I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for raising this matter. The RRDF provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages and rural areas across Ireland. The fund has to date allocated funding of €280 million for 191 projects across the country worth a total of €380 million. The RRDF is central to achieving the objectives and key deliverables of Our Rural Future, the Government's five year policy for rural Ireland. The projects supported by the fund assist in the regeneration of rural …

Every time I meet local authorities, and I meet them fairly often, I continue to put pressure on them to get the money spent. As I said to them yesterday, if they do not spend the money, it is very hard for me to make the case for more money. Deputy Ó Cuív will appreciate that because there are always competing demands at budget time. The budget for this year is €69 million. We have spent more than €20 million so far, but I expect significant levels of draw down before Christmas. As the Deputy knows, the bills do t…

I expect to see significant spending in November and December. Some of these projects are taking longer than anybody would like. They have had problems with supply chains. One project is awaiting a particular piece of equipment before it can be finished and we are seeing that right across the board. I am putting the pressure on constantly. When one sees the finished projects, even if they take a bit longer than expected, they are well worth it. I was in New Ross a couple of weeks ago. The project there took a lot l…

I thank Deputy Dillon for raising this issue. Funding of around €280 million has already been allocated nationally under the RRDF. More than €21 million has been approved to date in respect of 15 projects located in Mayo costing over €30 million. Mayo has the second highest allocation of funding in the country. I know that Deputy Dillon is particularly interested in two projects in Ballinrobe and Newport in County Mayo. He has brought them to my attention previously.

I cannot give the Deputy a commitment on that now but I hear what he is saying. I had thought the Deputy would mention the Connacht GAA dome. It is a great job. I believe it has been very successful. That was funded from my Department. These projects are all mighty big multimillion-euro projects. They are all assessed independently and, as I said, are nearly at a final stage. I will be announcing them in a few weeks' time.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Charities Regulator is independent in its duties and the Deputy can appreciate this. If she wants to give me the details of the particular cases she has raised, I will be happy to follow them up.

I thank the Labour Party for its work on progressing this Bill and for providing the House with an opportunity to discuss this important matter today. I want to acknowledge Johnny, Maria and others in the Visitors Gallery. At the core of this issue is human loss. I know there are many cases of personal pain which are known to Senators across the House. Senator Wall was in touch with me directly last week on this matter. I fully accept the spirit in which this Bill is being brought forward in. I know the motivation …

I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising this issue. In line with the commitment in the programme for Government, the Government established a child maintenance review group to examine certain issues in relation to child maintenance in Ireland. The group's terms of reference were to consider and make recommendations on: the current treatment of child maintenance payments in my Department; the current provisions regarding liable relatives managed by my Department; and the establishment of a child maintenance agency in Ire…

Lone parents will get considerable support as part of the social welfare package that we announced only two weeks ago. For example, a lone parent with two children will get two double payments of the one-parent family payment - that will be €416 - before Christmas. If they are a working family, they will get the €500 working family payment. They will get an extra €280 on child benefit. They will get a €12 increase in the one-parent family payment from 1 January. That is an extra €624 over a full year. That is an ex…

I also wish One Family well as it celebrates a significant anniversary. I met with the chair of this group, Judge Murphy, and spoke to her. She is formidable. She is a thorough lady. That conversation has been useful to me. I have spoken with my colleagues, the Ministers for Justice and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputies McEntee and O'Gorman, because there are issues at play in respect of both of their Departments. I can say honestly that it is not my intention to delay this, but the De…

I thank Deputy Berry for raising this. As Minister, I recognise and value the good work carried out by volunteers. I have been clear to the Citizens Information Board that it is important that the voluntary ethos of the citizens information service should be protected and the skills of its volunteers should be utilised to the maximum extent possible. The Citizens Information Board, CIB, has publicly acknowledged the centrality of volunteers in delivering and supporting CIB-funded services and considers their contin…

I thank Deputy Berry. I was just going to tell him about this but I ran out of time. I met the chairperson and CEO of the CIB to seek further information. Following the meeting the CIB initiated an independent review of its volunteer strategy. This independent review will consult current and past volunteers and other important stakeholders. It is expected that it will be concluded in the coming months. Its recommendations will directly inform the CIB's new three-year strategy from 2023 to 2025. My background is in …

To be very clear, I want to see volunteers back. The CIB has assured me the contribution of volunteers continues to be highly valued. The role of the volunteer is still seen as central to the delivery of the service. Volunteers have been returning on a phased basis since mid-2022. The CIB advises me that to date 120 volunteers have returned to support the delivery of the citizens information centres throughout the country. There are some volunteers who have not come back since Covid. It is important that we make su…

I thank the Deputy for raising this. Additional needs payments are intended to assist people with essential once-off exceptional expenditure that a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. In 2022 to the end of September almost 66,000 applications for additional needs payments were processed and awarded. This is an increase of just under 60% on 2021 figures. This rise in the number of applications reflects in part the positive measures the Department has implemented, including two…

If somebody has an urgent need they will be seen as a matter of urgency and immediately. In some cases, a same-day or next-day payment can be provided. Only a few months ago, the Deputy asked me about the fall-off in these payments. At that stage, she said we were not doing enough to promote the payments and that not enough people knew about it. It is sort of the opposite now. The Deputy is telling me that too many people are applying and that we cannot keep up. Just to be clear, I want people who need these paymen…

When you get all the information in an application straight away, it can be dealt with very fast, which the Deputy will appreciate. Where additional information is needed, we know it holds things up a bit. It is taxpayers' money. We just cannot throw it out there. We must have some checks and balances. If they were dragging their heels, you would not see the huge increase in awarded payments that we have seen. If additional staffing resources are needed, my Department will not be found wanting. During the pandemic,…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. In line with the programme for Government commitment, the Government established a child maintenance review group to examine certain issues on child maintenance in Ireland. The group's terms of reference were to consider and make recommendations on the current treatment of child maintenance payments in my Department; the current provisions regarding liable relatives managed by my Department; and the establishment of a child maintenance agency in Ireland. As part of its wor…

The ESRI estimates the combination of budget 2023 and cost-of-living supports will protect most households from inflationary pressures over the coming year, more so than if welfare rates alone had been increased in line with inflation. It concluded that this will substantially cushion real incomes across society The ESRI has said it will make a difference and that what we have done in the budget will help households deal with the inflationary pressures. On the child maintenance review, I have met with and spoken to…

We cannot take any of these things in isolation. We need to take things in their totality. There is a lump sum and there are increases. All of those taken together will clearly protect the most vulnerable households from inflationary pressures over the coming year. We have to take the whole lot together. Deputy Kerrane also raised the issue of child maintenance reviews. We want to make progress on this because most of the people who are affected by child maintenance, or the lack thereof, are women. We know that. I …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 10 together. The delivery of crucial community welfare services to meet the challenges and needs of citizens across the country is a priority for me and my Department. I want to be absolutely clear that the Department continues to provide access to local community welfare officers in our public offices across the country and will continue to do so. Community welfare staff also attend local clinics and are available to attend at other locations including the client's home, if n…