Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen

Petition on Pensions and Social Security Legislation

2:00 am

Photo of Chris AndrewsChris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the witnesses for the presentation. As they say, it is very complex. This is my first time hearing about it. They say the legislation is clearly well intentioned and that the intent of it is very progressive and fair. They make a really compelling case for making the changes. It seems to be quite arbitrary and Senator McCarthy's questions covered that. It does seem to be particularly fixable. It would not require a huge amount of redrafting of the original legislation. Is there any way to accurately identify the number of people it would affect? Is there any way of getting a definite number? In this way we would know exactly how much money it would cost to fix. In many ways, that should be secondary, because this is about equality and fairness. People have been treated unfairly. It is really important that this legislation be amended to ensure that it is totally fair and equitable.