Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I suggest that organisations like family support networks and addiction services also be consulted. This situation has posed difficulties. I am on the board of a community drugs team and the issue of payments was raised by support workers, particularly in respect of those at the vulnerable end of addictions and who were getting fortnightly payments. Unfortunately, that money was gone by the end of week 1. There were major difficulties in week 2 and people had to wait for another payment. We could spread our net. There is considerable expertise among the cohort of people who support these vulnerable families and individuals and it could usefully feed into our work.