Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

While I understand the intent of Senator Ryan's amendment No. 5, I am not in a position to accept it, unfortunately. It would allow for prescribed repayments to be disregarded for the purpose of the assessment of means under non-statutory schemes. If I were to accept the amendment, a number of community or non-statutory schemes could be deemed to be covered by this legislation. That could lead to legal or administrative difficulties. Only statutory schemes will be considered for the purpose of the scheme when disregarding repayments for the purpose of the assessment of means.