I have been working with my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman. We had a formal meeting about issues relating to child poverty and setting a new target to reduce it. We will have the successor to Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures as well. We are also in the process of bringing on board an EU child guarantee. Those are frameworks that will push matters on politically as well. In terms of people who are working and are also under that line, the Governmen…

I thank the Deputy for the question. There has been some relevant change in this area very recently. Just this week, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, announced a change in the capital disregards in the means-testing for carer's allowance. It has been increased from €20,000 to €50,000. That may or may not impact this case but if Deputy Cahill contacts me I will be glad to pass on the details of that particular case to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys.

I thank Deputies for an engaging discussion on the important issue of rising food prices. As was already outlined by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, I assure Deputies the fundamental objective of the Government's policy approach to this issue is to take action, monitor the impact of those actions, consult bodies such as the Low Pay Commission, take the suggestions of this House on board and then respond appropriately at the right time. One of the facets of rising food prices, as part of a wider…

The mobile phone and broadband task force was re-established on 15 December 2021 with an inaugural meeting of State bodies co-chaired by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth. This meeting included senior representatives of a number of Departments and State bodies. This first meeting allowed the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to set out their priorities for the coming period, which include improving mobile phone coverage in rural areas; …

No, I did not.

We are sharing the load.

I can give the Deputy some information about what the task force is looking at. The issues it will look at this time are more complex, knotty and time consuming, and responsibility for such actions cannot always be assigned to a single body, as was the practice previously. We will make use of the well-established collaborative culture of the task force to take on the actions that require multiple stakeholders working together to deliver. That means fewer actions with longer delivery timelines but a much greater str…

Certainly, we can feed that very practical point back into the task force. I will give the Deputy a flavour of some of the actions that are currently agreed. The Department of Rural and Community Development will continue to refine and enhance the broadband officer roles across local authorities in alignment with the implementation of the EU connectivity toolbox and the development of the EU smart community policy. In short, the Department will work with the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, to align the wo…

The programme for Government recognises the importance of regular and open engagement with all sectors of society. In this regard, I work with the community and voluntary sector through the cross-sectoral group, CSG, in implementing Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, the five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector. The community and voluntary pillar, of which Community Platform is a member, is represented on the CSG. The Department of Rural and Community Development has worked co…

I am dividing my reply into two halves as regards my role. As part of my role in the Department of Rural and Community Development, I spend much of my week engaging with the community and voluntary sector through different platforms and different formats. I am very familiar with members of Community Platform. I meet with many of them periodically regarding different issues. I have not had a formal meeting with Community Platform as a collective since last year. A number of Ministers and I met the Taoiseach. We had …

I will not go through the various lists and forums through which I engage with the sector. As I said, I spend a lot of time doing it. On what the Deputy is talking about and the wider challenges society is facing, the civic forum we are planning for later this year is possibly the best outlet to tease out the major issues and to get a good representation of civil society around the table. That might then feed further into social dialogue, which is also something we want to progress. I take the Deputy's points. I ha…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. I will begin by outlining recent price developments and the Government response and then I will discuss smart metering, EV policy and the Government's Reduce Your Use campaign. The most immediate factor affecting electricity prices in Ireland is the continuing upward trend in international gas prices, where we are a price taker. Gas prices have been rising steadily since March 2020 and were further exacerbated following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. This fee…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and for introducing increased urgency into our challenge. The Government accepts that consumers are currently facing volatility in energy prices due to a particular spike in international gas prices. It has taken action to address this by using the tax and social welfare system. This includes measures such as the fuel allowance increase, a credit payment to all domestic electricity accounts and a reduction in VAT on gas and electricity bills, as mentioned. Other …

I, too, welcome our guests from Ardgillan Community College. I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, and his Department are committed to providing every support possible for Ukrainian citizens who are seeking the recognition of their qualifications in Ireland, be it to further their education, to pursue employment opportunities or to practise a profession that is regulated. Through the National Academic Recognition …

I thank the Senator for his contribution on this issue. As I said, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is committed to providing every support possible for Ukrainian citizens who are seeking the recognition of their qualifications in Ireland, be it to further their education, to pursue employment opportunities or to practise a profession that is regulated. The Department is committed to continuing to work with the national competent authorities, their parent Departments,…

On behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Naughton, I welcome the opportunity to update the House on this topic. As Members may be aware, Shannon Group informed the Department in summer 2020 that it was necessary to consider a comprehensive and radical adjustment to its structure to secure the long-term future of the business and its employees. A number of challenges had arisen, including the lack of expertise in maintaining the sites in the group, the capital investment required to …

On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, I reiterate that the Government recognises the importance of Shannon Heritage to the mid-west region. During the Covid-19 pandemic the Government showed its commitment to Shannon Heritage through the provision of supports, allowing the sites to remain open when restrictions permitted. Even with these supports, the impact of Covid-19 has been enormously challenging for Shannon Heritage, but I am advised that since the easing of public health restrictions, the incr…

Ireland has responded in an open and generous way to the people fleeing the war in Ukraine. In three months, the State has provided accommodation to 23,000 people fleeing the war. Private citizens have accommodated thousands more, and communities across the country have stepped up to the plate in welcoming Ukrainians and helping them to settle in. We would not have had this response were it not for the work of journalists who have communicated the horror of the war so effectively. They are journalists who, on a dai…

I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, on progressing this hugely important piece of work, which was a key commitment for the Green Party in the programme for Government. Our biodiversity and natural world have not been valued and protected in Ireland in the way they should have been in the past. The Government has changed that and the renewal of the NPWS is a big part of that change. The natural world is under increasing pressure across Ireland. The NPWS has parti…

I very much welcome the opportunity to speak on just transition. It is an area I have a deep interest in. My ministerial responsibilities span two Departments to play a key role in ensuring a just transition. There is significant overlap and opportunity in what we need to do to decarbonise our society and make it fairer, more just and more equal. Current cost-of-living issues highlight this fact. Almost by definition, expansion of public transport and active travel options help to level the playing field when we sp…