Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I will be supporting Deputy Ó Snodaigh's amendments as my own were ruled out of order. In essence we are trying to improve the situation for the lowest-paid pensioners in particular. The Bill is concerned with securing benefits but that needs to be tilted in favour of the lower paid. We must view this against the frightening backdrop of the fact that 80% of our pensioners depend on the State pension to provide the majority of their retirement income. That is astounding and means the overwhelming majority of pensioners have an income of less than €500 per week. When one compares that to the very obscene pension pots that have been the subject of a lot of commentary recently, one cannot deny that a huge anomaly exists. We must make provisions which protect lower earners and give people at least a minimum guaranteed income in retirement. We can do more than this Bill provides for and Deputy Ó Snodaigh's amendments are an advance on the legislation as currently drafted.

I do not want to repeat the points made by Deputy Ó Snodaigh but wish to deal with an issue which was discussed during the Second Stage debate, at which time the Minister indicated a willingness to examine it further. It is an issue which is not directly linked to this Bill but rather to the principal Act of 2009, namely deferred members being put on a par with active members, making them very vulnerable and exposed. I appreciate that this legislation is attempting to give protection to the active group, which will give a subsequent protection to the deferred group of scheme members but-----