Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Obviously, there is going to be much agreement. The complaint we have is that this an issue that should have been addressed a long time ago. In fairness, I will add my voice to what has been said about Johnny O'Meara and the huge work he did. Obviously, his Supreme Court case and action has brought us to this point.

I make the argument that we need to find other ways rather than relying on citizens to go above and beyond. I, like many others, have dealt with similar cases. On some level, it is almost seeing is believing. Many of us got married on the basis that it suited and, in some cases, it may have been a bigger deal to one partner than the other but in modern Ireland a number of people who make a real commitment to each other do not necessarily go down that road. Since I have come across this issue, it is one on which I have given people advice, in that unfortunately following the worst thing that could possibly happen, the State and the payments that should be there have not been.

We need to make sure this is enacted and delivered as soon as possible while accepting there has to be a decent amount of due diligence. We need to look at the criteria to see whether there can be some element of flexibility or whether we can look at something that is somewhat more generous because a large number of people who have made a real, lifelong commitment to each other could fall out of this bracket. The scenario I was dealing with involved kids, and that obviously adds to the difficult circumstance people find themselves in. There were a number of issues and it was not just in relation to the social welfare payment. It also related to pensions, to work and to many other issues, such as issues created by GDPR and so on.

This is an issue where there is support across the board. We need to make sure we are as generous as possible, whether that relates to payments, backdating payments or criteria. I request that happens and I hope the Minister is open to working alongside the Opposition, particularly on amendments that will be looked at.

The Minister will be dealing with a number of anomalies. When I say anomalies that obviously does not take into account the huge issue this created for people like Johnny O'Meara, my own constituent and many others. However, within pension systems and so on, there is a particular issue I will bring to the attention of the Minister that I have brought to the attention of the Tánaiste that relates to a very specific scenario around a defence pension. I would like to think we would find a creative means of dealing with a situation that is utterly necessary and humane.

Beyond that, we have all dealt with issues in relation to those people who do not have 52-week contracts, such as PAs in further education colleges. It is an issue that is being progressed at the minute and actions are being taken but again the Minister and his colleagues need to be open to dealing with these particular issues.

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