Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the incapacitated pensions legislation. Are we at draft heads stage yet? If not, when can we expect to see them? My second question is around Judge Catherine Murphy's report on child maintenance. Despite the long delay in receiving the report due to Covid - Judge Murphy worked very hard during the Covid pandemic to try to get the report to us - the fact that it has not been published yet does not instil any confidence in the recommendations being carried out any time soon. While I appreciate Mr. Hession said that some of the recommendations are interdepartmental, the changing of policy with regard to payments for people on one social welfare payment to another such payment is entirely under the remit of the Department of Social Protection. What is the status of the actions required for that particular recommendation in Judge Catherine Murphy's report?

Finally, for the officials' comment or consideration, the automatic enrolment policy that has been worked on by many people for donkey's years was finally published a number of weeks ago. Unfortunately, the model we propose to use that will go to pre-legislative scrutiny but was not put out during the straw man consultation process, which is a little odd, will continue to perpetuate the gender pension gap between women and men. I am curious about why, in a brand-new policy that has taken nearly 20 years to develop, we will continue to perpetuate a policy whose gaps we as a committee are trying to ensure we fix. A brand-new policy will continue to perpetuate those issues. What plans has the Department to mitigate that? Women, whether we like it or not, constitute the vast majority of carers for our children and parents and get cut from those pension payments at both ends of their lives. I apologise to the Chair for the little disruption.