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

This meeting has been convened for the purpose of considering the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2014, which has been referred to the select sub-committee by order of the Dáil on 5 June 2014. The Bill provides for the strengthening of the residency requirement for entitlement to means-assessed social welfare pensions such as child benefit; continued payment of family income supplement, FIS, for 52 weeks regardless of changes in circumstances; extending the Department's powers to recover social welfare overpayments; extending social insurance coverage to the spouses and or civil partner of a self-employed contributor where that spouse or civil partner is participating in that person's business; and amending the Pensions Act to clarify the notification procedures and situations where action is proposed by the Pensions Authority.

I welcome the Minster for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, and the officials from her Department. My intention is for the committee to conclude its consideration of the Bill this afternoon, as we must be gone by 3.45 p.m. Is that agreed? Agreed. I refer members to the grouping of amendments for the purpose of this debate. I hope everyone has that list.

Before we proceed to our consideration of the Bill, we agreed in private session that Deputy Lawlor could raise an issue.