payments. This should be a cause of concern, especially the figure for heating and house…

I am glad to get the opportunity this morning to raise the anomaly in legislation on disability allowance. This anomaly was exposed by Tracy McGinnis last week in the midst of grieving for her beloved son, Brendan Bjorn. She is seeking action from the Government to amend the legislation and she has put forward a solution she believes will ensure no other parent faces the additional pain and suffering added to grief already felt following the loss of a child. I am sure that is the most difficult time in any parent's…

If the Department does indeed recognise the need for a transition period during which people can grieve and plan a life following the death of a family member, then this anomaly should be fixed. It can be fixed easily and I have sent the amendment to the Minister. I would appreciate it if, in her response, the Minister would confirm whether she believes this is an anomaly. What is the difference between a 14- or 15-year-old child with a disability, who is in receipt of domiciliary care allowance and who passes away…

In his closing remarks, the Minister of State spoke about the need for a just transition for communities, which is crucial. It is particularly important for communities that have been hardest hit. I am thinking of those in Shannonbridge and Lough Ree and the severe economic blow that the closure of plants there has dealt to the local communities. Generations of families have relied on these plants for employment. The bottom line is that those jobs have not been replaced. My colleague, Deputy Sorca Clarke, and I met…

I wish to raise the pay and terms and conditions of school caretakers. While I welcome the deal that was done in March for school secretaries, which was overdue and well-deserved, caretakers are not included in this deal. I met a caretaker recently who has worked in his local national school for 30 years. I hope the Minister will agree and acknowledge that caretakers do invaluable work in our schools along with school secretaries. Schools would not function without either. It is important that we do not replace one…

I welcome this motion and thank the Regional Group for bringing it forward. It is an important debate to have in the House. Of course, we know the greatest challenge with these grants is the simple fact there is not enough funding for our local authorities to meet demand. Galway County Council is a prime example. Before the end of the first quarter of this year, it had over 1,000 applications, with some being progressed, some approved and some new applications that it was dealing with. We were told in March of this…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that: — food prices are continuing to rise, with groceries expected to cost €780 more over the next 12 months; — new research has found that 62 per cent of people feel they will have to cut back on food spending over the coming year; and — Sinn Féin have proposed a suite of solutions that would provide badly needed relief to households, to include: — putting a month's rent back into renters' pockets; — reducing childcare fees by two-thirds; — increasing the minimum wage and soc…

Will the Minister provide us with an update on the LEADER programme and the funding for it, particularly considering the statement made recently by the European Commission? It was an annexe to a response to our CAP proposals and it included information on LEADER.

I understand that the CAP period of 2023 to 2027 is not fully determined yet and that work is under way on the design of LEADER for that period. Will the Minister indicate the timeline for the completion of the design and when LEADER will know exactly what is happening from 2023 onwards? The EU, through the European Commission's statement, said with regard to the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, general objective of strengthening the socioeconomic fabric of rural areas, Ireland is invited to reflect on whether the …

The Minister will also know the interim funding that is in place now was a matter of concern for the Irish Local Development Network, ILDN. A number of LEADER projects throughout the State felt the funding was inadequate for the period. She will also know the ILDN is not satisfied with the €180 million for the four-year period. Issues have been raised in regard to that. Now that the European Commission is questioning the approach, given the high level of need identified, Ireland is being asked to reflect on whether…

I ask the Minister to give an update on the islands strategy. Has she received the draft copy and will she indicate when it might be published?

That is welcome. This strategy has been delayed mainly due to the Covid pandemic, which was accepted and understood. Have the public consultations been held on every island in person? I know Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann has sought a draft copy of this strategy as soon as the Minister receives it. I have previously asked the Minister and her officials to consider sharing it with that body. This is a ten-year plan and we have not had a strategy for the islands since 1996, 26 years ago. When introducing a ten-year pl…

That is helpful. I am glad those seeking engagement in person were facilitated. The Minister has spoken about engagement and collaboration on the draft plan. I reiterate the point that the possibility of success in developing a ten-year plan is reduced if the main stakeholder is not on board. Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann is a really good organisation, representative of all those islands which people call home. It does great work, and if it is on board, it will be a success. I also want to mention island-proofing. …

My question seeks an update from the Minister on the rural-proofing strategy as promised in Our Rural Future.

It is welcome that the Minister has received that final report. Will it be published? The Minister said she will now consider it. How long does she think that will take? This is an important mechanism for rural communities and it is going to be particularly important as we face into measures that are going to have to be taken with regard to climate action because it is important that we bring rural communities with us. It is also important that the policies brought forward in respect of climate measures or otherwis…

I want to ask the Minister about the report that has, I hope, been finalised by the child maintenance review group. I understand she was to receive that report at Easter. Will she outline when she will publish it?

This report has been long-awaited by many Members of the House, who had asked for many years for child maintenance to be examined. The establishment of this review group was very welcome, and I am glad it has reported and that the report is with the Minister. With regard to bringing the report to Cabinet when the Minister has gone through it, and I appreciate that she will have to engage with the Department of Justice and so forth because it is not just a social protection issue but involves a number of Departments…

I welcome that this report has been published and I acknowledge the hard work of everyone who took part in that work. It will be extremely important for the future. We have put forward proposals on many occasions for a statutory child maintenance service. That is what we would like to have, and to see it taken off the shoulders of lone parents who end up having to go to court in some cases where maintenance is ordered by a judge, but it is not necessarily paid, and then it is back on the lone parent to go back to c…

The question is to ask the Minister when she will publish her response to the report by the Commission on Pensions, which published its report last November and her response was due by the end of March. She might please advise when the response will be published.

I love the term "in the coming weeks" because it really narrows it down. In fairness, I appreciate the work that was done. I understand that it is a massive report and the area of pensions is hugely complex with many different aspects to it. As the Minister outlined, the report is more than 250 pages long. However, it has been published for almost eight months and we need a response from the Government. People need to know if there are changes coming, and what they are, so that they can plan for their retirement an…