Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. When I was on the campaign trail in the towns and villages of east Cork last November, December and January, like most candidates, I was able to see at first hand the effects of our broken economy. I had an opportunity to call to those, young and old, in rural homes in Cloyne, Carrigtwohill and Killeagh, as well as in urban settings like Mallow, Midleton, Cobh and Youghal. I met young men and women struggling to make ends meet and pay their mortgages and household bills. They could not pay the ESB and could not afford their heating bills. I met a man who had no food in his fridge and a woman who had a leaking pipe. She could not afford the luxury of a plumber because it was a case of either hiring one or having enough money to eat.

Meeting weekly or monthly bills was possible for such people, but only by making sacrifices. Raising the age of eligibility for the State pension, as set out in this Bill, will undoubtedly create a poverty trap for many older people. Many of those lucky enough to have work, for example, will be contractually obliged to finish at 65, forcing them to seek alternative employment. They will most likely be in the dole queue where they will be joined by many jobseekers in the 50-plus category who have already lost their jobs and who will find it notoriously difficult to be re-employed. So a situation will be created where the proportion of the population receiving the jobseeker's allowance will increase.

Critically, the fuel allowance which helps people to meet their fuel costs is currently available to those on the State pension transition, but is not available to those on jobseeker's benefit. Poverty among older people, especially those living alone and those who do not own their own homes, is disgracefully high. Individuals and families on the margins between struggling to survive and going under, will be further penalised by this Bill.

I cannot but think of those elderly people I called to last November, December and January. Anyone who votes for this Bill is voting to condemn thousands of older people to an existence in the darkness and cold. It is estimated that between 1,500 and 2,000 avoidable deaths occur each year as a result of extreme winters. The State pension and associated benefits are the most effective tools in reducing poverty among this group. If older people are forced to go on jobseekers' payments instead of a pension, they will be hit by a cut of €40 per week. Once again it is older people on the margins who will be disproportionately affected.

On its election, the Fine Gael-Labour Government promised a new dispensation in politics: out with the old and in with the new. That, however, is not what we are being presented with. Rather, this Bill is laden with the political cynicism of two parties who have learned how to play the game based on the rules of the past decade and more.

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