Amendment No. 2 has been ruled out of order.

Do any other Deputies wish to come in before I conclude? Does the Minister wish to say anything else on this amendment?

Is the amendment being pressed?

Amendments Nos. 10 and 11 are related and may be discussed together.

As I have not been speaking in the House since the Ceann Comhairle returned, I welcome him back. It is great to see him back in the Chair. I welcome the increases. At the time of the budget, I said that I welcome the changes in the means test for the fuel allowance because many people fell outside the fuel allowance by a small margin, so that is very good. The reason I want to speak this evening is to raise three important points with regard to waiting times. The first point concerns community welfare. Just today, …

My first question is to ask the Minister about the actions his Department has taken to address disadvantage in early years and childcare settings and if he will make a statement on the matter. I will expand further in my later time.

The final comment about the new strand of funding is very important. I tabled this question because we were contacted last week by people when they heard the announcement of €54.5 million in funding to tackle disadvantage. While the funding is welcome, talk of a garden at the Bloom festival angered some people. I am talking about a very good and committed early learning and early years sector that has been very much engaged and that welcomed the core funding. Some of these people have been at this for years and are…

I do not think it is from the Minister's Department.

I welcome what the Minister said about AIM, even though it was not part of the question. The service is vital and we often hear asked whether it can be expanded. There is a need in some sectors and it depends on the area. There is considerable disadvantage in some areas where parents of 90% of the children attending may not be in employment and there are various issues. Additional funding is very important. Elements of the core funding are very welcome, but some people think that the older model, the community chil…

My question relates to the care system and the degree to which the Minister remains satisfied with the current arrangement under which private for-profit foster care companies are fulfilling the Government's obligation in respect of children in care.

I am asking the question because a reply we recently received to a parliamentary question illustrated that up to 6 August this year, €19 million was spent on private services and 485 children, or 9.3%, were placed with non-statutory fostering agencies, that is, the private for-profit agencies. The figures released yesterday in respect of Tusla and the high turnover of staff further indicate that something is not working in the system. We do not want a situation where children are going into these private fostering …

The joint committee looked at the issue of foster care. I cannot remember if the Minister has appeared before it regarding this topic but I think we have potentially slotted him in at some point. He should expect an invitation. The committee has looked at this issue and has not finished all its hearings on it. I definitely agree there needs to be a more joined-up approach and thinking because the other side of it is we have people we can potentially keep out of the foster care system. That is ultimately what we wan…

The Bill will be sent to the Seanad.

Amendments Nos. 1, 8 and 9 are related and will be discussed together.

The Minister was left with an awful lot of the legacy issues. The cynical part of me thinks that other Ministers did not mind leaving stacks of files on their desk for somebody else to deal with. I acknowledge that the Minister has dealt with many of the outstanding issues relating to the mother and baby institutions. We have not always agreed and, in fact, we have disagreed on many of the issues but I acknowledge that he has at least tried to push on with them, unlike previous Ministers who held the post before hi…

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for tabling the motion. The main focus is on prepay customers. I do not know if the Government, including the Minister, understands the situation those prepay customers are in. First, I believe the prepay situation is a total scam. Most people are made to go into it if they have fallen into arrears and they are told this is a better way of managing their budget and their money, but it is not. I want to focus on children because we are going to have children not just going hungry, but cold, g…

My question relates to a community childcare provider in Kilkenny city. Unusually for a community facility, it is located in two private houses that it rents. The property was converted some years ago, so it is purpose-built in that sense. It is unusual, however, in terms of the rent that the provider is paying, unlike many other community facilities. It has an overspill into a local GAA club at the moment to try to provide an afterschool service. I will expand on this in the next round.

As I said, the service is an unusual situation as it does not own the building. The modernisation grant would be fine but, at the same time, it is sort of like when one is renting a house - one is putting work into something one will never own. I am interested in the second pillar, however, comprising €45 million in funding. That might be relevant to the provider. Will that funding be available from 2023? How does a provider go about accessing it? It is often the case when people come to a Deputy regarding a wish t…

The provider services a significant number of schools in the city area, particularly in the context of the collection service for afterschool care. That is invaluable for parents. I often wish I could have availed of that service at times. One never knows at what time one will be leaving the Dáil, however, so it is definitely not going to be suitable for me. It is such a great service that it offers for people. It is brilliant for the kids as well because there are lots of activities, as well as a bit of help with …