Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)

I will make one point, although the Deputy concerned has gone. I think he was trying to make some kind of a connection between children in poverty and parents in addiction. According to the Health Research Board, “In areas that are most and least deprived there is little difference in the prevalence of drug use", although there is obviously a disproportionate impact on those poorer communities. I think that is worth saying. I feel the Deputy was making a sound there that maybe only dogs could hear.

In relation to the means test for HAP, I understand that on the part of the Department of Social Protection child maintenance is excluded, and it is not excluded for the calculation of HAP. This is not, however, universal across local authorities. I know this is not exactly within the remit of the witnesses but, given the points made earlier, a significant chunk of kids are being left out of this research. For those receiving child maintenance, is there anything the Department of Social Protection can do? I have raised this matter with the Minister. This is not a criticism of the witnesses’ Department, because I know it is doing it right. Can anything be done from a leadership perspective by the Department of Social Protection, however, to ensure this approach is rolled out for the calculation of HAP and other benefits? I ask this because it materially contributes to deprivation levels, etc.