Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the progress the Minister is making. However, I deplore the fact that it took a courageous mother, a report in The IrishTimes, coverage in various media, particularly an interview with the Minister on the Seán O'Rourke radio programme, and questions in the Dáil to bring about change. That is most unfortunate, given the appalling statistics. Have officials in the Department read the report of the Joint Committee on Social Protection that was produced in June? It mentions specific problems experienced by lone parents and other mothers in the context of domestic violence. It also references the need for a national maintenance agency. That is one element of my question, namely, what is the situation with regard to the establishment of such an agency? The second part of my question relates to training. The Minister has confirmed that training will be provided for staff. I hope such training will be ongoing and would like more details on it. I welcome the people in the Visitors Gallery whom I do not want to identify. I praise their courage. We have raised this issue repeatedly in the context of the SAVI report and so on. If we extrapolate from the 2016 figures, we find that 4,831 requests for refuge were refused because there was no space available. That represents approximately 14 unmet requests every single day, yet we have the Department writing letters of this nature. Will the Minister confirm that such letters will never be written and sent ever again? As regards the grey area, is the Minister telling us that only those who produce orders will receive payments? Will she clarify the matter? In summary, I have asked about the establishment of a national maintenance agency, the nature of the ongoing training provided and what must be produced by claimants.

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