Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

I support the amendment. Anecdotal evidence and personal experience indicate that a considerable portion of the cohort of people to which we refer consist of women widowed in their 50s who fall short of retirement age and fall into an income hole they did not expect at this stage of their lives. If some consideration could be given to offering some or all of the household benefits on a tapered basis to this group, it would go some way towards meeting a shortfall in needs experienced by them.

See this speech in context