Results 501-520 of 1,311 for speaker:Sheila Terry

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report and Final Stages. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the Minister's understanding and his sympathetic approach to this matter. I hope he will consider such a protective fund for the consumer. I do not accept that people are moving from defined benefit schemes to defined contribution schemes in the UK as a result of the charge. I believe people would be willing to pay if they thought their funds would be protected. It is like an...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report and Final Stages. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: So they are underfunded schemes.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report and Final Stages. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: That is the same as being underfunded. If schemes do not meet the funding standard, they are underfunded. The figure for 2004 is most worrying. We can take it that by the end of 2005 the figures will have increased even more. That is a worrying trend. The number of schemes that do not qualify is spiralling. Extending the funding period to ten years, as the Minister has proposed, will do...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report and Final Stages. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 5: In page 30, line 19, after "may" to insert "carry out some borrowing only for liquidity purposes and on a temporary basis". This matter is one which causes me great concern. I was not convinced on Committee Stage that the Minister was looking after the best interests of the consumer. I am sorry to attack the Minister all the time but, as I said earlier, it is nothing...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 5: In page 6, before section 3, to insert the following new section: "3.—The Minister for Social and Family Affairs shall within 3 months of the commencement of this Act lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report on the effectiveness of Child Benefit and Child Income Support as a tool for tackling child poverty.". This amendment asks the Minister to return to the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I will take the Minister's word that the package will be completed next year. We will watch to ensure it is completed. I will support, or at least look favourably on, any proposal the Minister might bring forward to help children of lower-income families. The Minister will receive widespread support because we all accept that children are still living in poverty. While child benefit does not...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 6: In page 18, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following new paragraph: "(c) paragraph (b) will continue in force for 2 years or such extended period (in any event, not exceeding 5 years) as may be prescribed by regulations made jointly by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.". There is a well-established...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I am not advocating that anyone guilty of social welfare fraud should escape scot free. However, the period the Department of Social and Family Affairs has to pursue cases is too open-ended. Information should be available at a much earlier stage if the systems within the Department are working correctly. Leaving the period so open can lead to a build-up of cases with the Department and...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 7: In page 21, before section 27, to insert the following new section: "27.—A statute law restatement of the Pensions Acts as amended shall be published within three months of the passing of this Act.". I have been in Seanad Éireann for only two years but I have dealt with a good deal of legislation in that time. During that time, the pensions Act was the most...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I am not satisfied with the Minister's answer. He acknowledges that the Act must be updated and made more presentable and concise. If this is the case the decision must be taken to follow through. This Government stated that it believes in openness and transparency. Let us see some and get this job done. I am not asking for something that would incur a cost on the State but it is in the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I move amendment No. 8: In page 22, before section 30, to insert the following new section: "30.—The Principal Act is amended in section 10 by inserting the following new paragraph after paragraph (a): (aa) to carry out periodic reviews in order to ensure that there is a fair consumer-provider balance in the regulation and control of the pensions industry.". These amendments are intended to...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I support the amendment and welcome the Minister's response. I urge the Minister to keep on open mind on this issue. Some pensioners try to save whatever they can, including some of their pensions. Many live very frugally and put money by because this is a practice with which they have grown up. I hope that those who have been saving in SSIAs will not find themselves in difficulty when the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I am interested to hear how we are to move forward to reverse the cuts introduced last year but not dealt with this year. While some cuts have been reversed, some are still outstanding which we hoped would have been addressed. How will the Minister deal with these in the short term?

Seanad: Schools Building Projects. (2 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy de Valera, to the House. The matter I raise refers to land at Beechpark Avenue, Castleknock, a site well known to the Department. We are fortunate that the fields in question have been available to the community for many years and have been managed since 1984 by St. Brigid's GAA club. They are used by five...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: If it is good for one person, why should it not be good for 1,000 people?

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: There is no guarantee that it will be any better.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I was speaking about the pensions aspect of the Bill.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: The Senator is misquoting me.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I was speaking about the pensions debate which was held in this House last November.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Mar 2005)

Sheila Terry: I note Senator Wilson had nothing to say about the pensions aspect of the legislation.