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

I do not have the answer to the question the Deputy asked but I am able to tell her that if and when we introduce a total contributions approach on 1 January 2020, which is only a number of years away, whatever credit we decide for homemakers during the public consultation model, whether it is 15 years or 20 years, will be for any year. Therefore, the 1994 business will be defunct once we reach 1 January 2020. I know that does not help us today but that is where we are going with this, namely, that 20-year credit will be able to be assigned to any year one stayed at home. For the likes of the Deputy's mother or my mother with respect to the 1994 issue, once we reach 2020, they would benefit in the future. I will come back to the Deputy later today on her question regarding why the change was introduced with respect to that date.

11 o’clock

There is an issue with the incidence of fuel poverty. During the passage of the Social Welfare Bill Deputy Willie O'Dea requested that I conduct an inquiry to the changes we might be able to make to social transfers. I could not agree to his request because it was not within the remit of my Department. However, I have found a back door to do what we were seeking to achieve and I will conduct the review in the next couple of weeks with a view to examining the rates of payment and the periods of time for which we make payments. It must also be acknowledged that the price of fuel has increased. I look forward to working with the social welfare committee on the issue.

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