Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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I suspect my amendments will also be ruled out of order. I know exactly how it works so I am not suggesting that the Minister was personally up all night with a red biro. That said, it is very regrettable that those amendments have been ruled out of order because they specifically relate to a group that will now be negatively affected. I respect the intention of this, which is to get rid of an anomaly that exists but the Minister is creating another anomaly by so doing.

The decision by the Chief Justice in the O'Meara case referenced the rights of all children and the obligations of their parents,"irrespective of the status of their parents". The Minister is going against that because he is making two separate categories, one of which will be excluded. It is fine to say that there are payments there but we are talking about a non-means-tested payment while the Minister is talking about means-tested payments. Those two things are not the same. The amendments that were submitted by me and by others were submitted in good faith in an effort to address an anomaly that we can see is going to be created. I do not imagine for a moment that it is the intention of the Department or the Minister to create this anomaly but it is going to happen nonetheless. I do not know how the Minister squares his current position with the judgment which is very clear in saying "irrespective of the status of their parents", referencing the rights of all children. Our amendments are going to be ruled out of order but I am sure we will have a chance to discuss some of them. The case that is being made here this morning is aimed at avoiding the creation of another anomaly which we do not want to see. The death of a divorced or separated partner can still bring about a financial penalty for the survivors and that needs to be recognised. This is a non-means-tested payment. The Minister is talking about means-tested payments. He knows that they are not the same thing.

While I do not want to waste anyone's time, I will be resubmitting these amendments and will keep pushing them but I would urge the Minister to use the time between now and Report Stage to re-engage with those organisations and to identify the numbers involved. We are actually talking about a small number of people. I urge him to identify the numbers and try to ensure that in doing something to correct an anomaly, he does not create yet another anomaly, that he does not exclude a group by trying to include a different group. We will have a chance to discuss this a little more but it is my intention to resubmit those amendments to have them considered because it is incredibly important that in doing a good thing we do not inadvertently or unintentionally exclude a group.