Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Interdepartmental Pensions Reform and Taxation group was established to carry out a number of tasks related to pension reform. Its roadmap sets out the need to promote long term pension saving to address income inadequacy, in particular for low-income earners. The main income for a majority of older people is a pension. Last week I had a meeting with the Ministers for Finance and for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery, and Reform at which I called for a thorough review of tax credits and the social welfare system to ensure that employment and paying into a pension scheme is financially rewarding because at the moment, this is not true.

One of my constituents, aged 61, who came to my clinic last week is barely making ends meet. He has lost his job and is forced to live on a small pension of €1,100 per month, or €275 per week. The issue I have is that after working for 40 years, this man is being punished for paying into a private pension. Let me explain why. This man, who is five years off pension age, applied for a jobseeker's payment while he tries to find a new job. He was offered a flat, qualified adult payment of €366 per week for himself and his wife. However, because he is getting a private pension payment, his jobseeker's payment was means-tested, resulting in a deduction of €269 off the flat, qualified adult rate of €366. This man and woman have to live on €275 from his private pension plus a top-up of only €87 from the Department of Social Protection, a total of €372 per week for two adults to survive. The system is wrong. How can we expect a man and his wife to survive on that? They are already struggling to put food on the table and heat their home. They cannot afford to maintain their house. This is only set to get worse as the winter progresses. The means test needs to be re-evaluated immediately. This couple is only €6 better off by having a private pension than by claiming social welfare. They might as well not have a pension. In fact, they are being penalised for contributing to a pension scheme. They have no savings and no other income. They are expected to live on €366 per week.

Will the Government consider, by way of the finance Bill and the upcoming budget, overturning this means test? It is not fit for purpose. I am talking about people with small pensions; I am not talking about people who are putting hundreds of thousands of euro into pension schemes. Families are coming into me a lot where the husband has worked for 40 years and the wife has looked after the children for the past 30 or 40 years. They have contributed to a pension but the husband has lost his job. Had he not worked for 40 years but claimed social welfare, and had his wife also claimed social welfare, they would be better off by nearly €150 per week. This Government, and the Minister for Finance in particular, has been encouraging people to think about the future and the fact that one cannot really survive on jobseeker's payments or the State pension. It has been telling them that they need to have a private pension. How can I encourage people on small incomes who come to my constituency office to contribute to a private pension when these things are happening?

I have the names and contact details for these people and will give them to the Tánaiste later. I am finding it very hard to look them in the eye. Can he please tell me that something will be done in the budget next week for these people?

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