Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are all getting older. The Government is encouraging people to contribute to pension schemes and they are doing so. However, in this case, the family would have been better off not working. If the woman was getting a social welfare payment and her husband was also getting one, they would be getting nearly €500 per week. He has contributed for the past 40 years but he has lost his job. When they sat in my office last Friday, I did not believe them but when I got on to the Department of Social Protection, I found out that the facts were true. That is the way it is. The Government wants people to contribute to pension schemes but if they are made redundant and draw down that pension, it is means-tested. I could understand this if they were getting €500 or €1,000 per week in pension payments but they are not; they are only getting a small payment. Their family is reared. They are afraid that if something breaks down in their house, they will not be able to afford to fix it. They were embarrassed, to be honest, when they came in to see me, even though I know them pretty well. They were embarrassed to come in to see me to tell me about their problem.

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