Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the remarks made by Deputy Conaghan. I spent last Saturday in Thomas Street in the inner city. Despite that it was a miserable day the mood of stall holders and customers in the market was very positive, many of them looking forward to getting the increased Christmas bonus. The reason for this positivity among people is the fact that they are now beginning to recoup much of the money they lost over the last number of years.

I received a telephone call this morning from a young man in the 18 to 24 year age group who was told at his local post office that he is not eligible for the Christmas bonus because he has not been in receipt for social protection benefits for 50 months. Is that correct? If it is, I was not aware of that.