Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the Deputy's comments, being born in the State no longer automatically qualifies a person to Irish citizenship. We held a referendum on that and people voted overwhelmingly to remove that provision. I have noted the Deputy's comments on direct provision and he is correct to say there is no increase provided in the Bill for people in receipt of a direct provision payment. My Department administers the direct provision allowance on behalf of the Department of Justice and Equality, so it is not provided for at all in social welfare legislation. It would be a matter for the Department of Justice and Equality to decide on whether it wants to make an increase in any of those allowances. My Department provides the back to school clothing and footwear allowance and the exceptional needs payments for such items as adult clothing, children's clothing, a pram, buggy or double buggy and various other things for which people can get a grant from the Department.