Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is an interesting point. The professional artists scheme allows professional artists to claim jobseeker's allowance for 12 months while setting up their businesses. The numbers involved are small, with only 100 participants. As such, its cost is small. I hope that the Department is considering disregarding the past 12 months for people on that scheme and rolling that disregard over for them, given that they have not had an opportunity to gain an income in recent months. Small changes can have a big impact and make a real difference for a small cohort of people. I believe the committee's view is that it should be a short-term focus.

Another issue has been raised by a number of people and is one about which I am also concerned, namely, lump sum payments. Many people do not have the skills to manage them. Regarding fortnightly payments, we have thankfully returned to weekly payments in post offices and I do not believe the issue should arise again. Practical measures can be put in place. We should get feedback from the Department about its contingency in this regard. It would also be worthwhile to get the input of the Irish Postmasters Union and An Post. An Post is doing a great deal of work in financial services. Perhaps we could also get the perspective of the Irish credit union movement.