Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I echo the sentiments expressed by Senator Ó Ríordáin. I was not here yesterday, but we woke up to a very worrying world with the election of Donald Trump as President of the greatest democracy in the world. When I went to school I studied Greek. The word "democracy" comes from the Greek words demosand kratos, meaning the voice of the people, and the concept originated in Athens. I always had the ultimate faith in democracy as the only system, with all its flaws, but I am not so sure this morning.

It is extraordinary that a nation that could give us Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Kennedy has finally given us someone like Trump. I sympathise with the womanhood of the world particularly. As a feminist, I think it is a gross insult to the female gender that that man should be elected President. I think Éamon de Valera famously - or infamously - said that the majority have no right to do wrong. He did not get an overall majority, but one would have to worry about democracy. I hope the people who will be handling Mr. Trump, if he can be handled, will be able to bring to bear on him the huge responsibility he has and that he must be careful about what he says and does and the way in which he refers to people like the handicapped, foreign nationals and so on. It is a bit depressing. I wanted to express my views on it as well.

I rise today to ask that we have a debate with the Minister for Social Protection about the contributory old age pension. Many people in the State will seek a contributory old age pension in their old age. Unlike the case for most other pension schemes, there is much disinformation and non-information out there about people's rights. Most people, such as us in the Oireachtas, can ring their pension providers and ask for a pension forecast, and they will get it. They will be told what they can expect to receive in terms of a lump sum or a pension if they are to retire next week, next year or whenever. That applies to most private pension schemes as well in so far as they can be predicted.

However, the Department does not give pension forecasts. It makes it clear that it will not do so. What it does is refer people to a website where there is a plethora of information. One would need an actuarial qualification to go through all that detail to see one's average payments, the minimum payments one requires and so on. How many times I have met constituents who have just reached retirement age only to find out that had they done A, B or C in their working life, they would have qualified for a full contributory old age pension, which is in the order of €200 a week. However, because they were not aware of their rights or the fact that they could get credits or make voluntary contributions, they let matters fall and have no pension or a reduced pension. It is not unreasonable in this day and age to ask that our Government be able to advise people as they come close to retirement age how they stand and what options they may have to enhance or secure a pension. I look forward to the Leader's response.