Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A situation has arisen for couples who have worked a lifetime, where one was the primary earner and the other stayed at home to rear families and perhaps care for loved ones, and who were in receipt of a contributory pension and a dependent adult allowance, or an increase for a qualified adult, IQA, as it is called in the jargon.

Let us take two couples who have saved money. Perhaps they have received a lump sum at the end of an employment or a legacy. The first couple puts this money into the primary earner's bank account, while the other couple puts it into joint bank accounts. In that situation, if the savings of a lifetime go over €150,000, the dependent adult allowance is decreased. If a couple puts the money into a single bank account, which nobody would recommend, they receive the whole amount.

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