I move amendment No. 2: In page 7, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: “Report on Parental Bereavement Leave and Benefit 10. The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas on the introduction of Parental Bereavement Leave and Benefit for parents who lose a child under the age of 18 and explore the establishment of a statutory entitlement to two weeks leave and benefit paid at the same rate as Parent’s Benefit and that the report shall be presented to the Houses of the…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 8, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “Report on the means-testing for Blind Pension and Disability Allowance 14. The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas on the means testing eligibility requirement for Blind Pension and Disability Allowance and the impact that income threshold limitations have on access to these schemes and that the report shall be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection w…

I move amendment No. 4: In page 9, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “Report on rates based on Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) 16. The Minister shall carry out a review on introducing social welfare rates which are benchmarked to the Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) to study the effect that adequacy of social welfare rates could have on addressing poverty levels and that the report shall be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection ahead of…

I will be brief in speaking in support of amendment No. 8 because this is clearly an anomaly that has been identified. Where this happens and there are clear anomalies, they should be rectified. Deputy Denis Naughten spoke about working and paying PRSI and I brought to the Minister's attention another anomaly that only recently came to my attention. It relates to illness benefit and the fact that lone parents and widows who are working and paying PRSI cannot access this benefit. If we are talking about anomalies in…

I move amendment No. 13: In page 16, after line 31, to insert the following: “Report on the current criteria for Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Pension 24. The Minister shall review the current criteria in order to qualify for a Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Pension, including the Non-Contributory and Contributory payments, specifically the marriage requirement and explore removing this clause to acknowledge long term partnerships and dependent children and that the report shall b…

I wish to ask the Minister about the indicative funding that has been disclosed in respect of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and what will be available under the LEADER programme from 2023 to 2027. It is a huge drop on the period from 2007 to 2013, considering the very important role played by LEADER. I ask the Minister to make a statement on what has been announced thus far.

The Minister will be aware that the Irish Local Development Network, ILDN, has put forward proposals on what has been announced on LEADER. It is seeking a budget of €389 million for the LEADER programme. It is coming at this issue based on the commitments that were made in Our Rural Future. I do not think it is good enough that we should stand still. I appreciate the Minister's point that by adding the transitional fund period to the period from 2023 to 2027, we will reaching that €250 million figure, similar to th…

I agree that really wonderful work is being done in counties such as Roscommon where LEADER partnerships are doing a great deal of excellent work, whether in job creation, development or sustaining current jobs. It represents massive amounts of funding for enterprise and boosting tourism. They have done a lot for the county, as have partnerships across the State. LEADER, in particular, has a really important role to play. The Minister is probably aware of an issue that has arisen in a number of counties whereby for…

I wish to share time with my colleague, Deputy Ó Murchú. I will take 15 minutes and he will have five minutes.

I thank the Minister for her opening statement. I welcome the announcement this evening of the reopening of the pandemic unemployment payment. It is important that we give workers and families some little bit of certainty given the changing public health guidelines that emerge as well as, unfortunately, some restrictions. As I always do, I welcome any increase in social welfare payments, but the Minister will not be surprised to hear me say that I would like to see us get to a point where we are going with the mini…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges: — the commitment, hard work and professionalism of those working in Job Clubs and Local Employment Services (LESs) across the State, many of whom have given twenty-five years of service to the communities in which they serve; and — the importance and value that not-for-profit, community-based job activation services provide for users, especially for those furthest from the labour market; notes: — the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and t…

I do not know what is more ridiculous, the fact that both Government speakers have commended the local employment services and the job clubs or that they are dismantling them. The Government is getting rid of the current services that exist in the local employment services and the job clubs. The Minister said my reference to the Indecon report was selective. Yes, the Indecon report put forward open procurement, but where did it refer to the change in model? That is the problem. If the legal advice and the EU procur…

I want to ask the Minister about supports for families given the rising cost of living, particularly the rising cost of energy specifically for those not in receipt of the fuel allowance.

I understand and acknowledge that the fuel allowance is there and that it helps many families but I am asking about families in low-income work in particular but also middle-income households given the crisis in regard to rising fuel costs. In the last year, there have been 35 price hikes by providers. On average, households will be paying between €500 and €600 more this winter. I acknowledge the changes that were made in the budget to the fuel allowance and to the eligibility. However, according to a recent reply …

Once again, nothing the Minister stated will help the families who face huge increases in their energy bills this winter. The Minister mentioned energy efficiency. That is all well and good. The Minister also mentioned the SEAI and the warmer homes scheme, which is probably the most popular scheme, but to be eligible for that someone must be in receipt of the fuel allowance. That is fine, but that is not going to help families this winter. The Minister has not been able to point to any particular support that is th…

Will the Minister consider reintroducing the PUP and making it available to workers who may need it? What discussions has she had on this matter?

It remains under close review, but what level of discussions have been had on the PUP and has consideration been given to the fact that what was announced last week will limit people who are working in the night-time and live entertainment industries? I am thinking of musicians in particular. I spoke to the Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland, MEAI, last week. The Minister has engaged with it herself a number of times. Musicians have seen their December bookings wiped out. The issue is not just the midni…

I will take the Minister at her word that the possible reopening of the PUP will remain under close review. Hopefully not many workers will actually need it because we will not see a total shutdown but the PUP should be there as a support for people. In terms of those who have moved onto jobseeker payments, many will be getting jobseeker's benefit but a number of people will be moving on to jobseeker's allowance which has serious implications, given the household means test. We have spoken a lot about €203 but for …

I wish to ask the Minister about community employment places. The six-year rule means people must leave community employment schemes because they have no choice. In some cases, a person who leaves is not replaced and the important service that community employment provides in a community can then be lost.

I hear what the Minister of State is saying. I welcome that he has obviously had a lot of engagement with CE schemes. That is really welcome. However, there is clearly a problem here. The last time I raised this issue, there were 1,400 vacancies in jobs available in CE. Before that, there were 1,200. Now there are over 2,500 CE vacancies with people looking for people to join them on CE. Something is definitely wrong here. I met with a disability group in Roscommon - I have raised this before - and they cannot get …