Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome Deputy Brennan to the House and I welcome many of the provisions of the Bill before us. It is a substantial piece of legislation and great change will follow from its implementation. Has the Minister any indication of the costs of changing the names of the allowances? New application forms and supporting documentation will have to be changed as a result of this proposal. Does the Minister intend that the name changes will entail the inclusion of other situations not now covered? Disability benefit is to become an illness benefit. As public representatives we are all aware that social welfare officers and medical referees who examine people for disability would have immediately refused an applicant on the basis that he or she had an illness rather than a disability arising from an illness. A grey area will establish itself in people's minds when new applications for this newly titled allowance are made.

The retirement pension is to become a State pension (transition). We can all envisage ourselves, currently or in the near future, in that area of transition. Maybe it is appropriate that we have it there to recognise the fact that some people will be allowed some element of earnings and work after the age of 65 or 66 years and still benefit from the allowance so that they can be eased out of the workforce. Is there a significance behind the name change? Will there be an improvement on the, in some cases, harsh, black and white decisions by medical referees and employment officers in the past? It is frightening to find out that, as the Minister stated in his address, half of the 2 million workers in the country face their retirement without any provision other than the State pension. Having given a lifetime of work it is disappointing that they cannot be recognised.

I will refer to an anomaly in the social welfare system that I have mentioned to the Minister and raised on numerous occasions here and in the other House when I was a Deputy. Many farmers, as self-employed people, having made pension contributions within the strict conditions of the scheme, found out at the end of the qualifying period that they benefited very little, if at all. Some people, because they had made contributions, for example, for five out of the ten years required for recognition of that scheme received half payment. Others fell short by a matter of a short period, for example weeks, in their contributions and have been excluded from the scheme. I have suggested before, and do so again, that many people and groups can purchase back contributions by paying a lump sum to the Department of Social and Family Affairs, or any other Department with which they were involved in this scheme. These self-employed people were not allowed to buy time and accreditation for the scheme. I ask the Minister to investigate; when he does so he will see that only a small number of people are in this situation and that it will take few resources to recognise them. As these people are often single, aging and living alone in a rural environment, the benefit that would accrue to them from the application of this would be immense.

I ask the Minister to examine this aspect of the pensions issue. This group feels aggrieved. It does not have much lobbying power and its members feel isolated and disappointed because, while the Department may have refunded their contributions, they have not had the same opportunity as many other groups in the workforce which can buy contributions by way of a lump sum, as is the case with early retirement schemes for teachers, gardaí and others in the PAYE system. It is a pity this group is omitted from such schemes. I ask the Minister to review this issue at the earliest opportunity, given that many have been penalised in the past.

The proposed changes to the means test are welcome. For those who have saved some of their earnings during extended working careers, the changes will allow for a certain amount of capital to be held by the applicant and-or the spouse of the applicant. At the least, they will have recognition and will benefit from a full rather than a reduced pension. It has often happened that pensioners would spent most of their retirement on a reduced pension due to having a small amount of savings whereas in many instances the families would earlier have gone without work income to more fully protect themselves by saving for a rainy day.

What is the position with regard to the early child payment? Media reports suggest it will be paid as soon as possible after the first quarter, which is April to August. There is no certainty in the process. The measure was announced in the budget in December but in all probability payment will be made 12 months after the original decision, which is a disappointment to many who embraced the idea following the announcement.

Having recognised the importance of carers, the Minister should clearly indicate that it is not intended to continue to means test carers. I do not know if anybody fully understands or recognises the contribution that carers make and the savings to the State that accrue from their work. Carers provide a wonderful service to people in need, whether family, friends or neighbours. I hope the means test will be eased out of existence and that certain allowances will be provided on a graduated scale.