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

I was being very careful in my second contribution to say that I am asking for an extension from two weeks to four weeks, which is logical if a person is travelling to Australia, especially an elderly person travelling to meet relatives. I also asked that it be on the production of certain documents. One could set conditions whereby the standard practice of two weeks is acceptable but people who can show the reason for travel and the duration will not be penalised. This is how they see it. Although people can apply for their pensions to be backdated when they return, there is no guarantee, and this is one of the problems. If one travels for four weeks, one might get payment for only two weeks. For pensioners, this can have a major impact regarding their bills.

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