Temperatures are due to drop and the basic needs of some children are not being met. Heat is very important. We had an impassioned and emotive debate on child poverty in the Dáil this week, which brought up the matter of the basic needs of children such as food and heat not being met. Electricity, fuel and gas prices are surging. If someone loses his or her job today and he or she has to go on jobseeker's benefit, he or she is not entitled to get fuel allowance for the first 13 months. Will the Government look at this and reconsider the eligibility criteria for people who have recently lost their jobs to get fuel allowance?

Some weeks ago the Government approved a transfer of Shannon Heritage sites out of the Shannon Group to local authorities in the mid west. This was a positive development. A lengthy due diligence process is under way, which we thought would end around 31 December and which could now run until March. In that interim period from January to March, Shannon Heritage and Shannon Group are talking about closing these sites again. This is unthinkable, commercially unwise and represents a head in the sand approach. They are also turning away commercial bookings and I am hearing from staff that they will desist from taking employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, supports for their staff. As the helmsman of Government, I ask the Taoiseach to do everything he can at the Government end of things to expedite matters. The region and the workers will lose out.

A constituent of mine, Eileen, is a 76-year-old woman with chronic rheumatoid arthritis. She requires two carers at a time to operate a hoist so that she can be cared for properly. There have been numerous occasions when she has been left with no care; once for a whole weekend. Carers on holidays or sick leave are not replaced or sometimes only one turns up when two are needed to operate the hoist. She has ended up with bed sores as a result of inadequate care. I am afraid she is not the only one and that many others might not be in a position to speak out about their situations. What efforts have been made to recruit more carers? There is a crisis in the sector. When will home care be put on a statutory basis as per the programme for Government?

On Deputy Ward's questions, in the context of the budget the fuel allowance supports and the variety of supports that are there to help low-income families with heating will be looked at, given the rising costs and so on.

Deputy Crowe raised the issue of the transfer of the heritage sites. It would be unthinkable if an organisation was not going to operate them. No one in government said that just because we are transferring from one entity to another, they should close in the interim period. That is not a runner. Neither did anyone say that if the EWSS is available, it should not be used. I will ask both Ministers involved to engage and make sure that does not happen. It should not happen.

Deputy Tully raised the issue of home carers and she made a legitimate point about the difficulties with getting a workforce in. There has been a dramatic reduction in hours in recent months and that has meant there is a need to get more home care personnel. In the short term we will have to look at the work permit issue, the facilitation of more people to become involved and the training of others. Legislation is on target to put home care on a statutory basis.