Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are dealing with section 77 of the Bill. It is significantly different from the heads we discussed at committee on the basis that the convention will cover social insurance payments. The remainder - the reduced section, as it were - will deal with social assistance, so that will still be covered by legislation, whereas social insurance will be covered under the convention. In this regard, I ask the Minister again, where are we with the convention? Have the British ratified it? Will it come into operation on 29 March? If not, what happens then, given that we have dropped the legislation that would have been operable had the convention not come in? Furthermore, does section 77 cover the full range of social welfare payments in respect of which we have a reciprocal arrangement with the UK? Is any payment excluded because we did not decide to continue the reciprocal arrangement?

I also wish to ask the Minister a question about private pensions. I know that this section deals with State pensions - that is, pensions payable by the Department for Work and Pensions or, on our side, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection - but the latter is the Department that has responsibility for statutory provisions relating to pensions, both public and private. The Minister will be aware that reports persist that Irish people, people who are resident here and who are in receipt of private pensions from UK organisations, may have to open sterling accounts, which of course we would all be extremely concerned about. I think the suggestion was that some sort of banking arrangement needs to be put in place to resolve this issue. On behalf of these people, I seek reassurance from the Minister for reassurance on this point or at least an update on what the up-to-date position is.

As for the amendment itself, I notice that the legislation gives the Minister the right to introduce orders. I acknowledge that the next section we will deal with gives the Minister the right to introduce regulations. The usual provision in respect of regulations is that there is another section stating that any regulations must be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and will come into operation within 21 days if a resolution annulling those regulations has not been passed by the Oireachtas in the meantime. What is the position on orders? My understanding is that section 287 of the 2005 Act, which this legislation proposes to amend, makes provision for reciprocal arrangements. Subsection (1) allows the Minister to make such orders as may be necessary to implement any of those reciprocal arrangements. I take it that reciprocal arrangements have been made with all other EU countries and the EU itself, that an order has been made to that effect and that power was given back in 2005. What, then, is the Minister proposing here exactly? Is this just about providing for the situation in which the UK becomes a third country in the event of a no-deal Brexit?

Perhaps the Minister might clarify those few points.

See this speech in context