Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Last November, when the Taoiseach was Minister for Social Protection, we had a lengthy debate about the new method of calculation of the contributory pension in what is known as the homemaker's scheme. I put an amendment to the Bill asking for a report within three months and what the Taoiseach was going to do to tackle the gross inequality to women under that scheme. They are women who reared their children in the 1970s and 1980s, right up until 1994, who got up early before the Taoiseach was born and did a very thorough job for the people of this country. They are now suffering a loss of between €19 and €30 a week. That is no small fry when one is living on an old age pension of the State, rather than the type of pension that Deputy Enda Kenny will leave this House with in the next few years. This discrimination is continuing unabated. There are now tens of thousands of women who are suffering discrimination because of it.

I ask the Taoiseach to please not tell me that if the inequality towards the women is ended, he is going to have to take it off somebody else who is a recipient of social welfare. How about using the EU average of PRSI contributions for those who earn over €100,000 a year and taking what the rest of Europe does for employers' contributions on PRSI? How about looking-----

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