Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Some of my constituents who are older women had expected to receive a certain pension payment but, because of the new rules, have found they are getting a lesser amount. They could lose, for example, €30 per week. While I acknowledge the Minister has indicated this was announced many years ago, those people did not see it coming and were very put out about it. I refer to the fact that it hit women in particular who may have left the workforce. In some cases, one also found that back in the 1960s, people's employers had not made the proper contributions, unbeknownst to those concerned. This change has caused hardship for very small savings.