I raise this issue on behalf of thousands of workers in the education sector, particularly personal assistants who work in further education and bus drivers, who have had to sign on for social welfare over the summer months. One query I have had, for example, concerns a lady who signed on on 20 May. To this day, she has not received one penny. That is unsustainable, considering everything happening in the world today, particularly with the cost of living through the roof. The response I got from the Department is that there is a huge backlog of applications waiting to be processed and a decision will be made shortly. Will the Tánaiste intervene so that whatever staff are needed are put in place in social protection, so these people are left waiting no longer for their payments?

I was not aware of that being an issue. It has not come through my constituency service yet anyway. I thank the Deputy for bringing it to my attention. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and we will see what we can do to make sure people get the payments they are entitled to as soon as possible. They will get them in arrears but I am sure they would prefer them on time.