Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I support the points made strongly by colleagues regarding the 2012 changes. Those changes were made at a particular time, when a series of harsh decisions was implemented because of the problems facing the country. Many of those decisions were wrong, however, and some of them are being reversed. The anomaly we are discussing here is a case in point. It is discriminatory and wrong and requires immediate reversal.

Colleagues have given examples of how people were caught out by it. Those people, predominantly women, who took time out for caring duties should not be penalised for having done so. They did it before the homemaker's scheme was in place and their contribution in caring for children or dependent older adults must be recognised. Equally, people should not be penalised because they started working very early, in many cases when they were still in school or college, and those early stamps are now distorting their entire record of contributions. It is wrong that one person should have an entitlement to a full State pension simply because their years of working were continuous while another person who might have more contributions but also has a gap in the middle is penalised. This is a glaring anomaly that must be addressed quickly on the grounds of fair play.

When the Minister finally realised there was a problem, which took some time, she gave a strong commitment to close the anomaly. She was expressing her determination in this regard right up to budget time but, since then, it has changed to a determination to produce and publish a report. My concern is that there seems to have been an intervention by the Taoiseach, who, consistently and in spite of what the Minister said, has indicated his preference to address this issue by way of the move towards a total contribution model in 2020. That is not an adequate response to the women who find themselves facing discrimination in retirement. Introducing a total contribution scheme may have merits in its own right, but it will not address the problems faced by the 42,000 people who were caught by this particular austerity measure.

I fully support the points made by colleagues and I urge the Minister of State to accept the amendment on behalf of the Minister. The latter must be held to account for the commitment she gave to address this issue.

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