Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I support Deputy O'Dea in opposing the section and for the reasons he outlined Those reasons were also highlighted by the Free Legal Advice Centres, which has been quite meticulous in terms of explaining why the section in the principal Act should be repealed.

It was wrong to introduce a provision in 2012 whereby a deduction of 15% may be taken from a person's social welfare payment without consent in order to make recovery of an overpayment. For anyone in receipt of €188 per week, that equates to a loss of €28. There is a question of fundamental rights here and a danger of sending people into poverty and destitution. That is why I tabled my amendment on this issue. The Government should row back on this 15% reduction provision and return to the previous position whereby no one would be left with less than €186 per week. That is the minimum people need in their pocket if they are to be able to live any kind of a life.