Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Yes but all this was made very considerably worse as a result of what was done in 2012. The average and number of contributions that had to be made for the entitlement were changed in 2012. Huge numbers of people who would have been entitled to most or all of the contributory pension before 2012 now find themselves getting considerably less. The Minister has acknowledged there is a problem and he should have acknowledged that there was a dramatic change because of cuts imposed by the Government in 2012. What is he going to do about it and when will he do it? Pensioners are getting letters from the Minister's Department when they reach 66 and they are shocked to discover they will either not get the contributory pension when they have worked for many years and believed themselves entitled to it or they are getting significantly less than people who have made fewer contributions or worked for fewer years but happened to get their pension entitlement before the Government's cuts were made. That is the point so what will the Minister do about it?

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