Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil has brought forward this motion as its members believe steps must be taken to address the inequity in the pension system that disadvantages women, in particular, but also men. Fianna Fáil Deputies the length and breadth of the country have heard from pensioners, many of whom are women, who were distraught to learn upon reaching retirement they are not entitled to a full State pension.

Contrary to some of the charges made here tonight about Fianna Fáil being late to the party, I welcome my colleague, Councillor Michael Sheehan, who is in the Gallery and thank him for organising a series of meetings over the past 12 months at which both Deputy O'Dea and I spoke with members from Age Action and from the Irish Countrywomen's Association, ICA. I welcome them all here tonight. It is lovely to have them here. Moreover, I decided to look at my diary to ascertain when I, as Fianna Fáil spokesperson for older people, first met Justin Moran from Age Action on this issue and contrary to what had been stated, it was 17 months ago. It is good to have an electronic diary as one can find out such details. The charge made by the Minister earlier that this motion arose out of an issue raised during post-budget discussions is another anomaly. I am delighted to put on record that my party's spokesperson on expenditure, Deputy Calleary, met the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, on 4 October. I am glad to note the Taoiseach cleared up that point today.

As for Sinn Féin, we are well used to the politics of attack. I do not expect anything else. However, I noted that while the spokesperson for social protection from Sinn Féin was speaking, he omitted the fact that we had tabled an amendment to the motion he had brought forward. I also was surprised that while discussing the motion, he spent half his time attacking Fianna Fáil and not discussing the issue to hand.

The issue is gathering momentum and people are wondering why. The reason is that as more people reach the age of 66, they realise to their absolute horror that having worked for most of their lives they are not entitled to the full pension after the changes introduced in 2012 by Deputy Burton, then Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection. Deputy Burton has said she now regrets them but the regret does not put the €15, €25 or €30 per week back into the pensions of those who are missing out on those amounts.

The current pension system, which is based on an averaging system, disadvantages women in particular who took time out of the workforce for caring and child-minding duties. The situation was further exacerbated by the disastrous changes introduced by Fine Gael and the Labour Party in 2012. Of the 36,000 people affected who receive a lower pension because of these changes, 62% are women but I also refer to the 38% who are men. Age Action, which I spoke to again today, states it has been contacted by many men who, during different recessions over the years and during downturns in the economy, had to travel abroad, mostly to the UK, for work in order that they could support their families and send money home. Case studies have shown that a woman with twice as many PRSI contributions as another person can have her pension greatly reduced because of the changes made in 2012.

The Government must outline a roadmap over the course of a number of budgets to bridge the gap and end the inequality that is clear for every right-minded person to see. The State has a role to play in leading the way and ending gender discrimination in this country. It needs to start with this glaring obvious problem that is affecting so many of our citizens.

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