On public service reform, has the Taoiseach's attention been drawn to the retention of people in the public service, particularly in care? Those working as occupational therapists through to speech and language therapists, for example, are different from those working in other sectors of the public service. They work in the public service first and then go into private practice. There is an issue with home care assistants who are in the old home-help role. There are people who were in that role and have left it. Th…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me the opportunity to raise this issue. The home care package is a service that has been a lifeline to many families throughout the length and breadth of the country. My family benefited enormously from it in times past. The work done by the care assistants who dedicate their lives to the care of others in their own home is invaluable, as is the care they give and their dedication. It would be remiss of me not to say that at the outset. At present, we face a crisis in home c…

I thank the Minister of State. There are a number of issues. There are 109 people waiting for services. Is there a policy to reduce the amount of home help hours to existing people, referred to in the document as clients, so as to spread the service more thinly because of the shortage of home care assistants? Strategically, in the Minister of State's own Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, should there not be an incentive put in place to recruit people to the home care assi…

I am not a member of the committee. I am due to attend the National Diversity and Inclusion Awards in Croke Park later this evening. It is due to start at 6.30 p.m. My one ask is that undergraduates completing third or fourth year of their qualification in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy or physiotherapy be included in the summer programme, which has replaced July provision. They can be Garda vetted. They are going elsewhere for experience but they could get real-life experience within the summer …

What plans are there for the courthouse on Church Street in Kanturk, which has stood idle for many years? The courthouse and the bridewell jail beside it have historical significance, with the jail containing a great deal of graffiti from the War of Independence and the Civil War, the centenary of which we are in at the moment. Will the Minister of State outline the building's ownership and who has responsibility for it?

Regarding the building's ownership, will the Minister of State commit to getting the documentation from the Courts Service? It could then be forwarded to the committee that has been formed to restore the courthouse. It is important that we have the deeds or registration of title, whichever is the case, and I would appreciate it if we could get that documentation from the Courts Service. In a supplementary question, I might discuss some of the historical documentation and other material within the courthouse that is…

The bridewell is adjacent to the courthouse. I commend the Courts Service, in particular Ms Ruth Penney, who was more than helpful in trying to preserve the bridewell last year. The building was porous with water flowing down it and some remedial work was done. There is graffiti in the old bridewell, which served as a jail for 200 years after the courthouse was built in the 1820s, but much of the graffiti dates from the War of Independence and the Civil War. That graffiti is significant and it would be a shame to s…

I welcome the opportunity to ask the Minister whether she has plans to review the two-year, or 104-week, limit that applies to the carer's benefit and whether she will make a statement on the matter.

I thank the Minister for the reply outlining the fact that the average duration is 76.1 weeks. People receiving the carer's benefit are predominantly caring for a relative with a very serious health diagnosis. We constantly come across cases where a partner in a couple has to leave the workforce to provide care to a child full time. Such a person gets the carer's benefit for two years. The benefit was designed in 2001 and has helped an enormous number of families over the years. When the 104 weeks are up, an indivi…

I congratulate the Minister on the change to means-testing, the increase in the payments and what was known as respite care and the €500 payment issues last week. Those measures are very beneficial. Families we deal with are extremely grateful for the funding they have received. This issue comes up constantly at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters. The 2001 Act introduced carer's benefit for two years. We can only guess why the average is what it is, but everyone has a fair idea of why that is the case. When …

I am taking this on behalf of Deputy McAuliffe. What are the Minister's plans to reform illness benefit entitlements for self-employed people?

I thank the Minister for her clear answer. She has made the point well. Since the introduction of the changes the Minister and others in the Department have made on the class S contributions being applicable to the invalidity pension, how many self-employed people have benefited and been able to get the invalidity pension? The difficulty for self-employed people is there is no mechanism for them to secure the job if they have a permanent illness. It might be interesting for us to have the figures on how many people…

That is right, yes.

I welcome the opportunity, however brief, to speak on this legislation. I compliment the Minister on the work she is doing and the co-operation in all the work she is doing in the Department. I and many others greatly appreciate it. I wish to raise several issues. One is the disregard of the half-rate carer's allowance. This is an important aspect. It must be acknowledged that this was an issue in respect of the fuel allowance. Turning to the issue of the CE schemes, and the brief mention of the supervisors in this…

What is the status of the implementation of the National Development Plan 2021-2030, with specific reference to NSO 3?

I thank the Minister for his engagement with the Charleville community, including Councillor Ian Doyle and the Charleville Chamber of Commerce, back in early September around the application for funding from the RRDF. It is a fantastic project worth €5.2 million and we hope it will be rolled out. There are a couple of issues. All these schemes are hugely beneficial to rural communities across the spectrum. Some rural communities got funding under the town and village renewal scheme and other schemes. Some of them s…

I thank the Minister. He mentioned broadband. Some of the dates given are in 2024 or 2025 and the roll-out in particular areas has been brought back to 2023. Is there engagement with National Broadband Ireland, NBI, to see whether it can be further speeded up to ensure broadband for rural Ireland? It is the great enabler. There are great prospects for remote working and for companies to set up in rural Ireland, especially when so many people have decided to return to live there because of Covid. We have seen an exp…

The Business Committee.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue of the junction at Ballymaquirke. I note that the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O’Brien, is taking this Topical Issue. He might know the area reasonably well because it is on the Mallow to Killarney road. This is a dangerous junction. It intersects Kanturk and Banteer, and on to Cork and Nad. The junction has been classified at Cork County Council level as one of the most dangerous junctions in Cork and indeed in Munster. A huge body of work has been done locally to tr…

Specifically on the topic of the N72 and on Ballymaquirke, the Minister of State is confirming that the tenders have been returned, have been approved and that a contractor has been approved for the construction of the roundabout and the realignment at Ballymaquirke. He said in his statement that it is hoped the construction will start in 2023. Have the Department or Transport Infrastructure Ireland responded to the Minister of State, giving an exact time for the construction? If there is any message that I want ta…