Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is a point I was going to mention. I do not believe many people are aware of the discretion their local welfare officer may be able to show them. There is a role for us and a role for Government. As the Minister said, the Citizens Information Board is always very good, helpful and informative. However, some kind of campaign is warranted. People are feeling the pinch and now would be a good time for such a campaign.

If I may again stray across the water to the UK, a similar debate is ongoing with regard to addressing the cost-of-living crisis there. I do not agree with the idea but I know that privatising the UK's passport office is being looked at. There is also discussion of deferring Ministry of Transport tests, the MOT, for a year or two. Again, I obviously do not advocate such a measure but the UK is looking at all interactions the state has with the taxpayer and the citizen. It may be worth scrutinising such interactions here, such as those relating to the haulage sector that Deputy Cahill mentioned, to see if there is anything that we, as a Government, can do with regard to reducing costs, waiving fees or streamlining processes to make things easier for people and businesses.

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