Results 13,061-13,080 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, before section 6, to insert the following new section: 6.—(1) Section 125 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (1) (amended by section 17 of the Act of 2010) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (a): "(a) that the widow, widower or surviving civil partner has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 260...

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: I amended it; that is what the amendment states.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: Yes.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: No, it is not.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: Two years' contributions.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: It was a mistake and we changed it.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: This is the widow's pension.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: Could I explain?

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: Deputy Ó Cuív would be better able to explain than I would.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: Ireland requires three years' contribution from either spouse in order to qualify for a widow's pension. In terms of the demographics, people might know that three years' contribution for a widow's or widower's pension is a very small number of contributions and is one of the reasons our social insurance fund is in such deficit. The number of contributions for other people for the...

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: That was laid down in legislation.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: When the Deputy was Minister he did not seek to change it.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: I understand why. It was because we have a social insurance fund that is in deficit to a huge degree. We might all like not to require any contributions for a contributory pension. However, some contributions are required to keep the fund in some sort of balance with generation of income. We are having a much lower level of contributions for a widow's pension.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: It will go from three years-----

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: -----to five years on either spouse's contributions. Fianna Fáil's proposal to align it was to go to ten years.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: I am only going to five years. When the Deputy was Minister he never sought to change the requirements.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: Deputy Donnelly spoke about poverty. If somebody with little or no income, who does not have three years' contribution, becomes widowed, without any contributions he or she gets the non-contributory widow's pension. The current arrangements will apply in future also. If somebody suddenly becomes widowed early in life without time to build up contributions and is not well off, he or she...

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: We have no idea.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: The statistics I have here indicate that the average weekly recipients who we expect would be affected in 2012 is zero; in 2013, zero; in 2014, approximately 700; and in 2015, approximately 1,400. Therefore the savings, if any, would only arise after 2014 and they would amount to less than €2 million in that year. Deputy Ó Cuív chose to retain legislation where the number of...

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: This section has been withdrawn.