Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

How was a mistake like that made when the Department worked out how much people would pay back? People borrowed money in some instances to be in a position to apply to the Department. The Department knowingly allowed them to do that and people thought they were entitled to the pension. They planned accordingly and now the Department is writing to them to say that they are not allowed get it and that it was an administrative error. If the administrative error had been made on the other side, the Minister would be acting tough to get it back. This must be re-examined because it is extremely unfair to those who planned on the basis of information provided by the Department.

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