I thank Deputy Gould for raising this matter. Community centres are the cornerstone of community life in many towns, villages and urban areas across the country, and this Government recognises the important role they play in community life in Ireland, bringing people together and engaging with those who may be marginalised or disadvantaged. With that in mind, my Department has put in place an integrated programme of supports for the establishment and development of community centres across schemes such as CLÁR, LEA…

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. This fund came about because it was raised with me. There were a lot of new communities around the country and I met with a number of Deputies from County Galway. There was one particular area with a lot of new houses and no community centre. They had a lovely plan, in fairness to them, but they had no money. I said to myself that this was happening in other parts of the country as well. That is why we opened up the €20 million fund. I want it shovel-ready with planning…

You can give it but you cannot take it.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this motion of confidence this morning. I was disappointed to see the Labour Party table a motion of no confidence. I served in government with members of the Labour Party between 2011 and 2016, and when it came to making the really hard decisions that were needed to get this country back on a sound economic footing, the Labour Party never shirked its responsibility. I would go so far as to say that had it not been for the work of the Labour Party along with Fine Gae…

No change in Sinn Féin's policies then.

That is not true.

The Deputy is wrong.

A video clip is what the Deputy wants.

I move: That, notwithstanding Standing Order 215 of the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann relative to Public Business or the Resolutions of the Dáil of 14th December, 2022 and 15th February, 2023, the following Further Revised Estimates for Public Services for the year ending 31st December, 2023, be presented to the Dáil on 22nd March, 2023, being a date later than that prescribed for the presentation of Estimates: Vote 38 - Health ( Further Revised Estimate ). Vote 40 - Children, Equality, Disability, Integration an…

As the Deputy will be aware, referrals to the JobPath service have now ceased and the service is in a run-off phase, with only clients referred up to June 2022 remaining engaged with the service. Research into JobPath, including by the OECD, indicates that the programme led to positive employment and earnings outcomes across a variety of hard-to-reach groups. As part of a restructuring of employment services, my Department has increased its employment service capacity delivered through Intreo and has expanded emplo…

As the Deputy knows, JobPath is being wound down. No new referrals are being made but existing participants are being allowed to finish their engagements, which is fair enough. With regard to a review, we already did a comprehensive review in conjunction with the OECD back in 2019. As the Deputy well knows, we have been through the findings many times before. In short, the OECD found that people who engaged with JobPath had a better chance of getting a job and were also more likely to have higher earnings than thos…

As I said, we have been through this on a number of occasions. The Deputy has one view and I have a set of figures. JobPath is a mechanism through which support is provided to long-term unemployed jobseekers through access to employment assistance and advice for a period of 12 months. It follows a payment-by-results model and is associated with day-to-day operational costs. The risks were borne by the contractors. They are paid on the basis of performance and, with the exception of the initial registration fee, pay…

I thank the Deputy for raising this. First, we did not close the branch office. Branch offices are privately run small offices that, in the main, accept and validate applications for jobseeker and one-parent family payments and then pass them on to the Department's national processing team for processing and payment. They can also provide public service card registrations and act as outreach offices for other services, including employment and community welfare services on a part-time basis. Castlepollard branch of…

I told the Deputy the position. That is not true.

First, and I would like the Deputy to listen to this, I did not close this office. It was being run by a branch manager on a contract. Unfortunately, he got sick, he had to retire and that is why the office closed. My Department acted quickly to put alternative arrangements in place to serve the people of Castlepollard. We keep this under review on an ongoing basis but we have to target resources where the demand is. If the claim load increases and we need to expand the services, we will do that. There is a misunde…

The Deputy is talking nonsense.

My record, in terms of the investment that has gone into rural Ireland through the Rural Regeneration Fund and, indeed, a plethora of other funds, is second to none. We are supporting the Castlepollard regeneration project with a grant of €3.8million. The project will have additional match funding from Westmeath County Council. It will bring the total amount of investment in Castlepollard to €4.7 million. I can tell the Deputy that is no pennies; that is €4.7 million of investment. It will refurbish the Market Hous…

The purpose of a straw man is it is a rough outline, you can change it and consultation will lead to changes based on what the views are on the ground. The development of a straw man is based on a commitment under the roadmap for social inclusion to develop and consult on a straw-man proposal for the restructuring of long-term disability payments. The straw man also intends to simplify the system and take account of the concerns expressed in the Make Work Pay report, the Pathways to Work report and the findings of …

Yes.

The Deputy is right about me giving her straight answers. She likes specifics. We will publish the straw man by mid-May. It is called a straw man because people will be able to make submissions, we will engage with them and the stakeholders, and it is open to change. The outcome of public consultation will influence the final reform proposals. The cost-of-disability issue is considerably wider than the income support system and will not be addressed through income supports alone. Indecon, in its cost of disability …