Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

Through our amendments, we are seeking to ensure that the elderly do not suffer from inflationary measures that devalue the set gross limits, nor from any efforts by the Government to reduce the limits under the guise of deflation. For this reason, our amendment sought to substitute "shall" for "may" in section 4.

From the Minister of State's replies, I am unsure as to whether the issues of separation and divorce are addressed clearly in the legislation. Our amendment would have addressed the issues that may arise and provided a mechanism through which to deal with assessments.