Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Two statements the Deputy made in the House need to be corrected. First, he indicated that a young person who worked from the age of 17 to 24 years would only receive €150 per week. This is wrong because a person with a work record would receive the full adult rate of jobseeker's benefit. If the person subsequently dropped to jobseeker's allowance, he or she would continue to receive the full adult rate. Second, Deputy Lee stated that a young married couple with children would only receive €100 or €150 per week. That is wrong because anyone with dependent children will receive the full payment.

I am pleased Deputy McEntee raised the issue of deaf people. One could conclude from the contributions of Deputies that blindness was the only disability. While blindness is a terrible disability, in fairness to people with other disabilities I am glad Deputy McEntee specifically referred to deaf people.

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