Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators Burke, Keogan, Ardagh, Wall, Boyhan and Dolan for their contributions. I am very pleased to bring forward this legislation. The Senators have raised a number of issues and I will go straight to dealing with them.

I said earlier that a new weekly payment of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child is being introduced for the beneficiaries of the temporary protection directive. This will be administered by my Department. These changes are designed to ensure the sustainability of our system. They will also align us more closely with other EU member states. We will of course continue to meet our obligations under the temporary protection directive. If a beneficiary of temporary protection is not resident in a designated accommodation centre, he or she will be eligible for social assistance payments on the same basis as Irish citizens. I think that is fair enough. It is important to note also that beneficiaries of temporary protection, regardless of whether they are resident in a designated centre, will continue to have full access to the labour market. The payment is in lieu of a social welfare payment and will be made to all residents in designated accommodation centres. The people who come here will have access to State accommodation. They will also have access to the child benefit payment. When a person is getting this payment, this new regulation means it will not be assessed against their income. They will be allowed to get the maintenance for the child and it will not be assessed for social welfare purposes.

They will also be eligible for additional needs payments and urgent needs payments in circumstances where they meet the eligibility criteria for these. Beneficiaries receiving the weekly allowance will be entitled to work. The public employment services will engage with them in this regard. What we are doing here is bringing us further in line with the other EU countries.