Mr. Joe Saunders:

I will respond in reverse order. On the CE schemes issue, we found that it affects the CE scheme and Tús schemes. As some schemes were frozen, people’s time on them was extended, but it is not extended after the post-pandemic period. Those people have not had the benefit of the experience the State offered to give to them through either a CE or a Tús scheme. We would advocate, and have advocated, that those people’s time on schemes should be extended.

That has not been acceded to yet but I agree 100% with what the Senator is saying. Our position is that for those who are being accorded one year or three years on whatever scheme it is, if they have been denied that through no fault of their own, their time should be extended.

The Senator is correct that I did not address Senator Wall's comments about the duplication issue head-on. The potential for duplication needs to be avoided at all costs. As regards food poverty, food banks, meals on wheels and the introduction of new services, that needs to be co-ordinated when linking in with the HSE. Our 49 local companies are well tapped into the current level of provision. The entire orientation should be towards collaboration, supporting what exists and plugging gaps rather than moving in on activity that community groups are already covering adequately.