I wish to ask about the establishment of town regeneration officers as outlined in the Town Centre First policy.

I understand that these town regeneration officers will be recruited local authority by local authority, which more than likely means that someone external will be brought in. That is welcome because we will need someone within the local authorities to focus on this and drive the Town Centre First policy, which is a good policy. If it does what it is supposed to, it will make a significant difference to town centres across the State. It will tackle the levels of vacancy and dereliction that have, in some cases, bee…

The position for the person in that head office will be advertised next week. When does the Minister foresee that local authorities will begin recruiting? When does she see that part of the process being finalised?

What is the status of the forthcoming progress report? I acknowledge it is published and I read it with great interest. I will raise two aspects of the report. It has many references to the acceleration of broadband and also refers to the success of the remote working hubs, with which I entirely agree. There are two matters. One relates to the ability to accelerate the broadband programme. Has the Minister had any engagement regarding that on the back of this progress report?

It is welcome to see so many of those actions either delivered or well under way. I welcome that. I will speak on two aspects of that progress report, in particular. The very first measure relates to broadband. The report references the acceleration of the broadband programme, which was a commitment in the programme for Government. The Minister will know that National Broadband Ireland, NBI, is under significant pressure. It had a target last year of 115,000 premises to be passed but 34,500 premises were passed by …

It is important that the Minister has a real level of direct engagement with NBI, even though it is not exactly her Department's remit. Given how crucial the roll-out of broadband in a timely manner is, and its importance to rural communities, it is important she engages regarding it. I know that she is doing so. The target that was missed last year was significant. When we look at the likes of Eir, it met its targets. While Covid may be used as part of the reason, other telecommunications companies met and exceede…

I am glad to introduce this Bill with my colleague. This legislation has passed Second Stage in this House unanimously twice. It was passed in the previous Dáil and the one before that, but here we are again. Despite obvious support in this House and among the public for a long time, nothing has been done to make this happen. This is about giving workers a choice when it comes to retirement. For far too long, employment contracts have stipulated that workers must retire at the age of 65 and that they are no longer …

I welcome the €100 emergency support payment that has been announced for licensed hauliers. It is a help and it will go some small way towards assisting hauliers. Those transporting livestock are exempt from having haulage licences. They should be included in the scheme. Since this payment was announced, a number of bus operators in Roscommon and Galway have been in touch to seek similar support. A recent survey by the Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland found that 95% of all school transport bus operato…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — the cost of household energy is spiralling, with more than 30 different price increase announcements from Irish energy suppliers over the past year; — costs have risen by around €500 for an average household, with energy suppliers announcing further rises next month; — home heating oil has increased in price by over €1,000 for 1,000 litres this year; — Bord Gáis Energy have announced price rises of up to 39 per cent next month; — the price of coal increased by €4.50 per bag …

I am at a loss to know how the Government's response to what it calls an energy crisis can be described as comprehensive. The main issue being debated and that has been raised by those who have spoken is household heating costs. The Minister said that the Opposition would not be content no matter what Government proposal is brought forward, but there is no proposal regarding household heating. That is the problem. Aside from the €200 electricity credit announced nearly four months ago, which we are still waiting fo…

The Minister will be aware of the legislation that was debated on Second Stage in the House two weeks ago. I appreciate she was away at the time, but she will be aware that this legislation concerns her Department's liable relatives unit and how it treats the seeking of maintenance or a contribution from the non-custodial parent, when it comes to the one-parent family payment in comparison to the jobseeker's transitional payment. Is she aware of the challenges that currently presents?

There is an issue where once the child turns seven years old, the contribution that is sometimes made towards the one-parent family payment ceases. There is a cliff edge when the youngest child turns seven years old and the parent moves onto the jobseeker's transitional payment. A letter is issued by the Department to the non-custodial parent telling them that the one-parent family payment has now ceased. In some cases, that means that people stop making the contribution. In order to receive jobseeker's transitiona…

My point is that liability should not end when the youngest child turns seven years old. The legislation would be to extend the liable relatives unit to seek that contribution beyond the child turning seven years old which in some cases is a cliff edge because in some cases, the non-custodial parent does not continue making that contribution. They certainly do not continue making it to the State because it lapses. I do not see an issue with extending the legislation and allowing the non-custodial parent to keep mak…

This question is about the 30-hour rule relating to the exceptional needs payment. The Government has encouraged people struggling with their energy costs at this time to go to their local community welfare officer and seek the exceptional needs payment, without saying those who work 30 hours or more per week cannot in fact access that payment. Will the Minister consider relaxing that rule on a temporary basis?

I thank the Minister. She will know the social welfare increases in the budget last year, which are mentioned quite often, followed two years without any increase and she also knows every working age payment is currently set below the poverty line, and very well below it too. On the exceptional needs payment, I ask that if the urgent needs payment does not have that 30-hour limitation, which is welcome, that it be promoted far more than it is and has been. Under exceptional needs, which is the one most people are d…

The issue with most of that is of course the fact the fuel allowance is very limited and an awful lot of people out there who are struggling cannot access the fuel allowance in the first instance. Going back, this is important because many people out there cannot get the fuel allowance, especially workers, and they are looking for support. The urgent needs payment is at the moment listed as an emergency payment and on the Citizens Information website, which most people use, it is stated that "in the case of a fire,…

My question concerns the upcoming review of the rural social scheme. Will the Minister of State provide a timeline on when that review will begin? Also, will he consider looking at the Tús scheme, either separate to that review or in parallel?

I welcome that review and it is particularly important, as the Minister of State said, given the six-year rule. I know he has engaged with a number of schemes across the State and many of the supervisors and those involved would have told him what they told me. They are very concerned about the impact of the six-year rule. Some of those I met will lose 15, 16, 17 people next year. They have no idea how they will replace them because they are already struggling to fill places as it is. I do not see why we need to en…

I also want to raise the issue of eligibility as part of the review. Is this an overall review of the entire scheme? The eligibility is quite limited. It has been raised with me whether people with herd numbers could use nieces and nephews or in-laws so that they too can access the scheme because it is quite limited at present. I referenced Tús because issues have been raised about it being a one-year long scheme. It is quite limited. They are struggling to fill places. They have told me they received the list of r…

I too want to commend the Labour Party on bringing forward this motion. I cannot stress enough the importance of remote working to our rural towns and villages. While it is hard to see anything positive in relation to Covid, it has been life-changing for rural Ireland in allowing people to work from home, to reduce commute times and to remain in their communities, which is of huge benefit to the local economy and also to their work-life balance. Of course there have been challenges, particularly with broadband. The…