Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. There are acceptance issues concerning the justice recommendations in respect of the agency, but that is outside the Minister's remit. I welcome that the Department has accepted the recommendations concerning the social protection system. The Minister has stated – it is my understanding also – that she is not including child maintenance in the means test for new claimants; however, in the ordinary work of the Department, lone parents on the likes of the one-parent family payment or jobseeker's transitional payment are occasionally reviewed, naturally. My understanding is that the disregard is not applied to those being reviewed and only to new claimants. This needs to be rectified.

Could the Minister give us an update on the progress on the legislation required?

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