Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

These amendments are largely technical and the main reason for them is to update the names of certain social welfare benefits and pensions referred to in the legislation. Some of those names changed recently owing to the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006.

The amendments also do two other related things. First, they provide that if the names of any of the social welfare payments or benefits referred to in the Bill change in future, they will continue to be covered by the appropriate provisions without our having to make any further legislative amendments. Second, they specifically provide that persons receiving EU benefits equivalent to the domestic benefits outlined in the Bill will also be covered by the appropriate provisions. That is in line with EU Regulation 1408/71, to which Ireland is bound. The purpose of the regulation is to ensure that European Economic Area nationals who move around the EEA have their social security entitlements protected as if they had remained in one EEA state throughout the course of their working lives.