We have to put this in perspective. We had a pandemic and we spent €9 billion on the PUP. In October, we introduced the largest social welfare budget in 14 years and in the past few weeks we have announced another €1 billion to assist with energy costs. We would all like to do more but the reality is that resources are finite. In fairness, when all the measures I outlined are counted up, compared to last year we have increased the fuel allowance by 60%. We will keep all these things under review but it is a difficu…

On an ongoing basis and as part of the normal budgetary cycle, my Department takes careful note of trends in price and wage levels and takes account of research data, including that of the minimum essential standard of living from the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. The social impact of budget measures is also modelled using the SWITCH model developed by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI. It is through this approach that, over the past ten years, budget measures have exceeded inflation and…

In or around 400,000 people benefit from the fuel allowance. When I changed the means test criteria, that brought around another 30,000 people into it. It has brought more people into the fuel allowance net. The Government has sought to protect the most vulnerable from the rising costs of living through targeted increases to ancillary social welfare payments such as the fuel allowance, the living alone allowance and qualified child payments. There was an extensive budget package which we sometimes forget about. It …

My Department provides a range of income supports to full-time carers, including carer’s allowance, carer’s benefit, domiciliary care allowance and the carer’s support grant. Combined spending on these payments to carers in 2022 is estimated to exceed €1.5 billion. A primary qualifying condition for these carer payments is that the applicant provides full-time care and attention to a person in need of such care. The person being cared for must be so incapacitated as to require full-time care and attention and be li…

To support a carer’s continued attachment to the workforce and broader social inclusion, carers may engage in some limited employment, education or training while still being regarded as being in a position to provide full-time care. During this time, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person. Since budget 2020, the number of hours family carers can work, study or attend a training course has increased from 15 hours to 18.5 hours per week. The increase was made in response to requests from…

I know that when people have spent a lot of time in the home, caring for people, it can be difficult for them. In December 2020, I approved funding of €577,890 to provide a range of training and supports for family carers for projects under the Dormant Accounts Fund. The purpose of the measure is to increase the employment, including self-employment, and education and training opportunities for carers and young carers. These projects run to the end of June. In the almost two years I have been in this job, I have re…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The pensions commission’s report established that the current State pension system is not sustainable into the future without changes. In this regard, it set out a wide range of recommendations, including potential measures to broaden the PRSI base. In the interests both of older people and future generations of older people, the Government is currently considering these comprehensive and far-reaching recommendations very carefully. As part of this consideration, the commi…

I thank Deputy Calleary. There are not going to be any easy decisions here. Some people want to cherry-pick the nice things and not deal with some of the other issues. I see this as an all-of-government approach. We have to bring it to Cabinet. I read the pensions commission report in its entirety. It is a comprehensive document that outlines the pros and cons and then comes forward with its recommendations. One thing I do know is that we must do something about it. As we stand here at the minute, four and a half p…

On 4 March 2022, the Council of the European Union unanimously adopted the implementing decision regarding the temporary protection directive to protect and support Ukrainian citizens and others fleeing Ukraine. My Department is doing all it can to ensure that those who need our help will receive it as quickly as possible during this very traumatic time for them. My Department is working closely with the Department of Justice, which is responsible for providing the letter to those arriving confirming that they are …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The main income supports to carers provided by my Department include carer's allowance, carer's benefit, domiciliary care allowance and the carer's support grant. Spending on these payments in 2022 is expected to exceed €1.5 billion. The current income disregard and means test for carer’s allowance is the most generous within the social welfare system. The amount of weekly earnings disregarded is €332.50 for a single person and €665 for a couple. In acknowledgement of the …

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to today's discussion as part of International Women's Day. Sadly, today's debate is taking place against the backdrop of the ongoing atrocities in Ukraine. More than 1.5 million people have fled from Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, and the sad reality is most of those are women and young children, because Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 are remaining to fight. Many of those women are leaving behind their husbands, partners, fathers and children, not kno…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. My Department operates a number of schemes that focus on supporting the development of remote working hubs as outlined in Our Rural Future, Rural Development Policy 2021-2025. To date, approximately €100 million has been provided by my Department through various funding streams to support the development of digital hubs and remote working facilities across Ireland. In May last year, I launched the national connected hubs network, connectedhubs.ie . There are cur…

I absolutely agree with the Deputy. We have the hubs in place now. We want to make sure that we do not go back to the old ways. We want to make sure that people use them. They are in the local facilities. We have invested and built them; now it is about promoting and supporting them, and encouraging employers to allow their workers to work remotely. I was in one on Monday last in The Station House in Monaghan. It is an old station house that has been converted into a remote working hub. It was great to see people f…

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Varadkar, is bringing through the legislation on remote working. We certainly have been working with his Department in developing that and will continue to co-operate in every way we can. On Monday I am going to be launching the connected hubs network, which will enable people to access this on an app on their phones. We have over 180 connected and have mapped out over 400 hubs across the country. We are encouraging them to join the network. Tha…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. My Department currently provides a number of funding streams which can be used for the improvement and development of community centres throughout the country. The rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, provides funding for the development and construction of large-scale capital projects in towns and villages and rural areas across Ireland. I announced the fourth call for category 1 applications in December 2021, with a closing date for applications of 29 April. F…

I thank the Deputy. Well done to the community for raising €200,000. That is no mean feat. When we open the community centre fund, the group will be able to apply. That it is getting financial support from Galway City Council will help to meet some of the costs. I do not know what the overall cost will be. The plan is that the fund initially will be for renovations more so than for new builds, but each application will be assessed on its own merit, as is always the case. I recommend that the group make an applicati…

I thank the Deputy. As he says, community centres are at the heart of every community. We need places for people to meet up, to play sport and engage in all sorts of activities. The centres are important and we support them in every way we can. We have a community activities fund, under which Galway City Council was allocated €264,910. Galway County Council got €286,000. Under the 2021 community enhancement programme, the allocation for Galway City Council was €132,000 and that for Galway County Council was €43,000…

The Government and I are committed to publishing a ten-year policy on island development with associated three-year action plans. Work on the policy is well under way and my Department has now completed the bilateral meetings with all relevant Departments. The bilateral meetings provided an opportunity for frank discussion of the issues raised by island communities and for Departments to assess how they might help address the various issues raised. The interdepartmental committee held its most recent meeting on 29 …

The work is at an advanced stage, thankfully. The Deputy is right. This has been going on for a long time. The draft is being worked on currently and, as I stated, officials of my Department are in regular communication with the representative groups. It is my intention that this will continue as the draft policy is being developed. I know exactly what the Deputy is saying. The interdepartmental committee for the islands was established in 2019 and has had numerous meetings. It went to Sherkin Island, Whiddy Island…

As I stated, the committee is in the process of preparing the draft policy. We are at the final stage. I cannot give the Deputy a specific date but I give her a commitment that I will make sure we get this policy document finished and delivered as quickly as possible. There has been extensive consultation. I attended the online 2021 annual general meeting of Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann and, as I stated, it asked me to allow more time. Its members want to get it right. It has taken a long time to get to this stage…