Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response, which is very welcome. I will be sure to bring it back to my constituents who are suffering in the way I have described. They have faced an unexpected burden. Many of them have not had contact with Intreo services before and just may not be aware of the supports offered by the Government at different stages. I will, of course, refer to the Minister of State's speech when advising them. I will advise them to refer to it when they make contact with the Intreo offices.

As the Ceann Comhairle said, these are the very human dilemmas and cases related to the Covid experience that one just did not expect. They relate to the sorts of changes that had to be made under public health guidance. I encourage the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to ensure that construction of the kind in question will be among the first categories of construction, if not the first, to recommence when possible. We recognise the reason construction had to stop but the human impact is quite considerable. The stress and strain of not knowing whether an extra month or an extra two or three months are needed is quite a burden when it is about family accommodation.

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