Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy John Brady for raising this very important issue in the Dáil. I have raised the issue of inequality in contributory pension payments time and again in the Dáil and raised it this time last year in Cork County Council because it is so troubling for so many families. I raised it last October with the Minister for Social Protection. It is unfortunate that he is not present, but the Ministers of State will convey the message to him. He said there would be a review and that there would be winners and losers but that there would be no legislation to deal with the issue next year. It needs to be dealt with now because there are no winners. Everybody, particularly those in receipt of a reduced pension, is losing out. The issue needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

The Government needs to deal with the situation where people, predominantly women, who are working in the home minding children or caring for elderly relatives will find themselves in receipt of a reduced pension not just this week but every week for the rest of their lives. The issue is ongoing . There is also age discrimination. Owing to the fact that this measure was introduced in 2012, people with the same number of PRSI contributions who retired after 2012 receive a lower pension than an older person with exactly the same number of PRSI contributions who retired before 2012. A moral hazard is also being created where people who paid into the system could find themselves retiring on a lower pension than somebody who made far fewer contributions or none at all in the case of non-contributory pension.

The ending of the State transition pension is another aspect of the motion and I will hone in on it very briefly because so many people have been placed in such an unsatisfactory and difficult position. They are being forced to retire at 65 years, but there will be no pension payble to them. They are being forced to sign on for a year and will, as Deputy Willie O'Dea said, receive a jobseeker's payment. They are also being forced to lie to the State by saying they are actively seeking work to receive that payment. It is a case of a lnod and a wink and away they go with their payment. We need to examine various options, including possibly writing off contributions or extending the home carer's credit. The situation where people are unequal when it comes to the contributory pension must be dealt with. It is unfair that people who have paid into the system for many years are in receipt of a reduced pension.

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