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

The reason I was smiling when the Deputy asked the question for the second time was because I answered it and he was not here. I am quite happy to read out again in its entirety what I read five minutes ago, or the Deputy can check the blacks, because I did answer the question in full. A letter went in the post to the Deputy yesterday in reply to the his letter of last week. To put him out of his misery, there will be absolutely no change to the current arrangements and therefore no jeopardy or peril to anybody as to their entitlements today.

In further reply to Deputy O'Dea, the Privy Council - I have learned a lot about Westminster standing orders and practices in recent months which I would not have been aware of before - is sitting to allow people, as we did last week in the Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection, to have a conversation, ask questions, find out and clarify more about the convention. The convention is not open for amendment. It is open to being either ratified or rejected. If it is rejected, then obviously the legislation we are discussing will kick in for the security of Irish pensioners living in the UK and all of those other recipients to ensure that the arrangements will continue to function. From the various and copious meetings and discussions that we have had over the past 18 months with UK Department for Work and Pensions officials, their teams and their Minister - indeed this is the second Minister in that office - we want to maintain what we have always had. There is no doubt in anybody's minds that what we have agreed has been agreed by both sides. The Privy Council will sit this week and next week to allow people to express observations and make comments and statements on this matter, in the same way that we would do here. The only thing that is open to Westminster Parliament is either to accept it or to reject it. It is hoped it will accept it.

In answer to Deputy O'Dea's final question, the only amendment is to substitute the word "may" for "shall". The rest of the wording is as the Bill is at the moment.

See this speech in context