Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are 450,000 people who do not want to be customers. People come to me to ask how they can get onto a community employment scheme, if there is a vacancy anywhere, how they can get on a Tús scheme and I have to tell them that is not how it works, that a list is generated and if they are on that list, they will be called for interview. There is a willingness and a desire to work because, as the Minister said, many believe they are defined by what they do. To whom will these further sanctions be applied? I do not meet them.

Dealing with this issue at this time of the night means that it has not received the consideration it needs from outside and inside, which is nothing short of a disgrace. The initiatives introduced late at night tend to put people at a serious disadvantage.

To reiterate Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh’s point about the recipients of the transition pension, people who are aged 65 years, who have probably worked all of their lives, perhaps from the time they were 15 or 16 years, must wait one year after their job requires them to retire at 65 years. That is untenable and it takes people by surprise. I know the arrangement will kick in from next year, but the Minister should study it again.

Does the Minister intend to accept any of the amendments we will not reach tonight?

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