Can I take it that by June, everybody will have got the score, so the final payment is the full final payment?

Can the Minister also let me know whether it would be hoped, for year two of ACRES, for the first payment to take place before Christmas this year? Farmers would effectively get two payments. That causes a little wobble for some people with how they do their accounts, if they do it on a cash receipts basis. On the other hand, the quicker they get the payments, the better. Will they be paid the first ACRES payment before the end of this year as had been planned for last year?

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle, as ligean dom an cheist thábhachtach seo a thógáil. Health is very important and should be a priority but dental health is an intrinsic and very important part of the health equation for most people. It is well testified that where people do not look after their dental health, there are detrimental effects on their well-being. The reality is that the medical card dental scheme is falling apart. County Galway has a population of approximately 300,000, so we can guess that the…

I thank the Minister of State for the information, but I have to say that I know from dealing with my constituents that the lived experience, irrespective of the figures, does not concur with what was stated in the script he was provided by the Department. To be honest, a free scheme is a free scheme and the cost becomes irrelevant to the people who seek to access it. We should not give a commitment if we are not going to honour it, irrespective of the cost. The Minister of State said there are 57 contractors. We l…

A firm commitment was given that the elected board of Údarás na Gaeltachta would be reinstated and that the elections would be held on the same day as the local elections. This is dependent on the Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill being passed. I note that the list of legislation states that pre-legislative scrutiny was completed in July 2023. Can the Minister confirm that this is not going to happen? Can he further confirm if it is going to happen within the term of this Dáil, and if he gives me that confirmat…

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this issue. It is fair to say that there has been a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation. The reality is that of all the people who come to the country, people seeking international protection make up a very small number. For example, we give out between 30,000 and 39,000 work permits depending on the year to people outside the EU. Of course, if they did not come here and do the necessary work they are doing, the economy and services in this country would not f…

Tá obair iontach déanta ag an Aire sna ceantair tuaithe. He has done a lot of things including extending the first home scheme to rural areas. He is also carrying out a review of Gaeltacht planning and so on. The measure that has had the most immediate impact in rural Ireland is probably the extension of the Croí Cónaithe scheme to single houses in rural areas. There is a substantial amount of interest in that scheme in rural Ireland. Does the Minister have any data as to the number of applications received from ru…

Tá áthas orm deis a bheith agam cúpla focal a rá ar an mBille seo. There are two parts to this Bill. It is not the first time a Bill has had two very disparate parts and I understand why that was done, so I am going to treat them separately. I remember suggesting when they were talking about an Irish language Act in the North that there should be two parts to that language Act, with totally separate provisions - one part for the Irish language that would reflect its status in the Good Friday Agreement and the other…

Gabhaim buíochas don Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach. I received an email recently from the students union in Galway. It said it had received multiple reports from students who get the train into the city from Athenry that it is often full or late and that there have even been cases where students have been refused entry to the train as they did not have a ticket for that specific journey despite having a monthly ticket that permits them on the train. The writer assumed I had likely heard, which I had, and had he…

I have one advantage over the Minister of State in that I travelled on the old Harcourt Street railway line before it was abandoned and sold precipitously. It was way too slow when they decided to reopen it and parts of it had been built on. There is a salutary message in this. Why did they close it? They said they would not have the passengers. They say the same thing about Limerick to Galway and Athenry to Claremorris. As I said, the people come. The second thing is that I am always amused when people start menti…

Ar an gcéad dul síos, guím Nollaig shona agus athbhliain faoi mhaise ar an gCeann Comhairle. Tá súil agam go mbeidh bliain síochána ann an bhliain seo chugainn. I also grew up beside the Dodder but I will not talk about the Dodder today. Local radio provides vital public service broadcasting, particularly in current affairs, news and sport. The coming year will see a whole series of elections. I believe public service broadcasting should cover these elections. With 57 seats available in County Galway alone, for exa…

This question asks if any progress has been made with the British Government regarding the recommendation made by the Independent Reporting Commission in its fifth report, and its sixth report that was published very recently, "for an agreed formal process of Group Transition, involving direct engagement with paramilitary groups themselves, to bring about disbandment".

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive answer. It is very useful. That recommendation is key in the report because if you can persuade people to move forward, it is an enduring way of creating a circumstance in which these groups would disband or would not operate. Will the Minister indicate whether the British Government is fully bought into this concept? Does she think progress can be made? There is a certain amount of urgency. When you are on a bicycle, if you stop going forward, you start wobbling and you w…

I agree that it is fair to say the different groups involved in paramilitarism on both sides of the community could have different characteristics, which we must recognise. That said, the IRC has been a responsible body and it has gone about its business quietly and efficiently. It operates in a coherent fashion, even though members come from very different perspectives. In my interaction with them, I found them to be a very impressive group of people who think deeply about this and make serious recommendations. I …

This is a simple enough question. Can the Minister of State give an update on the pension entitlements being worked on for carers by his Department, and outline-----

I am taking Questions Nos. 96, 99 and 101. It is my field day. The question is, what are the changes to caring credits? I know they are very beneficial and long-term carers are included but the Minister of State might outline what they are.

If I heard the Minister of State right, if somebody is caring for over 20 years, the 520 rule does not apply any more. They will be able to get paid credits for part of that period and therefore if they have not achieved the 520, they can bring it up to 520 contributions. I would like the Minister of State's confirmation that I understand it right because this is of huge significance for people who have worked maybe five to nine years. I had one case recently where somebody had done nine years and 51 weeks. They ha…

I welcome that because it will make a huge difference, along with the change in the means test for the carer's allowance, which is getting nearer to the target the social welfare committee was heading towards and the recommendation of a disregard of the first €500 for a single person and the first €1,000 for a couple. It is getting much nearer to that, at €450 and €900, respectively. Will the Minister of State confirm that measure will come in on 1 January next year?

I was reflecting on the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023, which is going through the Seanad. As regards the extension of the age limit for making contributions beyond 66 years, the Bill states people cannot do so if they claim a contributory State pension. It is silent on the issue of a non-contributory pension. For someone who was short on contributions and subject to means testing, the best option would be to apply for the non-contributory pension, get a job at €39 a week, get the A stamp and c…

The question is to ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure measures are taken to align the pay of Tús supervisors with CE supervisors, and if she will make a statement on the matter. I will expand the question slightly to include both Tús and RSS as I understand the negotiations took place together.