Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not about shirking my responsibility. The two Acts which need to be changed do not come under my Department but rather the Department of Finance, and that is why I will refer the matter to the Minister for Finance. In my reply I mentioned that exceptions are made in exceptional circumstances. That does not appear to happen in reality because the Deputy knows the exceptional circumstances to which I referred and there are no exemptions for them. I do not know how it works in practice.

It is clear to me that the existing measures do not suit all of the people the legislation is supposed to cover. It is exceptionally restrictive in respect of those people who just need a weekly income and do not need to wait on the never-never for a magic gold pot which they might never get to.

The public consultation I hope to launch in the next couple of weeks will not take any longer than three months because otherwise it is not worth doing. We need to move together on this issue to make sure we make the necessary changes not only to the State pension but also to private pension funds which need to be responsible for looking after people. I give the Deputy my word that I will take immediate action. I will talk to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and try to include it in the public consultation process.

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