Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I support the call of Senator Brian Hayes for the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Coughlan, to come to the House to outline how she will manage the future pension payments of workers. I agree PRSAs have been an absolute flop. The Government must take heed of what the people have said. They do not trust the PRSAs. They also know that their pensions, to which they have contributed, will not be worth much when they retire. The people want the Government to provide them with a secure, guaranteed pension. They do not want something similar to what they received when they bought the Eircom shares, which were another reason for the flop of the PRSAs. People have long memories.

I would also like the Minister, and perhaps the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, to come here and outline what will be done about people in the workplace, particularly women and those in part-time work, who are underpaid and not provided with facilities to enable them to carry out their work effectively. Employers who do not fulfil their obligations and the lack of facilities such as child care services prevent other women from entering the workplace. I call for an early debate on this interesting issue.