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

If members wish to come in again, they should raise their hand. Deputy Ó Cuív and I have considerable experience of dealing with community welfare officers. On the issue of discretion, an appeal of a community welfare officer's decision was never needed because there was significant flexibility. That has been tightened up. I accept the work the CWOs do in the Department of Social Protection is far more flexible than in other areas. I accept there is an ethos in the Department and among officials of trying to help people out. Community welfare officers are flexible but the scale of flexibility is far short of the flexibility in the past. Deputy Ó Cuív is right. Public money was probably misspent but a great deal of good work was done. We need to keep an eye on that.

Senator Paddy Burke spoke about the range of supports that are available. The Citizens Information website is a useful tool for me, as a public representative, and for citizens. Many people are not tech savvy. Last week, the Irish Postmasters' Union spoke about the difficult financial situation its members are facing. It is seeking the introduction of an annual public service obligation for the postmasters. Postmasters and postmistresses provided a valuable service to people who were eligible for social welfare schemes by making them aware of their eligibility and assisting them in filling out the application form. It was a successful service.

In 2018, as the then Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, I gave a commitment to transfer offline services to the post office network. This service could be provided as part of the Department of Social Protection through postmasters to ensure people are aware of their eligibility for schemes. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to consider the broader issue in the Department.

Many members have already spoken about food poverty which I raised at the start of the meeting. The Government published its climate action legislation today. Food poverty and food waste are opposite sides of the same coin. We are dumping five and a half kilograms per day for each person who finds his or herself in food poverty. That contradiction must be dealt with. We have set targets for 2030 and 2050, which I hope we will achieve. That is the objective of the legislation. Achieving them will have a minimal impact on our global climate challenge. However, tackling food waste which, in this country, is the third biggest carbon emitter, would have an impact on our overall global emissions. Ireland is in an ideal situation as one of the biggest food producers in the world per capita.Initiatives such as the FoodCloud initiative have been successful. The meals on wheels model will be better co-ordinated through Irish Rural Link. Senator Wall spoke about a voluntary initiative delivering food parcels. One of the biggest challenges it faces is access to vehicles to distribute the parcels.

The Minister of State has an opportunity to set an international benchmark, working with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to deal with both sides of the challenge, food waste and food poverty, for the benefit of people and the climate challenge we face globally. I hope the Minister of State will work with the climate side to achieve a reinvigorated approach to this. Project Ireland 2040 makes a clear commitment to address the food waste challenge.