Legislation is required and I know the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, is progressing that as quickly as he can. My Department will process the payment as quickly as possible. It is important to say that the more than 6,000 officials in the Department of Social Protection are working flat out. They have processed something in the region of 20 million payments since last March. It has been a huge undertaking and we have had to adapt a number of the IT systems. We …

We have had a good deal of engagement with Aer Lingus on this issue. There is ongoing work and engagement but I will obviously follow up on the matter again with my officials.

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this matter. First, I say very clearly tonight that it is absolutely my intention that we will have a Tidy Towns competition in 2021. The SuperValu Tidy Towns has been in existence since 1958, as Deputy Sherlock notes, and it has become an integral part of our culture over the intervening years. The competition continues to grow in popularity and in 2019, a record 924 entries were received. The competition was just ready to be launched earlier this year when Covid-19 arrived. Unf…

I also recognise the great work of our Tidy Towns committees. I am a little biased because Glaslough in my county won the 2019 Tidy Towns competition. I know, therefore, how much this means and the sense of pride which it brings to the local community. I have also attended many events where prizes were given out and it was great to meet people from every organisation across the country. I met the finalists at those events and had a chat with them all. They do magnificent work. We were in a different place last Marc…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and for the opportunity to outline the current arrangements in place regarding foster parents and the one-parent family payment. It is important to recognise the significant contribution that foster parents make. I know foster parents myself and the Deputy is correct that they carry out a valuable role. He has shared Kirsty's story with us, and I am sure there are more people like her out there. Many of them are probably not one-parent families, however, and that is fair e…

It is fair to say that in the case of foster care arrangements, the legal responsibility for the child remains with Tusla, although I reiterate I am happy to engage with the Deputy on this matter. It is important that we encourage as many people as we can to foster children because they provide a great service to the State. While Tusla supports them financially, I do not see any reason we cannot examine this, and I am happy to work with the Deputy in that regard.

This week I presented my first budget as both Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development. The budget of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection for 2021 will be €25.1 billion. This is the largest ever annual allocation and is more than €4 billion larger than the Department's allocation in last year's budget. Much of that spending will be required to meet the ongoing costs of the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, and an increased volume…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “recognises the financial hardship the Covid-19 pandemic has imposed on households; commits to continuing to support people and businesses affected by Covid-19; notes that the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has spent over €3.68 billion on the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) since its introduction in March 2020, and that this is expected to increase to some €5.2 billion by April 2021; r…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “That” and substitute the following: “Dáil Éireann: — acknowledges the exceptional challenges faced by employees during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of a statutory sick pay regime in Ireland; — welcomes the introduction of the Covid-19 enhanced illness benefit which provides income support to any employee with Covid-19 symptoms or required to self- isolate and also the recent introduction of a new social insurance-based paid parental benefit scheme and extende…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Programme for Government: Our Shared Future states that the planned increase in the State pension age next year will be deferred. This will require an amendment to primary legislation and the Government will bring the necessary legislation before the Oireachtas later this year. I hope there will be cross-party support for this legislation. The public policy and social issues in regard to funding a sustainable and adequate State pension system are complex. There are ver…

I am working on the legislation and it is my intention to bring it to the House before the end of the year. I am aware of those who will become 66 years of age on 1 January and I want to make sure that they get their full entitlements when they reach that age in order that they will get their pensions. As I said, we are working on that at present. In respect of the commission on pensions, I have been working with my officials and must bring a memo to Government on that particular matter. It will examine a number of…

As I said, the commission on pensions will examine the issue in the round and will consider a wide range of issues including contributions, calculation methods, sustainability and intergenerational fairness. In terms of its membership, it is important that we have a broad mix of individuals with expertise in pensions, economics, labour market dynamics and industrial relations, as well as stakeholder representatives. I will bring the proposal to Government to establish the commission as soon as possible and it will …

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this matter. As he is aware, the Government has decided that from 17 September, the pandemic unemployment payment will be paid at three rates linked to a person's pre-Covid employment earnings. Individuals whose prior earnings were €300 or more per week will receive a payment of €300 per week. A rate of €250 will apply to those who previously earned between €200 and €300 per week and the rate of €203 remains unchanged for those who had prior earnings of less than €200 per week. F…

As a former Minister for culture, both the Deputy and I value the work that those involved in the arts and entertainment sectors do. The question is whether I restore the €350 rate specifically for those who work in the entertainment industry. Workers in that sector represent approximately 3% of people on the PUP. I understand the position that they are in but it would be unfair to increase the payment for one cohort and not do it for the other 97% who have also lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. I have h…

I thank the Deputy. As he will be aware, the Taoiseach has spoken about sectoral supports. In that respect my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, has announced the establishment of a new task force for the recovery of the arts and culture sector under the chair of Clare Duignan. It will consider the impact of Covid-19 for culture and the arts, the audiovisual industry and the live entertainment industry. The Minister announced a new €10 million culture fund. Additional funding was also provided to the…

The minimum essential standard of living, MESL, is an assessment, developed by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, VPSJ, of the minimum income needed to live and partake in the social and economic norms of everyday life for various household types. My Department has partly funded the excellent, detailed work of the VPSJ for a number of years, and I find it extremely useful. One of the benefits of the work of the Vincentians is that it provides the different levels of income needed by different household …

As the Deputy said, the Department has partly funded the excellent and detailed work of the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice for a number of years and it is useful. I met Sr. Bernadette McMahon at my Department's pre-budget forum in July. The work of the Vincentians highlights the importance of services and how they can impact on the minimum income standards needed by households. The minimum essential standard of living, MESL, research has consistently identified older children. We have made progress on th…

Last year, my Department undertook a consultation process with a number of interested stakeholders. The process included discussions with representatives of the community and voluntary sector at the pre-budget forum in July 2019 as well as bilateral meetings with stakeholders. The outcome of those discussions was considered and, in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, my Department is considering proposals for setting a formal benchmark for State pension contributory payments and the i…

I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this issue. Of the approximately 206,000 people in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, some 5,900 or 2.8% are members of the arts, entertainment and recreation sector. This represents a 58% reduction from 14,200 claimants in that sector at the peak in May. This reduction in the numbers of people in receipt of the PUP is in line with reductions seen in other sectors and indicates that some people working in the sector have been able to return to work as the public hea…

We have been trying to be as fair as possible. The pandemic unemployment payment has been extended until at least next April. It also remains open for applications, which is important. Covid-19 will be with us for some time. The budget is three weeks away. We need to examine the next steps and the future of the PUP as part of the budgetary process. We may need to keep the PUP open for much longer than we expected. That makes it all the more important that the rates of payment are sustainable. This was originally su…