We launched the connected hubs initiative in the Mill Enterprise Centre, Drogheda. There is no better example than there of the potential of remote working. There is a great deal of industry and remote work and it is an excellent place. The connected hubs scheme is available to access on an app. On their mobile phone, people can book a desk or an office and it is all done online. It is easy access and we wanted to make sure of that. Separately, the connected hubs funding call is open to applicants. There was fundin…

In terms of funding for remote working hubs, the local authority can apply to my Department for the town and village renewal scheme or the rural regeneration scheme for the infrastructure. In terms of the kitting out of the facilities, you can apply to the connected hubs but, if you want to do so, you have to register to use the app. We have 223 hubs on board and aim to have 400 on board by 2025. I expect us to meet that target way before that. We have asked the Western Development Commission to do this on behalf o…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Galway County Council is the responsible authority for the maintenance and development of infrastructure on the Aran Islands. The development of the pier on Inis Oírr is listed among the strategic objectives set out in Project Ireland 2040. A steering committee consisting of representatives from my Department, Galway County Council and the consulting engineers has been meeting regularly to monitor progress. I understand that Galway County Council submitted a pre-applicati…

These things take a long time. I wish they could be done sooner. I have been on Inis Oírr, visited the island and know the problems the residents highlighted to me. We want to try to sort them out. We have to do the environmental study. The foreshore licence and environmental studies are the sort of things required for this type of project. My Department is meeting fortnightly with Galway County Council to make sure we can progress these issues. If there is anything we can do to move it on, we will. The foreshore l…

I am aware of the safety concerns relating to the pier, particularly during the summertime, when the number of people using it increases. The day-to-day maintenance of piers, including the development and enforcement of the by-laws, is primarily an issue for the relevant local authority, in this case Galway County Council. Officials have been in contact with our colleagues on that council with a view to ensuring the pier is safe for users, particularly during the construction phase. To ensure the safety of the publ…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Government recently published "Town Centre First - A Policy Approach for Irish Towns". This publication represents a major new policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It contains 33 actions that will give our towns the tools and resources they need to become more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, socialise and run a business. Action No. 3 of the new policy refers to the provision of town reg…

No. Next week, we will advertise for the position of the head of the national Town Centre First office. I am not sure where the office will be located, but I am sure a space is being organised for it somewhere. In a few weeks' time, we will ask local authorities to hire town regeneration officers. It is a good job with an attractive remuneration package. We are putting these structures in place because we have many different Government schemes that are targeted at supporting our towns and villages. For example, in …

As I said, I am expecting that in a few weeks we will ask local authorities to hire the people to get them in place as soon as possible. As the Deputy knows, funding was also provided by my Department to consider a specific town in every single county. Some €100,000 was provided to look at that. The town regeneration officers will work with all the towns and villages in their area. It will not be specific to the one town that got the funding. As I am sure the Deputy knows, Strokestown got that money in her constitu…

Our Rural Future represents the Government's blueprint for the development of rural Ireland up to 2025. It provides the framework to achieve the vision of transforming the quality of life and opportunity for people living in rural areas. It was published in March 2021 and contains more than 150 measures across the whole of government for short-term recovery and long-term development. Implementation of the five-year policy will be delivered by a series of progress reports and work programmes, which allow for the pol…

NBI is rolling out the national broadband plan. There are probably many more connections than had initially been anticipated. Its representatives said that to me when I spoke to them informally. They said there was a lot of demand for connections and NBI is rolling them out. The good thing about NBI being on the ground is that it means other providers are also stepping up to the plate. In fact, the national broadband connection comes less than half a mile from my house but, thankfully, another provider was able to …

As the Deputy knows, the Tánaiste is bringing forward legislation on the right to request remote working. It is possibly before one of the Oireachtas committees at present - I am not sure where it is - but that is welcome. It is important we have that conversation with employers and employees. We want to encourage them because this has to be a win-win for employers and employees. Some of them may be concerned about it and may be worried. I know, in particular, that Tracy Keogh from Grow Remote has been fantastic. S…

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this matter. We all see on a daily basis the horrific images of what is happening in Ukraine. War in Europe is not something any of us had comprehended but it is a situation that Ireland must respond to. Ukrainian citizens are arriving here severely traumatised as they face the loss of family and friends, as they worry about those they have left behind, and as they arrive in a strange country having lost their jobs, their income and all their belongings. Their entire wo…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I answered him last week on it but I will tell him the latest anyway. I understand they sent a proposal on Friday evening - I do not know what time it was sent at - but this is Tuesday so it has taken them a long time to get the proposal here. I am happy to look at it and I will certainly engage with my officials. The Deputy should remember, in fairness, that it is Cork County Council that has taken away this cable car, and not me.

The Department of Social Protection has a fund - the urgent needs payment - that is available for those who are experiencing difficulty. Such people should go to their community welfare officer.

The community welfare officer is available to help them. I do not want to see anybody in dire straits. That is the safety net. If anybody is in difficulty, they should go to their community welfare officer. If there is a specific instance, the Deputy should bring it to my attention and I am happy to talk to her.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. There is a legal responsibility on parents, whether married or unmarried, to maintain dependent children in accordance with their means. The legislation on liable relatives is not to be confused or conflated with the payment of maintenance. Under the liable relative provisions, the Department is not arranging maintenance but ensuring, where possible, that where a one-parent family payment is in place the other parent makes a financial contribution towards the cost to the S…

My understanding is that when a child reaches seven years old, the jobseeker's transition payment kicks into effect. Then you no longer have that liability to the State. Therefore the parent who is not living with the child and whose income has been taken as means, in that they should be supporting the child, that the liability ceases to the State at that point. Until the child reaches the age of seven years, the one-parent family payment is made to the parent who is looking after the children. The other parent, th…

There are two separate issues here, namely, that of the liable relatives and of maintenance. They are completely separate. The purpose of the liable relative provision is to ensure that the parent who is not looking after the children pays the State towards the cost of the one-parent family payment. It is not an additional income stream for the one-parent allowance recipient. We did not oppose the Deputy's Bill. It was a timed amendment. I think that Deputy Kerrane and I are on the one page on this because I want t…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. On 4 March 2022, the Council of the European Union unanimously adopted the implementing decision regarding the temporary protection directive, due to the mass influx of persons fleeing Ukraine as a consequence of the war. This means that people arriving from Ukraine have been granted the status to avail of income supports from my Department. We have an excellent record in reacting quickly and appropriately to emergency situations. Officials from my Department and…

I thank the Deputy. There is one thing none of us want to see and that is exploitation. I did not get a chance to answer on the EU social security co-ordination regulations the Deputy mentioned. Ukraine is not covered by those, nor does Ireland have a bilateral agreement with it on social security. However, social security contributions are not required to access social assistance payments such as supplementary welfare allowance. The first thing to say is we have the temporary protection directive, agreed at EU lev…