Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry. I am back again.

We did an awful lot of work with Treoir. As the witnesses said, people coming to us that had gone through hard times. There are many people waiting to see if ex gratia payments or arrears are going to be provided for in the eventual Bill. In whatever way it can do it, the Government has to facilitate such payments. A lot of people suffered as a result of not getting this payment over many years.

We are all asking the question Senator Burke asked, namely how far back should it go? Our committee should be looking at some sort of ex gratia payment or payment of arrears to so many who have suffered. I have dealt with many people, as have Treoir and FLAC. It is important that this matter is teased out and that the committee deals with it.

I have one further question. It is relates to FLAC, what it has done and the number of people it has spoken to. Ms Lucy outlined the way the general scheme is set up. What is proposed will be for people, cohabiting couples or a surviving cohabiting person who has either two years with children or five years with no children. The question we were asked when we were bringing the Seanad Bill through was what defines a cohabiting couple. Is it five years without children or two years with children? Maybe we could get a response from FLAC as to whether it is happy with that definition of a family, as I would call it, or a cohabiting couple in this case.