Regarding the talks proposed by the WRC, I am sure it understands and is aware of the situation and the relationship the Department has with the job clubs and local employment services, LES. It is not a case of the Department being the direct employer, and especially not now when we know a private company has stepped into that role. The WRC has invited representatives of the Department to what are exploratory talks, and I am sure the WRC has the knowledge and wherewithal to know the relationship between the Departm…

I know the Department is not the employer of the staff. I am sure the WRC knows that as well, but it has still invited representatives of the Department to attend the exploratory talks. It is disappointing that Turas Nua, which has won this contract, is failing to grant recognition. It may have had meetings and discussions but it is not willing to recognise SIPTU for collective bargaining agreements and purposes. The Minister said the existing job clubs in Laois and Offaly had not applied. The Minister will be awar…

This is to ask the Minister about the six-year rule. It is an issue I have raised previously in respect of the rural social scheme, RSS. A number of welcome changes to community employment were announced before Christmas. They have been extended to the scheme, which is welcome as well. None of them addresses the issue that has been brought up by so many of those on the ground in respect of the six-year rule. That is the specific part of the question I would like answered.

I met with a number of RSS and Tús supervisors and co-ordinators from seven counties on Monday. The first thing I was struck by is that they really do not feel listened to, particularly the Tús staff. I appreciate that this is not in the question this morning but I wanted to convey that message back to the Minister of State. They really feel like the poor relation and very last in everything that is done. They have a number of concerns around referrals. Tús is a one-year scheme and they would really like to see tha…

Referrals are an issue. I appreciate what was announced just before Christmas was that the Department would look at a significant ramping up of referrals. That is really important. Even if it was relaxed during the Covid pandemic, it makes no sense to sanction where the participants are just not getting the referrals. They want the referrals. As the Minister of State said, the work done in the communities will not be done otherwise. There is no doubt about that. The six-year rule has implications. Many schemes are …

What progress has been made on the report that was due at the end of the year from the child maintenance review group? It is an important piece of work. We know the issues that lone parents experience in accessing and receiving maintenance. The establishment of the group was welcome. Will the Minister please update the House on how the report stands?

I hope the report, because it is long-awaited, will be published as soon as possible after the Minister receives it. As she knows, there are considerable difficulties. I have never believed the court was the right place for child maintenance to be agreed. We know that where a court order is made for maintenance, it does not necessarily mean payments are made. It falls on the lone parent again to go back to court. The court is not the right setting for sorting out child maintenance. It does not work. Once the mainte…

Let me outline one step the Minister could take regarding child maintenance; I ask her to consider it. In the small number of cases where child maintenance is fully paid, we should really consider removing it from the means test. It should not be seen as household means. Child maintenance, when paid, is for the benefit of the child; it is not household means. One thing the Minister could do, with or without the report, is investigate this. Child maintenance should not be calculated as household means; it is for ass…

Did referrals to JobPath cease at the end of 2021, as planned? Will the Minister advise if she plans to review the scheme from when it was first piloted in 2015 right through to its end? Will she put together those results and publish a review on the success or not of the scheme?

It is fine to reply in writing.

I very much welcome the fact that steps will be taken in respect of the crisis with the rising cost of living. We have raised this many times. It is almost a year since I brought forward a motion on household utility debt. Just before the most recent budget, I proposed a discretionary fund because while I welcome the €100, we need to consider a targeted measure for households that will struggle. Last October, we brought forward proposals on the cost of living and I ask the Tánaiste to look at that. Those proposals …

I have never struggled so much, as someone not in this House too long, to put words together to speak tonight because it is simply difficult to find the words. This day last week, all of us, as an entire nation, were brought to a stop. A young woman with her whole life in front of her, with hopes and with dreams, had her life stolen from her in broad daylight along a very popular walking route. A popular walking route in broad daylight was a fairly safe choice to make, you would think. Ashling Murphy; another woman…

As has been said, Deputy Fitzmaurice and I met with students and teachers at St. Cuan’s College in Castleblakney on Monday last. On that same day, students in the Holy Rosary College in Mountbellew were also protesting. A number of those protests also continued today. They have been clear that they want certainty. It is great shame to leave students with this worry and stress. The leaving certificate year is already stressful enough as it is. They have not had an ordinary year. It is a two-year cycle. It has not be…

The Minister said there will be a meeting tomorrow but is it the case she has already made the decision on the leaving certificate and she is not considering giving students a choice? I understood that was the position until the Taoiseach made the situation seem different again in an interview last weekend. Has the decision been made on this matter? Students are trying to get their voices heard. They have been clear on what they want and it is unfair that we are putting this further pressure and stress on them now …

I too wish the Ceann Comhairle, all the staff and people who work here, especially the wonderful ushers, everyone here and their families a very happy Christmas and every good wish for the new year. Two weeks ago, the Government supported a Sinn Féin motion calling on the Government to protect community, not-for-profit employment services and to suspend all plans for tendering out of the local employment services and job clubs. Several of the Tánaiste's Government colleagues in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have spoken…

There is a crisis in home care services in this State and the Minister's Government refuses to acknowledge it. The level to which older and vulnerable people are being failed has been exposed by a HIQA report published last night. That report makes for concerning reading and it calls for a complete overhaul of home care services. It has highlighted several key areas where the home care scheme is falling down. Waiting lists are sky-high and almost 5,000 people are waiting for access to home care. They have been appr…

I note the Minister has made no reference at all to the HIQA report I referred to, which was published last night. It makes for really concerning reading. It calls for a complete overhaul of these services. Clearly, it is not working. The Minister said the waiting time for funding has reduced and that is welcome. Although people are getting their funding, which is also welcome, they are then moving from a waiting list for funding to a waiting list to actually get that care. While the funding may be sorted out and t…

Hard-pressed families cannot continue to wait for support when it comes to soaring energy bills. The €100 support announced by the Government earlier this week is welcome, but it is modest. The Irish Examiner reported last week that some households are facing bills of over an extra €1,000 for electricity and gas next year. While this €100 support will bring some relief, we need to see it this side of Christmas. It really is ridiculous that the Government is not willing to push this forward now when people need it, …

I move amendment No. 1: In page 7, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: "Report on extending availability of full Parent's Benefit to lone parents 9. The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas on extending the availability of the full duration of Parent's Benefit to lone parents to examine the effect that enabling all children to equally avail of the full duration of this Benefit would have and that the report shall be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint …

I wish I did not have to table long amendments relating to reports but, unfortunately, a report is the only way to raise this issue in the Social Welfare Bill. There was no agreement initially that this would be looked at, and I have raised the matter previously. We do not even need a report if the Minister wants to go ahead and introduce the measure. Unfortunately, however, this is the only way I have to raise issues when it comes to the Social Welfare Bill. I cannot seek for this to be done because it would resul…