Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I will come to that matter. It is wrong for people such as those mentioned by Senator Cox to have spent a career working with no pension entitlement. We would be irresponsible to allow that to happen. It is as important as wearing safety belts.

In my first two years here I made representations on behalf of Members of the Houses to, I believe, the Gleeson committee — the one prior to the Buckley committee. I proposed that Members should not be allowed to cash in their pensions. If this went on outside these Houses we would regard it as irresponsible. Some Members, who lost elections, found themselves with no money and cashed in their pensions. Someone asking the Department of Finance to cash in his or her pension will receive a cheque in the morning. It is the quickest cheque one can get money from the Department of Finance because it knows it is great to give it back.

We stopped that for anybody who is in these Houses for a period of longer than a year or so — it does not apply to those appointed by the Taoiseach for a week so that they can get into the Members' bar and find out what is going on. I ask the Minister to consider this matter and I support that view. We need to get away from the straitlaced thinking of full-time work and full-time pensions. We need to create that grey area. I can give examples from Canada, Australia, Holland and the US, and a huge amount can be done.

I compliment the Government — I believe I am the only one from this side of the House——