Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I second the amendment. It is shocking that we would treat in such a shameful manner people who worked all their lives, paid their taxes, reared their families and made a contribution to society when life was not half as good as it is now. These people would have paid a high rate of tax, which Senator McHugh and I can barely imagine, while probably paying off a mortgage at an interest rate of 18% or 19%.

The Government considers that €35 per week is plenty for them, but it takes no account of expenses they may have. One gentleman called to my clinic recently who is in receipt of an Irish pension even though he had lived abroad for a long number of years but he had worked here prior to that. His American pension paid for the cost of his care in a nursing home while his reduced Irish pension meant the difference for him between living and existing. That opened my eyes to this issue.

What Senator Tuffy suggested is long overdue. It is an issue we need to consider. We have an ageing population. In 30 years nearly one fifth of our population will be over the age of 65. Senator Tuffy's idea is an excellent one and I have great pleasure in seconding the amendment.