Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The motion states that there are now thousands of 65-year-old people on the jobseeker's social welfare rate of €203 per week instead of the State pension rate. There is a difference of €45.30 between the jobseeker's payment and the State pension, leading to an annual loss of €2,355.60 for pensioners. The urgency with regard to the pension age issue, as provided by the Government, is that there is a massive financial cost coming down the tracks as a result of the increasing number of older people. However, this is a shameful position to adopt and we must see it in context. For example, why should pensioners and ordinary workers bear the brunt of this cost when the Government is creating unsustainable and record levels of public debt in areas such as the national children's hospital and the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021? The annual cost of the climate change Bill is in the region of €20 billion, as confirmed by the International Monetary Fund, and the overrun to date on the national children's hospital is €1 billion, so why should ordinary workers and pensioners, who worked hard and served this country so well, bear the brunt of the Government's reckless decision-making when it comes to finances and how it deals with people in a fair manner? It is clear that the Government does not care about pensioners and it is not dealing with workers in a fair manner. What is happening here is that it is presiding over chaos and affecting the lives of too many people. It needs to reflect on that and be fair to pensioners.

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