John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to the Minister's response and heard her trying to explain the rationale around why these changes were put in place but there is simply no rationale. The changes were wrong in 2012 and they are wrong now. They need to be changed. The Minister and her Government have an opportunity this week to rectify the changes that directly impacted more than 42,000 pensioners, predominantly women, who took time out from their working lives to look after family members or loved ones. The Minister has an opportunity to bring a proposal to the Cabinet sub-committee tomorrow or to the full Cabinet in order to right the wrong that was done to these pensioners. Perhaps, in this era of the so-called new politics, the Minister might give the Dáil a brief insight into what proposal will be brought to the Cabinet sub-committee tomorrow. It would be useful. The Minister has said previously that she would have no problem publishing the proposals. Perhaps she will now give us some insight into what she and the Department are thinking in the context of reversing the changes and restoring the payments to the 42,000 people who are directly impacted.

See this speech in context