Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 5, before section 1, to insert the following new section:

"1.—The Minister for Social and Family Affairs shall, within 3 months of the commencement of this Act, lay before each House of the Oireachtas, a report on the introduction of direct payment of the qualified adult allowance to all qualified adults.".

I compliment the Minister on the changes that were brought about in the budget as a result of his work in this area. We had called on him to address the situation of people in receipt of State pensions, especially women. We all felt it was grossly unfair that they did not receive such payments in their own right. I welcome the fact that that has now been brought about. My only concern is that there is still a little opt out clause whereby people can choose to have the payment made jointly or to somebody else. My concern is that where there is a way out, it may still be difficult for some people to be strong enough to say that they want this payment made directly to them. I would like to see that copperfastened to ensure that no individual — this concerns mostly older women — will be intimidated or otherwise put in a situation where they would not get this payment directly into their own hands. I compliment the Minister on taking this matter on board and correcting the anomaly.