Results 1,761-1,780 of 25,732 for speaker:Darragh O'Brien

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: We will keep raising it.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: I will keep raising it every day until the Minister comes in.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: Yes.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: I will remind Senator Cullinane of that.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: I compliment Senator Zapone on the comprehensive contribution she made on her amendment. I also agree with the remarks of Senator Mooney. None of us on a personal level takes the Minister's word for granted. I would half-heartedly agree with the compromise of a three year delay. When the previous Government, of which I was a member, reduced the age for eligible children from 22,...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: Beidh lá eile on that but that situation is untenable for the Minister. The census figures published two weeks ago show there are more than 100,000 lone parent families. In the Fingal area there are more than 10,500 lone parent families. This is a substantial cut. When the previous Government put in place the reduction for adults aged between 17 and 22 who were in third level education,...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: Insert that in the Bill.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: While I will not go back over the points I already have raised, I asked the Minister a couple of specific questions. I specifically asked whether she would give a commitment to Members today that there will be no changes to the free preschool year during the term of the present Government. In her response to Members, the Minister mentioned how many other jurisdictions withdraw lone parent...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: However, in the instance----

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: However, in the instance of legal separations, divorces, bereavement and so on, this measure also will affect people. Consequently, I cannot reconcile the Minister's comments that she does not wish to proceed with these changes unless child care alternatives are in place with the fact this legislation will be passed next Monday and will take effect from 3 May. The Minister for Children and...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: The changes to the system are in place now, however.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: I listened intently to the Minister's responses. I know what changes were made. It was brought down to 14 years of age from 22 of years and put out further to 2016. There was no proposal to bring it down to seven years of age in the time proposed by the Minister.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: No. It was stated clearly that the move of the one-parent family payment from age 22 in full-time education to 14 years of age would be on a phased basis to 2016. The Minister's proposals are different. Clearly she does not like them. I understand that because I do not like them and any right and fair-minded individual would not like to be bringing forward these changes. How can she tell...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: The Minister for Social Protection has made section 4 conditional on the provision of affordable and sustainable child care. She effectively said she believes the age is too young. How is that going to happen?

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: The Minister proposed a timetable even though she claimed age seven is too young. All the changes the Minister proposed in the Dáil last week will be implemented with effect from 3 May. There is no get-out clause for the Minister. There is no timetable set down to provide affordable and sustainable child care which the Minister has asked her Cabinet colleagues to do. She mentioned other...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: What about the free preschool year? Will Senator Moloney pull that?

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: I understand that. If Senator Moloney is saying it is free, the preschool year is free.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: I understood the Bill was to contain a larger pensions section to deal with the deprioritising of annuitants or pensions in payment. That would have dealt with the issue raised by Senator David Cullinane about people in receipt of pensions and in a scheme that was underfunded. Workers contributing to a scheme are the last ones to know, as is the case with retained benefit annuitants who...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: Section 3 relates to a significant increase in the contribution period allowed, from 260 to 520 contribution weeks, to qualify for the contributory State pension, particularly for voluntary contributions. In the national pensions framework 2010 we proposed to replace the average contribution period, but the fundamental problem here is that the contributory requirements have been doubled in a...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Committee Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Darragh O'Brien: I support this amendment. Fianna Fáil has withdrawn one amendment under this section. My colleague, Senator Mooney, will resubmit an amendment on Report Stage. I will not cover the ground we have discussed. The Minister gave a commitment in the Dáil that she would not implement the cut from 14 years of age to seven unless there were guarantees to provide adequate child care. On 18...