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

I add my voice to those who are concerned that there has been a retreat by the Minister from the commitment she gave. I do not regard it as just a personal commitment from the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, but all of these things are parliamentary parlance. People say things to get others to move on, and make commitments that they do not believe they can actually stand over. The Minister might disagree with me but, if that is the case, we need an explanation as to why she is not able to stand over that commitment. Was there an intervention by the Minister for Finance at a Cabinet meeting or did the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, say not to mind it since he got away with it for a whole year without issuing a report so the current Minister did not need to stick to her commitment? We need the figures, a report and we need to be able to verify what is being said about the cost of this and how and where it will be provided. Even if the figures of €70 million and €250 million or whatever it is are accurate, it is a drop in the ocean compared to what the State, and this and previous Governments have done and are prepared to do to bail out banks, pamper the rich, and look after developers and vulture funds. I could go on, but I will not. The Minister of State knows what I mean.

I meant what I said earlier. We cannot let up the pressure on this issue. People need to get outside the Dáil to protest about this issue. It is not good enough just to leave it to pensioners. I am hurtling towards pension age as are many other workers. Unless we address this now, we will all find that we are impoverished by the time we reach 66. I believe the trade union movement and all NGOs that are concerned about the elderly should take this up as a mantra and ensure that the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, finds the money.

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