Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On that point, I note what the Minister has said in her statement that the Department has been working on this for a long time. My understanding is that we are one of the last countries in Europe to be discussing this type of legislation. I do not understand why this was not done much sooner. Basically, what we are asked to do here is pass legislation in the hope that there may not be a no-deal Brexit, and there may not be any reason for ever implementing that legislation.

The way we are doing it now is rushed. It is a last-minute job. We will come right up against the date of 29 March, as outlined by the Minister in her reply to the Chairman. I think that is regrettable.

The Minister has also mentioned that the social welfare section of the omnibus Bill will underpin the present legal arrangements for the common travel area. The Minister will be aware that doubts have been expressed about the legal foundations that presently exist for the common travel area. Is this agreement, which the Minister has signed with the British Government, designed to deal with those doubts which were quite legitimately raised?

It is regrettable that we should be here today legislating in this way and staring a no-deal Brexit in the face because of the fact that a campaign was conducted in another country which was utterly misleading; because we have a Parliament in another country which has become the laughing stock of the world; and in view of the fact that we have a Prime Minister in another country who is more interested in keeping her own party together than in the welfare of the people. It is very regrettable that we are staring in the face of the possibility of a hard border, tariffs which will wipe out our agrifood industry and general disruption. That is where we are so I presume we have to get on with it. We will not, of course, be opposing the Bill, but I regret that we do not have more time to consider it.

The main questions I will be asking concern the amendments to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 and whether the Minister covered every possible angle there. I notice that in the definition of the Act referred to, the 2005 Act, the definition of social assistance does not include, for example, domiciliary care allowance. Maybe there is a good reason for that.

The other question I wish to ask the Minister is how long will it take to produce those regulations? As far as the 2005 Act is concerned, the Minister is giving herself the power to produce regulations. How long will it take to produce those regulations? Will these regulations amend existing regulations and if so, could she indicate which regulations they are amending so that we can have a look at them? On the assumption that the UK is going to crash out of the EU without a deal on 29 March, what is the position as regards reciprocal arrangements for social welfare if the regulations have not been put in place at that stage? What happens in the interim period?

I also want to ask the Minister about statements that were issued yesterday by a number of leading pension providers, namely, financial institutions who pay pensions in the UK, that have expressed the opinion that Irish people in receipt of those pensions will no longer be able to receive the payments into their own bank accounts. Presumably, these payments are coming into their Irish bank accounts at present. The view of these - one of which deals with a major part of these payments of private pensions to Irish citizens - indicates that people may have to open a sterling account in the UK, which will be quite unacceptable. The suggested solution to that particular conundrum was some sort of a banking agreement or arrangement to be agreed between the two countries at some time in the future, presumably before 29 March.

I presume we can go into the details of the heads of the Bill later, on which I have a few questions, but these are general questions to which I seek responses now.