Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Of course, that is no problem at all. It involves the timelines around the T12 project. I might have mentioned them already but I will provide them in written form. The audit has not been conducted with regard to that because there is no need. I am making the assumption that nobody will choose to be on a lesser payment than their current payment. People will only opt to move to a more positive payment, therefore, the only impact will be positive.

The Deputy mentioned the imbalance on the basis of private pensions being able to avail of tax relief to the tune of €2.6 billion. I will address that imbalance by introducing automatic enrolment. Under the Strawman proposal, someone would get a 33% incentive as opposed to the 20% or 40% incentives that currently obtain in respect of private pensions. It is not an end game. What that actual system will look like has not been determined or decided. When the public consultation is concluded at the end of November, we will collectively decide what that new pension system and savings scheme will look like for the future pensioners of Ireland. It is the only way in which I can address the imbalance because 65% of people currently working in Ireland will have no income other than the State pension when they reach 66 or 67 depending on when they retire. While we have agreed in the pensions roadmap that this pension will never drop below 34% of the average mean income in Ireland, I know that in many cases, people who have not planned for their pension and only have that find a huge cliff in terms of a drop in earnings in terms of what they previously enjoyed in their working career compared to what they might enjoy in pensionable age if they have not put aside some other form of savings. That is how we will address that imbalance.

I agree with the Deputy with regard to what we could expect as unforeseen or extreme weather incidents. It is nearly the case that they are no longer unforeseen because we all expect them. There is a definite shift and change in climate patterns in this country that we must acknowledge and prepare for but that is probably as much as I can say given the context of the discussions we are having. I agree with the Deputy that we should prepare for other extreme weather events, particularly in the context of vulnerable people about whom, in comparison with other households, we must think outside the box.

The 40,000 new jobs that have come on stream in the past year are not a true reflection of the number of jobs that were created. Although the number on the live register has dropped by 40,000 since this time last year, 74,000 new jobs have actually been created. Obviously, one can assume that either some people are returning to Ireland, which is great, while others might not have been on the live register because they might have been qualified adults or have been in college are taking up those new jobs. Our job is to make sure that the employment rights legislation we passed through the House goes to the Seanad and is passed as quickly as possible notwithstanding the body of work that must be done for the self-employed contractors and business to make sure those rights are enshrined so that low pay, low hours and the precarious nature of work are not flaunted by the very small number of employers that we know do it. In the main, those most affected are the people on the minimum wage who are in the most precarious positions in their economic life, for want of a better term, and undertake those kind of jobs. Once that legislation is passed, in the vast majority of cases, zero-hour contracts will be banned. The bands of dedicated contracts on which people are put must reflect the actuality of their services for the previous 18 months. All of this will come into play as soon as we pass the legislation, which I hope will be sooner rather than later. Far more jobs are being created. IDA Ireland and the CSO inform us that they are good-quality and well-paid jobs and not, in the main, in the low-paid sector to which the Deputy referred. However, we need the legislation in order to ensure that people who are on the minimum wage not only get the supports from the State that the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection can offer them but also the employment rights equal to those enjoyed by people working for a large multinational or a large Irish corporation.

Deputy Bríd Smith is under the impression that people who apply for carer's allowance are told "No" and must then appeal. Only 1% of applications are appealed. We will provide her with the numbers so we can prove it is not anecdotal. A tiny number of people must appeal. I will confirm that so the Deputy should not take that as gospel. That is only a recollection-----