Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

To build from Deputy Kerrane’s question, I want to raise a question that I have asked at previous meetings of the committee. Have we information on who remains on the pandemic unemployment payment and what sectors are most affected? If we have that information, do we have a specific plan? For example, if we know it concerns people within hospitality or the arts, do we have specifics as to how we are going to move people off that?

I will trust the Chair to steer me back if I stray into the wrong programme, so he can get his cattle prod ready. I want to ask about the large increase in basic supplementary welfare allowance payments, given some 30% is listed. I want to ask that more general question of whether we are seeing the rise in the cost of living feeding through into people looking for supplementary allowance welfare payments, and whether we have a plan for that going forward or whether we think the package that was announced last week is sufficient.

There is a welcome increase in paternity and parent's benefit. Do we believe we are successful in the take-up of that payment? I know, anecdotally, that it has been culturally more difficult for men to take paternity leave, which they absolutely should as it is an incredibly important thing to do. Are we being successful in that, in the Minister's opinion?

In terms of redundancy and insolvency payments, I have a feeling this will be a big issue. Many businesses were kept on a lifeline over the course of Covid. Are we seeing a large number of insolvencies coming through in a bunched way? We would have expected, over the last two years, that a certain number of insolvencies would pass through the system but many of those were put on hold because of the supports that were put in place for Covid. Do we expect a large number of those to come into the system over the next couple of months? Are we prepared for that and do we have a plan for dealing with it?