I thank Deputy Cummins for raising this very important matter. At the forefront of our thoughts this afternoon is Don O'Leary and the great work he did. This is a very important Cork educational establishment. The Deputy is right that it is held in high esteem across Cork and beyond. The care and love it shows is a wonderful example of how education can be. As a former director of adult education and a teacher of the leaving certificate applied, I understand fully that the Cork Life Centre is committed to supporting children and young people who attend the centre so that they can realise their full potential and the benefits the centre will bring to their lives. I apologise that I do not have the scripted reply for the Deputy, but I will get it forwarded to her. For some reason, it has not been made available. I also apologise for the Minister not being here. I am taking this matter on her behalf. Since the 1970s, a small number of alternative education settings that operate outside of the traditional mainstream education system have evolved on an ad hoc basis across the State. What is clear is that these settings support the needs of children and young people who have disengaged from, as it were, or are not engaged in mainstream education. They have blossomed and flourished, in this case in the Cork Life Centre in Sunday's Well. The Acting Chair is familiar with it as well. This educational setting, and I use to word “setting” not in a cold way but, as the Deputy quite rightly articulated, in a way that provides access to education for approximately 55 children and young adults between the ages of 13 and 18 who would not be in mainstream education and who would be lost to the education system were it not for the centre. As I said, it is junior cycle and leaving certificate applied exams. It is supported by an incredible group of staff, teachers, volunteers and people who are under the trusteeship of the Christian Brothers European Province. The centre is one of a small number of alternative education providers that are supported by the Department of Education and Youth. The Department has provided funding and teacher co-operation hours to the centre for several years going back to 2018, which has been increased significantly since then. This year, the Department provided funding of €177,500 along with 6,200 co-operation hours in conjunction with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. As the Deputy knows, centre referrals come from the education and welfare service, school principals, social workers or child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. The centre is seeking sustainability for the future from the Department. Over the past number years, Department officials have visited the centre and met with management on a number of occasions in relation to the issues discussed by the Deputy. Department officials wrote to the centre two years ago with a proposal from the Department that will see the centre recognised under the Education Act 1998. It will then be designated as a special school for primary, with a school roll number. The communication from the Department sets out the requirements in relation to equipment provision, teaching of the curriculum and the length of the school day and school year in order to be recognised by the Department as a primary school under the Education Act. The letter also outlines the level of staffing resources and other supports that would be allocated by the Department to the centre to be recognised as a school. I believe that officials are continuing to engage with the centre in respect of this funding and arrangements. I assure Deputy Cummins that the Department of education recognises the many benefits of the centre. All of us present in the Chamber recognise the impact it is having on young people, and we are totally in awe at the quality of education and the outcomes. I am constantly asking the Department about this as well. The Department is committed to working with all of us to ensure that the centre in the coming period is sustainable because Cork Life Centre has been of huge benefit in our city and county. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will bring her points back to the Department and the Minister.
Sentiment score: 0.28
It is important to recognise that the Department has been engaging. There was a piece going back to 2024 relating to primary school designation. Ultimately, what we all want to see is that the life centre in Sunday's Well is supported and that we keep students who would not be in mainstream education in education. The inspectorate carried out a bespoke evaluation model last year. As the Deputy can imagine, the evaluation was positive. Some of the findings include that staff were observed as being considerably kind, supportive and caring towards all young people. Young people themselves reported that the education in Cork Life Centre was a positive experience for them, and parents reported that the centre and staff made a very positive contribution to children's lives and the lives of their families. The key point for all of us here, and the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach is very familiar with this, is that the recent evaluation reported that the lessons in the life centre were meaningful and engaging and that a good questioning approach was used that enabled young people to be able to, if you like, use subject-specific terminology and express their understanding. As we know, that is very important in the education process. What is very important from the evaluation and for those of us who go in there and have met with the staff and students is that they are very effective and proactive in supporting young people to recognise the positive contribution education can make and have on their future development. We will continue to engage with Cork Life Centre. I reassure the Deputy that the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, recognises the many benefits Cork Life Centre is having on children and young people who attend it. The Department is keen to work with Cork Life Centre in the coming period to examine its future sustainability. For a variety of reasons, we must recognise that students do not stay in mainstream education. It is not leaving cert plus, as the Deputy knows; it is a combination of everything. The approach being taken here is one that has worked. I certainly hope we can collaboratively work together to ensure its continuing success.
Sentiment score: 0.44
I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. He is correct that it is an important matter because more and more people are depending on connectivity by mobile phone. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Calleary, who sends his apologies. The telephone support allowance is €2.50 a week for people who are getting both the living alone increase and the fuel allowance, and one of a number of payments that I will not go through because the Deputy knows all the payments associated with it. The primary objective of the telephone support allowance is to allow the most vulnerable people at risk of isolation, including the elderly and those with disabilities, access to personal alarms or phones for security. As the Deputy will be aware, we are moving with the personal alarms as well. I am due to meet ALONE in a couple of weeks in that regard. The allowance is a cash payment automatically paid with a person's main weekly social welfare payment and it can, of course, be used towards broadband or mobile data charges. Cumulatively, the allowance is paid to over 164,000 customers weekly, at a cost of €21.6 million. The Deputy stated that it would cost €67 million-----
Sentiment score: 0.02
-----to increase it to €7.50. I will certainly feed that back to the Minister as part of the Government's deliberations on next year's budget. The Government is committed to supporting older persons and persons with disability. Given the many competing demands for the limited funding available in the Department of Social Protection, there was no increase in the telephone support allowance in budget 2026. Other supports provided by the Department, however, were increased in that budget, including the €10 increase in the weekly rate in social welfare payments and the €5 increase in the fuel allowance. It is important also to recognise that in that fuel allowance piece, we are providing an additional €140 during the annual fuel allowance season. This will provide support of €1,064 to a household during a 28-week fuel season. In response to the increase in energy prices due to the war in the Middle East, the fuel allowance season was extended by a further four weeks to the end of April, which provided an additional €152 to recipients. To receive the telephone support allowance, a customer must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and also in receipt of both the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance. This means that those in receipt of the allowance already receive considerable support from the Department. However, there is, to be fair to the Deputy, merit in the consideration of this because I believe that more and more people are looking to us in terms of mobile phone connectivity. The household benefits package is available to those in receipt of the telephone support allowance. This comprises of an electricity or gas allowance and a free television licence, which is worth approximately €580 a year. Furthermore, the Department of Social Protection provides for a means-tested additional needs payment as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which helps people meet essential expenses that they cannot pay from their weekly income. These payments are available through community welfare officers. Increasing the rate of household-based schemes, such as the living alone increase and the fuel allowance, provides targeted support to households that are at a higher risk of poverty. Any proposal to increase the rate payable for the telephone support allowance could only be considered in the budgetary context. Telephone companies and operators have an obligation and duty as well to look at that, in terms of some of our older people, in their packages. They can tailor some of their packages to suit older people. I will bring the Deputy's remarks back to the Minister. In fairness, we are hearing on a day-to-day basis of people needing their phones more and using them more, even to stay in touch. It is that element of fear. As I said, we are working with ALONE about changing the senior citizens alert scheme. We will have more information on that at a later date.
Sentiment score: 0.23
A sum of €21.6 million or 164,000 customers are not small numbers. I thank the Deputy again for raising the matter. I agree with her that in a world that is changing hugely, we cannot let older people be left behind and left out. They are feeling isolated and vulnerable in a digital world that is changing, and we cannot ignore that. The Government will not be found wanting in that regard. The Department provides targeted payments to help people with their household costs. I listed the fuel allowance, the living alone increase, the household benefits package and additional needs payment because it is a comprehensive suite of measures and investment by Government. While these supports can, of course, help older people with their cost-of-living services, providing access to these services is also a priority for Government. In this regard, it is providing very significant funding through the national broadband plan. That plan, which is the largest ever telecommunications project undertaken by the State, will radically transform our broadband landscape through the delivery of quality, affordable high-speed broadband to all parts of Ireland where such services will be delivered and available to people. There is a commitment in the programme for Government that 1.1 million people, including people living in rural and urban areas, farms and non-farms, and businesses will be connected by 2026. I reassure the Deputy that the Department will continue to support recipients of the telephone support allowance, especially where they are vulnerable and at risk of isolation. The existing supports available in the Department along with the recent budget increases will continue to support this important group of people, but I will take the remarks the Deputy has made back to the Minister because, in a changing world, it is important that we do not leave older people behind. The world that they inhabit now is a digitally changed world and we have a duty of care to them as well.
Sentiment score: 0.32
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an ábhar seo a chur os ár gcomhair. I agree with him that it is an opportunity present, showcase, promulgate, inform and educate people as to what is available. We should be represented in the European institutions and I fully concur with him. I apologise that the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, is not here to take this and I am taking it for him. I welcome this opportunity to address what is genuinely a success story, one that reflects years of sustained, strategic effort by the Government to ensure that Irish citizens are well represented in the EU institutions. In May 2021, the Government launched the A Career for EU strategy to improve Irish representation in the EU. Implementation is led by the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne. The strategy has three key areas of focus: promotion of careers in the EU institutions in Ireland, in particular within the education system, to encourage more Irish applicants for EU posts; greater support and training for Irish people interested in careers in the EU; and promoting the reform of the EU’s recruitment process to ensure more Irish people get posts in the institutions. Since its launch, outreach and awareness-raising have expanded significantly. This includes social media, with a particular focus on the careers networking platform LinkedIn, and informational webinars with professional bodies and universities. There is also attendance at second and third level careers events, reaching thousands of people in 2025. Additionally, in 2025, hundreds of Irish candidates received targeted training supports across multiple competitions, including EU-specific practice materials and interview preparation. The strategy and these efforts are starting to bear results. For example, Ireland had 43 permanent officials at the key entry grades in the European Commission in December 2025, an increase of seven on 2024 and up from 30 in 2022. I also wish to highlight the large number of Irish applicants for the recent graduate AD5 competition, the first large-scale recruitment competition that the EU has held since 2019. Over 1,700 Irish citizens submitted applications, placing Ireland tenth out of 27 member states on a per capita basis. The result also shows that Ireland had the third largest increase in candidates compared with our figures in 2019. In addition, in January 2026, Dr. Lorraine Nolan took up office as executive director of the European Union Drugs Agency, the third Irish national currently heading an EU agency. Traineeships are a proven pathway towards a rewarding career in the European Union, and recent promotional efforts have also focused on highlighting ones such as the Blue Book with the Commission. In 2025, 34 Irish people undertook the Schuman traineeship with the European Parliament, representing 3.76% of total trainees. This is almost double our expected percentage of 1.94%. The Government has made notable progress on the placement of seconded national experts, SNEs, from the public or Civil Service in strategically important positions across the institutions. Funding for the centrally funded scheme for SNEs has risen from €2 million in 2021 to €4.2 million this year, supporting an increase from 24 SNEs to 53 over the course of 2025 and helping to give Ireland the highest number of SNEs per capita in the European Commission among all member states. With Ireland assuming the Presidency of the European Union from 1 July 2026, having experienced Irish officials in place across the institutions has never been more important. In summary, the progress we have made under the A Career for EU strategy is real, measurable and the result of a consistent, whole-of-government commitment to ensuring that Irish voices, Irish values and Irish expertise are present at the heart of the European Union. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I again thank the Deputy. There is huge merit in what he is suggesting. The point he made on education, information and assistance is critical. He is right that we must continue to raise awareness. We must continue to ensure that there are Irish people in good quality jobs in the European Union. The Deputy is 100% right that our influence in Europe has never been more needed in a global world where there is uncertainty. We are building new friendships and new alliances. I commend the Deputy on his role as chair of the European grouping in the Oireachtas. I wish David Geary every success in his new position and thank Noelle O’Connell for what she has done as European Movement Ireland is a critically important organisation. The Deputy is correct that our officials are doing extraordinary work. That is why one of the three key pillars of the careers in Europe strategy is about promoting the reform of the European Union’s recruitment process to ensure we have more Irish graduates and others getting posts in the institutions. We firmly believe that the structural issues require permanent solutions. We continue to lobby, alongside like-minded member states, for the adoption of selection competitions based on nationality for underrepresented countries. The Deputy’s points are well made. As a country, we have welcomed the decision by the European Parliament to hold nationally based competitions to address the chronic underrepresentation of three member states, namely, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Austria, among the staff. As the Deputy knows, the legality of this decision is being challenged in the Parliament by Spain and Italy, and it is before the Court of Justice. Ireland has intervened in the case in support of the Parliament, and the case is ongoing. A positive outcome to this legal case would set a precedent for the use of nationality-based competitions by the Commission and other institutions. The Deputy is right about the need to continue raising awareness so that we can have good quality jobs for Irish people in the EU institutions. I commend him on bringing the matter before the House.
Sentiment score: 0.33