It is on the 80:20 funding-----

I do respect the Chair.

But we are being told to bring forward legislation and we cannot.

I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, after line 29, to insert the following: “Report on provision and cost of community welfare officers 4. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas on the currently prevailing levels of provision of, and accessibility to, community welfare officers and on the additional recruitment and other costs that would be entailed in ensuring that a community welfare officer was available for consultation by members of the …

I am conscious of timings.

I will be guided by your good self, Acting Chair. I welcome the Minister's response. I know her to be a fair-minded person. If she says she will do this report, I know she will do it.

I do not want to labour the point too much, except to say that I and the Labour Party would be quite protective of the scheme. When we hear of unconfirmed reports about the creation of hubs within the Department itself on decision-making procedures, dare I say that we naturally become paranoid and suspicious. Paranoia in politics is no bad thing, as long as it is in small micro doses. We all have very good relationships with individual officers right across the system. It is an excellent Department that delivers so…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “Report on impact of employee PRSI contributions on minimum wage employees 5. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas on the impact of employee PRSI contribution rates on workers earning the national minimum wage, having regard both to the pending increase in the national minimum hourly rate of pay and to the proposed transition to a Living Wage.”. We are back …

I am a former Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if that is what the Minister meant. It was not the Department of Social Protection.

The tapering tax relief is the nub of it. I do not propose to withdraw the amendment. I propose to press it because I think it is vital. I note the Minister's response with regard to the work that is ongoing with the CSO, Revenue and various line Departments. I want to ensure that tapering tax relief issue is essentially nailed down, however. Obviously, there is an impact for the employer as well that cannot be underestimated, particularly for small employers and small companies, entities and holdings. It is, there…

I appreciate that. With all due respect to the Minister and the generosity of her offer, I think I would have access to the report anyway. It will presumably be in the public domain. However-----

Okay.

Indeed. As a matter of record, given that we put forward the amendment on behalf of the Labour Party, we would still like to ensure the amendment is promulgated. Therefore, respectfully, that is what I intend to do. I am delighted with the Minister's offer to take receipt of the report, nonetheless. I thank her for that.

Yes.

I wholeheartedly support Deputy Naughten’s proposed amendment because more of us are interacting with people who are definitively feeling the effects of long Covid. The amendment is a reasonable one in that it seeks to have a report laid before the House on particular measures, especially, as stated in the amendment, in designating long Covid as an occupational illness. We all have first-hand experience, based on our interactions with our constituents, particularly front-line workers. If something can be devised or…

I support Deputy Kerrane's amendment. This is a time when the Government, to be fair to it, and the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, are putting particular emphasis on apprenticeships. There is now a clear Government policy around resourcing apprenticeships. We want to see more apprenticeships coming from right across the demographic spectrum, particularly in instances where people have not attained points for third level institutions and they may be thinki…

There were to be three speakers in this slot but only two are present so Deputy Ó Cathasaigh may use the remainder of the slot.

The Minister is entitled to reply to the debate without interruption.

I ask that all speakers be respected and that the Minister be allowed to continue without interruption.

Sorry Minister, may I intervene for a second? As Deputy McGrath sits in this Chair from time to time, may I ask him please, if he cannot respect the speaker, to respect the Chair.