For a long time, as the Minister for Social Protection is aware, I have been making a case for the reform of the means testing of social welfare payments and how the system operates. Many of the provisions in that regard date back a long time and a lot of the disregards have not changed over time, although some have. I did very much welcome the setting up by the Minister of a review of means testing, which was initially promised by the end of last year. Will the Taoiseach or the line Minister outline when it is intended to publish this report and whether its recommendations will be considered in the context of this year's budget or if we will lose another year in bringing about vital and necessary reform?

I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for raising this matter, which he has raised with me on a number of occasions. I have just come from a management board meeting that took place earlier this morning where I raised the very same issue the Deputy has raised with me. The answer is that I will have the report very shortly. I am happy to share it with him. He has brought forward a number of suggestions to me and I have asked that they would be included. I know it is something on which the Deputy and I are very much of like mind. We want to move things on. We have improved on some of the recommendations, such as those relating to carers. We have increased the amount of capital we had for various schemes, but there are a few areas we really need to look at. I am happy to share the review with the Deputy. I expect to have it in the next week or two.