John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the announcement this morning from the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection on the changes to the so-called 2012 pension anomaly. I particularly welcome the home-caring credit for up to 20 years. It is an acknowledgement for the many carers out there providing excellent care for loved ones and family members, saving the State millions of euro each year. I also welcome that the Minister stated no pensioner will see any decrease in his or her pension payments with the new change.

There is one serious concern. The Minister is talking about these changes coming in on 30 March with no payments being paid out until the first quarter of 2019. There is no mention whatsoever of the six years from 2012 until 2018, in which more than 40,000 pensioners received a reduced payment. This change is an acknowledgement that those pensioners have had wrong done to them by the Government and the Taoiseach's former colleagues in government in the Labour Party.

Will the Government make a commitment that the 42,000 pensioners who have been wronged will see back-payments to 2012? Will the Minister outline clearly the plans that are in place to ensure they will not see any loss of their pensions and that money will be paid back?

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