Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, I made the point that, in the main, this is an innocuous Bill. That said, in some ways it is not because this is a rushed item of legislation. It deals with approximately 14 different aspects of the social welfare and pension codes and, consequently, each change can have a profound effect on one or several individuals or, in some cases, thousands of people. As a result, while it is an important Bill in itself, many other issues could have been but have not been dealt with in this Bill. Many reversals of the Minister's cuts over the past three and a half years should have been contained in this Bill, given the current position in respect of social welfare expenditure and given how the public has suffered continuous cuts since this Government and Minister have been in charge.

Another point on which I was concluding last night related to my concerns on section 3 of the Bill in respect of An Post. My concern is that, to date, An Post has been mentioned in legislation and, as such, has been the preferred bidder in every opportunity.

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