Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The group I am speaking about is a quantifiable number of approximately 1,000 people. I understood that there was no clarity regarding the supplementary welfare allowance. There is clarity regarding the special needs payment, but that is a one-off payment and there is no appeals process. If the Minister is telling me that the language students qualify for the supplementary welfare allowance, it is positive and welcome news. Perhaps she could give me that in writing, as it was not clear when I raised the matter a few weeks ago in the Dáil. As the Minister might imagine, the students are quite desperate and facing language difficulties. They formed a group, though, and have been telling us about the difficulties on the ground. I would appreciate it if I could get what the Minister mentioned in writing.

If there is spare time, I will leave it to my colleague.

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