Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would also like to restore some of the cutbacks that occurred to social welfare payments in the years when that had to be done because of the economic crisis that we faced. In recognising the very strong emphasis on rural areas in the programme for Government, we could do much to develop the rural social schemes in particular. I look forward to visiting some of those schemes and getting to know that aspect of the Department and the country much better.

In addition, I have a particular interest in developing a universal pension scheme because so many people in this country have no pension at all. Those of us in this House benefit from a very generous pension, as do many other people, but there are some people in this State who have no pension at all, other than the State pension, in particular young workers, the self employed, contractors and low-paid people in the private sector who often get no pension other than the State pension. It is a very difficult and tricky area. I remember a long time ago as an Opposition spokesperson reading the Green Paper on pensions produced by Fianna Fáil when it was last in office. Things could not be done in the difficult years but perhaps things can be done in the years ahead in order that younger people in their 20s and 30s can start paying into their pension funds right away so that they can have a much better retirement.

I wish to reflect briefly on the past few months. As somebody who spent a lot of time on doorsteps in my constituency and in other constituencies, it occurs to me - perhaps we should all know this - that we now have a vert fragmented society, one that is much more fragmented than I have ever seen in the past. That was an inevitable consequence of the recession and the difficult times that affected people during the worst recession in a generation. I wrongly believed that a recovery would lift all boats. It did not.

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