Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Both sides of the House might need counselling to prevent the fracture in the harmonious marriage between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. I welcome the closing of the pensions gap as announced by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty. I attended a briefing on this by Age Action and other organisations last week, and their protest outside this House. The main concern is that the pensioners will not receive the money they have lost since 2012. This has been confirmed. They have been wrongly receiving the reduced State pension since 2012 but none of that money will be returned.In the solution brought forward today, the Government has failed to do this and to give them back the sum of about €30 per week that they were losing. The new system is to be implemented from March of this year without back money. As a means to address the impact of the 2012 change on over 42,000 people, the Government is bringing forward a total contributions model for these people. They will now have their pensions reviewed based on their own entire working lives. I do welcome the review as well as the introduction of the new home caring credit for up to 20 years to assist workers who took time out to raise families and care for others. The long-awaited action by the Government on this matter is welcome. We must also recognise, however, that pensioners will be bitterly disappointed not to receive what was taken from them and what was rightly theirs since 2012.