Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I compliment the Minister on doing an excellent job in her portfolio in unprecedentedly difficult times for our economy. The element of fairness is upheld in this Bill. Comparison with EU countries suggests Ireland's system of social transfers is the most effective in reducing poverty. When we look at social welfare we often think of the fact that 2.2 million people in Ireland are in receipt of some form of social welfare out of a population of 4.5 million, yet we often forget we have to protect those with the very least in society. There are many good parts to this Bill and a lot of sense is being spoken on it on all sides of the House. My two party colleagues who spoke before me spoke about the firefighters and the fact that we are addressing an anomaly that has stood in this House and the country for years without being addressed. Particular praise needs to go to Deputy Stagg because he has pursued this for years before many of us became politicians.

There is also an element of truth about this because fraud is an element in all societies. Unfortunately, we are trying to address a situation where €700 million can be saved. I welcome that and the Department is doing a good job. The fact that 250,000 identity cards have gone out is very welcome and will mean that people will feel under scrutiny when they attend a social welfare office. It will not be overly burdensome but appropriately so. I encourage the Minister to pursue the concept of the pensioners in line with what is being done with the Passport Office. Rather than bringing every pensioner in and trying to provide them with an identity card, she should work with the Passport Office to see if she can produce a card for the pensioners and give them a level of access to the identity system too.

I would like to see these ever so slightly improved. The issue of pharmacists is one that affects my area in particular. They do great work in small communities, often in large areas that can be uncared for by local authorities due to the current strains on the system.

The self-employed still need more care. Any self-employed person who comes to my office seeking help has not been getting fair treatment at the level society would wish for them. Those who have had their fingers burnt as a result of being self-employed are not inclined to start another enterprise, which is not a productive measure of society. The Pathways to Work scheme is welcome and so is the stabilising of social insurance, jobseeker's transition and pension payments. As Deputy Ann Phelan noted, the lone parent's access to education and the capacity for flexibility within the system are excellent.

If I may, I will bring the attention of the Minister to the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 because it is my belief we need to address part of that Act. At present people retire from private employment at 65 years of age, as per contract, but because the State pension will now not kick in until they are 66 there will be a gap of a year during which the transitionary pension will not be in place. I have been contacted by a number of people, in particular some who have been working on the factory floor in the Kerry Group, who have approached the management, seeking to have either an extension of their work or an option to retire later, a provision they do not have. We cannot ask a person who has been working for 45 or, in some cases, 47 years, to retire and go on jobseeker's benefit. There needs to be an incremental progress whereby people are allowed to retire in this way. Otherwise we must bring in the Congress of Trade Unions and employers' agencies such as IBEC, with the Government standing by, and work out a way whereby people can work longer or else be given the option to have a State pension without having to go on jobseeker's benefit. Much of the work that is spoken off is physically intensive and the capacity to do a similar job to the one previously held is limited for people aged 65 or 66 years of age. This must be addressed rather quickly. I believe there is an appetite within congress and some employers realise such people have passive knowledge built up through work experience that cannot be brought in by younger people. I ask the Minister to address that. I realise it is not pertinent to the current Bill but it is pertinent and the deadline is upon us.

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