Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister and his staff for giving us an update. I will raise a couple of things. We all know pensioners are struggling to make ends meet but I always felt a single pensioner was under an awful lot more pressure than a couple. Could something be done in cases where single pensioners need a bit more? They still face the same bills for rent, electricity and heat. The only additional cost they do not face is for food. They still have all the same bills a couple will have. That could be looked at.

On the extension of the school meals programme, in my own town of Oldcastle, the national school is a DEIS school but the secondary school is not. The same kids go to the secondary school who went to the national school. I would like to see the programme extended to the secondary school. It has applied but has not got it. The same kids go to the secondary school as go to the national school.

The means test for carers has been brought up a couple of times. I would like to see that done away with as soon as possible because these people are saving the State a fortune in keeping their loved ones at home. It is in the programme for Government and I thought it was going to be done before the summer but now it looks like it is to be done over the lifetime of the Government. I would like to see it done as soon as possible.

The cost-of-living package in the budget could go an awful lot further if it was given to the people who need it the most. If we could give a little bit more to the people who need it the most rather than giving energy credits to people who do not need them, we could make an awful lot more headway. I thank the Minister again.