Results 21-40 of 1,028,504 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Violet-Anne Wynne OR speaker:Seán Haughey OR speaker:Mary Lou McDonald) in 'Committee meetings'

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate (11 Jun 2024)

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Care Services (11 Jun 2024)

Care Services

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Care Services (11 Jun 2024)

Robert Troy: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue matter this evening. I start by acknowledging the role that family carers play, firstly in society, in keeping people in their own home, where the vast majority want to be kept, and secondly in the economy, to which they contribute €20 billion per annum. The State of Caring 2024 report was based on a survey of 2,127...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Meals Programme (11 Jun 2024)

Paul Murphy: Will the Minister comment on the situation of post-primary schools? The same arguments apply in respect of secondary students, including the points about pupil well-being in school, engagement with food, prevention of hunger, alertness in education and so on. We have the capacity to address the inequalities that exist and are reflected in our schools. We should do so at post-primary as...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Meals Programme (11 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: Currently, DEIS secondary schools have access to the school meals programme. I wanted to start with primary schools. As soon as that roll-out is finished, I hope the Minister for Social Protection in the next Government, whoever that may be, will start to roll out the provision to all secondary schools as well. It is the right thing to do. I have been absolutely committed to the school...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Disability Services

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Catherine Connolly: 12. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 18 of 25 April 2024, her plans to reconsider the introduction of a cost-of-disability payment; the details of her or her Department's engagement with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on this matter since the scrapping of the Green Paper; and if she...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Catherine Connolly: My question is very specific. It relates to the Minister's plans to reconsider the introduction of a cost-of-disability payment and the details of any engagement her Department has had with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on this matter.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am committed to improving outcomes for people with a disability. I announced a number of measures to support them in budget 2024, including a €400 lump-sum payment in November, a Christmas bonus double payment in December, a cost-of-living bonus payment in January and a €12 increase in the maximum personal rate of weekly disability...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Catherine Connolly: I welcome that there is a major emphasis on disability, the establishment of the Cabinet committee and so on. I ask the Minister to forgive my frustration, which arises because the Indecon report was only one in a long series of reports over decades. I have an interest in looking at reports and tracing how we got to the current point. We have had a number of reports over decades. Twenty...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: As the Deputy knows, the cost of disability crosses the remit of a number of Departments, encompassing transport, housing adaptation grants and access to services, including healthcare. Income supports are only part of the solution. The disability groups were not happy with the Green Paper. We have to go back to the drawing board, which we are doing by way of the Cabinet committee. We...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Catherine Connolly: Ireland signed the UNCRPD in 2007 and ratified it in 2008. We have utterly failed to ratify the optional protocol to the convention, which would allow people to take an action. For years, we have moved away from charity. I welcome changes the Minister has made, including the different bonuses that have been given. However, organisations working with people with disabilities have...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I published the Green Paper and consulted widely. People did not want it.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Catherine Connolly: Rightly so.

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Disability Services (11 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: That was it. I took it off the table. The Cabinet committee is now in place. As I said, it is not just about income supports. There are 1.1 million people in this country who are disabled. The question is how we target the resources. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, continues to consult the sector. The findings from the Green Paper will be taken into consideration at the Cabinet...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jun 2024)

David Stanton: I thank the Minister very much. I remember when this section was discussed at the time the Bill was introduced in 2005 but the provision is obscure. I am astounded that 616 cases are currently being processed under this section. That seems to be quite a lot. What I am really interested in is the time it is taking to process those appeals. What is the longest period any case has been...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: I do not think I have the figure here about how long the oldest case is there, but I will get it for the Deputy. It is complicated enough and perhaps not that many people are familiar with this process, but it kicks in whenever a person provides new information. When an appeal is decided, if a person has new information, the application goes back in again and it is looked at with a fresh...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jun 2024)

David Stanton: I thank the Minister very much. I am not familiar with clients being overtly informed about section 317. Does the Minister agree that if an appeal is decided in the negative that the clients should be then informed in the same letter that they can appeal under section 317 if further information becomes available? Perhaps that is happening, but I have not actually seen it. The Minister...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jun 2024)

Heather Humphreys: In fairness to the Department, it generally does tell people what options are available to them. If an appellant is unhappy with the decision of an appeals officer, he or she may seek a review of the decision under section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, provided there are new facts or evidence that were not before the appeals officer who made the original decision. A further...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: School Meals Programme (11 Jun 2024)

School Meals Programme