Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and her officials for the information provided. However, I only received the supplementary information yesterday afternoon. I do not know if others received it sooner.

There has been a substantial saving in jobseeker's allowance payments arising from the drop in unemployment and it feeds through to the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. I notice that there has been a very sharp drop in the budget for exceptional needs payment, from €43.8 million to €38.5 million. Is the scheme demand-led? Is any specific provision made for it? Staff in local offices have told me that they were out of money in the exceptional needs fund, but I take it that is not correct.

A small sum of €2 million has been provided in 2019 to extend jobseeker's benefit to the self-employed.

When is that scheme due to commence? In regard to the working age employment supports, there has been a shocking decrease in the take-up of that support and, therefore, payment of the back-to-work enterprise allowance scheme and the back-to-education allowance scheme. If the Minister cannot point me to where in the information before us the number of people on each of those schemes is set out, she might have her officials forward them to me.