John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We cannot discuss this Bill this evening without referring to the 2017 Bill, which has been at a complete standstill for over a year. This is ridiculous. That Bill was debated here 13 months ago, on 4 October, yet it still has to progress to Committee Stage. I understand the Minister has attributed this to provisions in the Bill concerning defined benefit pension schemes and protections for members of those schemes. Whatever the legal and complex policy issues, there are certainly no excuses for leaving members of defined benefit schemes any longer without basic protections. When previously asked about the 2017 Bill, the Minister said the key priority of her Government was to provide additional protections for scheme members. There are no protections for scheme members and that is the crux of the problem.

We have seen employers who are not in any financial difficulty walk away or make a decision to walk away from their pension obligations to their employees for absolutely no reason whatsoever. We saw that most recently with Irish Life. This has happened over and over and, if the truth be told, the Government just stood idly by.

In the OECD review of Ireland's pension system, published in 2014, Ireland was criticised for its weak legislation on the protection of defined benefit scheme members. The report recommended that the legislation be strengthened but that call has been ignored. We have to make it illegal for companies that are financially sound to walk away from their pension obligations. At the very least, the Government needs to end the current practice. The Minister will be aware of three Opposition Bills that would achieve this. In fairness, they have not been pushed in the hope that the Minister will step forward and put in place the protections. She has failed. We are not talking about companies in financial difficulty but about profitable companies that make a choice to remove the risk on their books and place it firmly on the employee alone. I ask the Minister to examine this as part of the solution.

Most of the sections of this Bill allow for increases in social welfare payments or introduce technical and necessary measures, including some taken from the 2017 Bill. These are welcome. It is a pity this year again that payment increases will not be made until the end of March, especially given the increased costs for households, particularly energy costs over the winter months. It appears the delayed increase is becoming commonplace. I urge the Government to try to avoid this in the future. Where increases in payments are necessary and announced as part of the budget, they are needed immediately, not five months after they are announced.

What is the basis on which social welfare increases are decided? I am aware the Minister engages with organisations in a pre-budget forum. That has to be welcomed. One of the key findings brought to the Minister's attention at the pre-budget forum was benchmarking in respect of adequacy. The Minister should examine the Social Welfare Commission Bill 2018, which I recently sent to her having introduced it in the Dáil. That Bill would take the political football out of the budget process every single year. It would ensure that vulnerable households receive an income that is adequate to meet their needs and would result in an adequate standard of living. This is a very basic objective to meet when it comes to our social protection system and what it should aim to achieve. I urge the Minister to consider the Bill I have introduced. I have engaged with many organisations on it. They see its merit and the need for it. I hope the Minister will examine it and agree there is a need to remove the political football from the setting of social welfare rates. I hope she will help to make progress on the legislation.

I note that the extension of the jobseeker's payment for the self-employed is not included in this Bill. I am aware that there were reasons for this and that the provision will be included in separate legislation next year, or so I am informed. I would like the date on which the Minister envisages this will happen.

There is also no timeline included in this Bill for the introduction of the differing rates, based on age, that will be introduced for the qualified child increases. The Minister mentioned the end of March. I would need that to be confirmed. The recognition by the Government of the increased cost of raising a teenager and subsequently the increase in qualified child income for the over 12s was probably the most welcome measure announced as part of budget 2019. Again, however, we need a date. I believe the Minister mentioned the period from 22 March to 29 March.

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