Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. As she has stated, this is a short Bill, but an important one. It is important for families throughout the length and breadth of the country, and for the 1.2 million children who will be in receipt of €100. I have to say that the Government and the Minister have really stepped up to the plate over the past year or two since the pandemic and the hardship it has caused. The Government has responded, and the Minister has outlined here the generosity of the taxpayer to the people and the country. This would not be possible at all were it not for the fact that the economy is in such a good state. We can see going forward that the economy is in a healthy state. That is through prudence and good management over the past number of years. When one considers the difficulties this country has had over the past ten or 12 years, starting with the financial crash in 2010 and through the pandemic and everything else, one sees that great credit is due to the Government for its response.

The Minister has spelled out all of the things her Department has brought forward in relation to cost-of-living expenses and has given to hard-pressed people and families. These include €140 per child per month, and the €100 bonus for which provision is made in this Bill. The Minister also outlined that the hot school meals programme will be extended to all DEIS schools from September, benefiting 64,500 children. This is a great provision. There is nothing like young kids having a hot meal. When I went to national school, we brought a bottle of tea with us, which was put in front of the fire to keep it warm until lunchtime. This is a great provision because, as we well know, in many disadvantaged areas, they do not get hot meals and proper meals. This is a great provision. There is a school in Carlow someplace where they cook their own meals on site and kids have a nap. They can order their food and meals a week in advance. They look forward to whatever meal they are going to have the following Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, for example. They cancel if they are not going to be at school or if they are away on holiday or whatever. This is an area where perhaps the Department can co-operate with the Department of Education. I was impressed by what the principal of the Carlow school said on RTÉ – I do not know the name of the school offhand - about having looked at various schemes in other countries. It is an area that should be checked.

Another issue I wish to raise was brought to my attention in the past week. A young girl was working for a number of years in a business and she changed jobs. Next week she will take up another job. In the intervening period, she was called for jury service. There was no obligation on either the old or new employer to pay her when she was doing the jury service. She outlined her predicament to the Courts Service. Her request was refused. She said she could not afford to be a week without pay. She was also refused social welfare. This is a girl who has paid her PAYE and PRSI over a number of years. It is an anomaly in the whole jury service set-up between the Courts Service, the Department of Social Protection and the employment services. It is an area of social welfare that could be looked at.