Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the panel. This is a good opportunity to discuss these issues. I am Fine Gael's Seanad spokesperson on social protection. It is a mind-boggling area, given that there are 64 schemes. I have made a submission to the committee chaired by the former judge, Joseph Mangan. Due to the current crisis, many more people need help than used to be the case.

I apologise for being late. Some of my questions may have been asked, but I would like to tease out the issues with the panel. The shortfall in the Social Insurance Fund is €1.5 billion. Does the fund pay for all the schemes?