John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am speaking in support of amendment No. 12 in my name. I will also support the other amendments. We are discussing one of the biggest crimes the Fine Gael and Labour Government perpetrated on our older citizens. We know over 42,000 older people are directly impacted by the heinous cuts made in 2012 in the full knowledge of their consequences and impact on older citizens. The cuts were made without any consultation or debate whatsoever, and we are now living with the consequences. It is predominately women who are affected, but a sizeable number of men are also directly impacted by the changes. We know the impact that cuts of €35 or €40 per week can have on our older citizens.

Sinn Féin and others have raised this issue continuously since 2012. One of my first actions as a newly elected Deputy was to move a motion on this issue last year. It was a major issue in my constituency clinic and I brought forward a motion which, unfortunately, did not get full support across the House. However, it raised serious awareness of the issue. Fianna Fáil moved a similar motion recently. It is bizarre that in its budget negotiations it did not see fit to address this serious problem facing our older citizens.

This matter was dealt with extensively in the Joint Committee on Social Protection and there were amendments on Committee Stage. The Minister, Deputy Doherty, under questioning on Committee Stage said a report had be commissioned and carried out. She said a number of weeks ago that she hoped to bring the report to a Cabinet sub-committee in the near future, but did not give a date - she may have said it would happen this week - and would then bring it to Cabinet.

I tabled an amendment calling for the report to be published within a three-month timeframe. The Minister said she is serious about the issue and wants to make the necessary changes to reverse the cuts made in 2012. She is using similar language to that of her predecessor, the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar. She has referred to winners and losers in the process. The easiest way to deal with the issue is a total reversal of the 2012 changes.

The Government has referred to a lack of money. Reversing the cuts would cost €70 million. Sinn Féin included the measure in its prebudget submission and showed exactly where the money would come from. It comes down to political choices. In their budgetary negotiations neither Fine Gael nor Fianna Fáil saw this as a priority. However, it is a priority for the 42,000 older citizens who are being discriminated against by the Government.

I referred earlier to the fact that Labour Party Deputies are not present. In votes on previous amendments only one or two Labour Party Deputies were present. We are dealing with proposals to try to rectify the faults of the previous Government. One of the main architects of that was the former Minister, Deputy Joan Burton, who is absent. That is despicable, given that she was the Minister who brought in these changes in the full knowledge of their impact on older women, in particular, and other citizens. She is not present for the debate and is not acknowledging the failures over which she presided. She is not working on a way forward to reverse the cuts.

We are getting mixed messages from the Government on this, even though there is a spin unit which costs the taxpayer €5 million. While the current Minister, Deputy Doherty, talks about hoping to put in place measures in the near future to deal with this in the run-up to next year's budget, the Taoiseach is talking about 2021 when we move to the total contribution system. We need a clear message from the Government. It is either serious about this or it is window-dressing.

The key to all of this is the report which examines the changes made in 2012 and, more importantly, what will be done to reverse them. I will conclude with a word of caution. There can be no losers in terms of rectifying the faults. The solution is a total reversal of the changes made in 2012. There can be no more losers; there has been enough losers up to this point. Some 42,000 of our older citizens have lost out as a direct consequence of the decisions of this Government and previous Governments.

I may be naive or foolish, but I am taking the Minister, Deputy Doherty, at her word when she says she will bring the report to a Cabinet sub-committee and then to Cabinet. She said that would take place before Christmas. My amendment calls for the immediate publication of the report following its presentation to the Cabinet so that we can see the impact of the 2012 changes and, more importantly, what is being done to rectify the situation and put money back in people's pockets. We cannot afford to wait until next year's budget. The numbers are increasing year-on-year. In the last year alone, 8,000 or 9,000 older people have been directly impacted by the cuts. The matter needs to be addressed as quickly as possible. Kicking the issue down the road for another year simply will not wash with our older citizens.

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