Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

The Green Party also opposes the guillotining of the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005 for the reasons mentioned by Deputy Ó Caoláin in that a number of my party members will not have an opportunity to speak on it. More importantly perhaps from a national point of view, the decision by Government to invest pension funds increasingly in the oil industry begs questions as to what the Government sees as being the future of all our pensions.

Likewise, the social welfare Bill is important when one considers the EU Commission report stating that Irish women are more at risk of poverty than women of any other member state. This shows the need for full reform. I have spoken briefly to the Minister about this matter but the whole prospect of a guaranteed basic income, or reversing the growing gap between rich and poor, needs to be part of the debate. That debate will be curtailed if the Government has its way.

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