John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister might find it surprising that I welcome the fact that 11,000 letters have issued as of last week. Hopefully, we will see multiples of that number this week. A total of 79,000 letters need to be issued prior to Christmas and 70,000 of those are to issue to people who currently live in the State. That is welcome news but it has been a long time coming. There are, however, still concerns. People have asked me what they need to do when they receive the letter. Do they need to request a review or does that kick in automatically? People need to be given assurance when the Minister says they do not need to do anything and that the review will automatically kick in.

There are other concerns with regard to the 20 years for caring duties. What do people need to do to satisfy that? I have asked questions this matter a number of occasions. People might not have the necessary correspondence or proof to satisfy the criteria. What exactly is the process around that and what do people need to do to satisfy the Department's criteria in that regard? I would appreciate some clarity on those points.

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