Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Marian Harkin. I wish the Minister the best of luck in whatever path she takes and I also pay tribute to the staff in the Department. They have worked incredibly hard and it is important we place that on record.

The Minister dealt with the maternity leave extension and it is something that also concerns me, along with the position of people over 66. I will not repeat those points and the Minister has clearly set out where the difficulty lies. I will zone in on something with which the Minister may be able to help, the plight of foreign language students. There are approximately 1,000 of these students from a range of countries, with Brazil being the nationality of the highest number of these students. Approximately 66% are from Brazil and a number are from Mexico. They found themselves in a terrible position, as they have paid money for courses that will not go ahead and they have not got back that money. There was also a question as to whether they were entitled to a social welfare allowance.

They did not seem to be as a result of the habitual residence requirement. As to those entitled to the special needs payment, it is a one-off payment and there is no appeal mechanism. While it is good that community welfare officers are entitled to exercise their discretion, there is no consistency. We asked for a task force to be established and I understand that a working group has been set up, with the Minister's Department a part of it. Will the Minister clarify what has been learned, what the extent of the problem is and what numbers are getting what payments?

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