Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The payment is aimed at those on the lowest farm incomes and with the smallest family farms, who did not gain from the upturn in agriculture. Their situation has deteriorated even further because they have experienced the worst six months of weather and an unprecedented fodder crisis. We speak about these issues frequently in this Chamber but the national conversation does not appear to take account of the seriousness of the crisis facing farm families. While there has been growth in some parts of the country, farm families have maxed out their credit with co-ops and banks and are no longer in a position to buy supplies. The decision to cut the only protection for those on low farm incomes needs to be reviewed ahead of the budget in October.

In her first Social Welfare Bill, the Minister increased the number of contributions required for pensions. This had a particular impact on women who were returning to the workplace after raising their families and many find themselves short of the full pension to which they are entitled. All of us have encountered this issue through our constituency offices and will have attempted to track contributions over a period of 40 or 50 years to make up for gaps in employment. This was an incorrect decision on the part of the Minister and we are seeing what it has done for the sake of saving a few euro per week. It tells the people concerned that their work is not as important as those who managed to get out before the change. In fairness to these women who have done the balancing act in terms of raising their families and working to put their children through college, the number of required contributions needs to be reviewed.

I am concerned about the impact of the move to cashless payments on those who are most dependant on social welfare, namely, older people. Many of them are still uncomfortable with cashless payments and prefer to receive the cash in their hands. At times I do not blame them for this. The change will also have an impact on our post office network. The Minister explained the ongoing tendering process in response to a parliamentary question I tabled two weeks ago, but she did not reassure me in this regard and I will also be raising the subject as a Topical Issue with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Has the Government given any thought to what will happen to our post office network if it loses the social protection contract for cash payments? These payments are what keep most post offices open and they comprise 60% to 70% of the business of many rural post offices. If that business is given to some other operation at the end of this year or we move to the era of cashless payments, we will lose our post office network. I refer not only to small post offices, but also ones in relatively large towns because the traditional postal business has changed so much that they depend on these contracts to remain open. I am aware that reports have been commissioned and that Deputy Tom Hayes's committee has produced a report on the matter, but I do not get the sense that the Government realises the imminence of this threat.

There is much to support in this Bill but we need to open the door further in terms of extending PRSI to those earning incomes from trade. Even if it means forcing individuals to pay contributions, at least the current generation of entrepreneurs will be in a position to get a payment to carry them through the down times. We need to encourage the spirit of getting back on the horse after a fall. However, the elephant in the room for our country is the pension time bomb. The Bill suggests a plan but it does not go far enough in terms of raising the alarm.

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