Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I acknowledge, as Deputy Noonan did, the service provided by the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The HSE and many others could take a leaf out of its book in terms of the excellent service the Department provides for Members of the Oireachtas.

I refer to Part 3 of the legislation and pensions, specifically the case of a good samaritan case in my constituency. On 26 January 1961 a number of articles were published. One referred to 100 postmen and almost 100 telephonists absent because of flu. A great number of nurses were also on sick leave. On Wednesday, 8 February 1961 the headlines stated that flu had caused 68 deaths and, on Friday, 27 January 1961, that the flu epidemic had closed 66 schools. What does this have to do with the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2008? It concerns a constituent of mine, John, who worked for a four-week period commencing on 31 January 1961 in St. Bridget's Psychiatric Hospital, Ballinasloe, County Galway. He worked for this period solely to help out with the staffing crisis in the hospital caused by the influenza outbreak that had left the hospital short-staffed. As a result, his PRSI record is averaged from that date rather than 1987, when he started paying PRSI in his own right. The only reason he worked for that period was that his sister, who was a nurse in the hospital, pleaded with him to help to take care of the patients because of the staffing crisis.

John had no qualification to work in this area and was a full-time farmer. He did a good deed to help out under difficult circumstances. He started paying PRSI in 1987 as a self-employed farmer. He had previously been on a community employment scheme. Some €2,600 per year is deducted from John for being a good samaritan and helping out those who are less able. It is a disgrace that he is being treated in this way. There is discretion under Part 2, Schedule 1 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 to facilitate John and I hope that will happen.

The Minister referred recently to single parents and the effort to get them off the one-parent family allowance. A constituent of mine applied for the back to education allowance but is denied it even though it is a HETAC course because it is a part-time course. She has four young children and is living in County Roscommon. She has a primary degree and wants to follow a course to become a teacher. She must relocate to Galway or Limerick with her four young children if she cannot receive the back to education allowance. If the Department is serious about dealing with this issue it should address this anomaly.

Where women are not employed in the State sector, they receive the basic level of maternity leave. If they are on certified sick leave they receive the full salary, yet they will receive only part while on maternity leave. There is also a problem with parental leave, which parents must take en bloc.

The Minister of State, Deputy Hoctor, is aware of the issue of women who have worked in the home but receive no recognition. A simple way to rectify this problem is to give pension credits to women who have provided care for families and the elderly in the home. That provision is included in legislation enacted in 1994 and it should be given retrospective effect to facilitate those women.

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