Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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One of the big questions that arises now is, what happens at the end of June regarding the PUP? Will new people be able to go on the PUP after that or is it intended to cease it? We need clarification. People are dependent on this payment. Many people will not be back to work according to figures from the Minister's Department in reply to a parliamentary question I tabled. On 1 July, it is estimated that there will be 325,000 people in receipt of PUP. When will decisions be made on this so that people can plan with some certainty as to where they are going?

The second issue the Minister might clarify relates to the projected figure of 345,000 PUP recipients in the first week of June. She said there has been a drop of 100,000 in the past month. What is the latest figure she has for the number in receipt of PUP from this week or last week? Are we going to overshoot or undershoot the end of May-beginning of June target? Can she explain why we always go through this charade of not providing for the Christmas bonus in the budget calculations or in the Estimates? It makes year-on-year comparisons difficult to gauge, because it looks as if there is an over expenditure on the previous year but there is not really. The reality is that the bonus was paid out and it is not provided for in the Estimate. The Minister might explain why it is not provided. Is it intended to be back, as I hope? I presume she will confirm there will be a Christmas bonus. There is this situation of going through the year with people not knowing whether they are going to get it. There will be utter shock in the system if people did not get it. The Minister might explain that.

Third, how good is cyber control in the Minister's Department? We have seen what happened and can imagine what would happen if there was a ransomware attack on the social welfare system and payments could not be made. It is too horrible to think about. How prepared is the Department? It has a large range of systems, some of which are much older than others, and that they are constantly being renewed. That could pose problems. What is the situation, and will there be an immediate step up in protecting our social welfare system? After health, social welfare and Revenue seem to me to be the two key services in our system.