Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support Deputy Stanton. We get many people like that coming into our constituencies over the years, especially elderly people. Sometimes, they do not realise the kind of money they have in the bank. I ask the Minister to look at the disregard. It is too low. The big problem, which Deputy Stanton talked about, is where family members pay for everything for their mother and father or whatever the case may be, when they are sick. They say leave the money to them and they will get it, please God, when they are deceased.

Then they find that they were on a non-contributory pension and a lot of this money has to go back to the State again. It is very unfair.

I ask the Minister to look at another issue. I do not expect her to respond this evening because it has only come to my attention recently but she might check it with her officials. Recently I had a case involving a family with a joint account. The Department told the family that they did not use the account regularly themselves. The person was actually paying for the deceased person, their food, their drink, their petrol, their diesel. I am asking the Minister to look at that. Is there a new policy? We will have to get legal advice if the Department is saying that these people have to be using the same account regularly.

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