Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of pension changes today, which were meant to address the anomalies in the 2012 legislation. I have been contacted by many people, mostly women, who are unable to receive their entire pension entitlements due to the 2012 changes. Sinn Féin has long called for the reform of the way the contributory pension is calculated but we do not want to see bad legislation replaced by new legislation that will see others affected. I welcome that the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, launched a public consultation recently on the proposed changes but I am worried that these changes, as they stand at the moment, may end up with a different category of people being unable to access a full pension. It is being reported that up to 40 years of social insurance contributions will be needed to qualify for a full State pension. This is completely unobtainable for those who became employed in 1988 and will be retiring in 2020. The most they can amass is 32 years, leaving them considerably short.

There is also the issue of the women born before 1950 who are not being looked at. This is age discrimination and it is not acceptable. Older women should be looked at first. Their retirements are turning out to be really miserable. They need fairness but they also need the money that is owed to them paid back to them and that needs to be looked at.

The Department has confirmed that over 40,000 pensioners assessed under the 2012 rate band changes will be contacted from autumn 2018 and will be invited to have their pensions reviewed. I hope that by that stage, this new anomaly can be addressed. It is not good enough to strive for the fairest possible solution that leaves people in an impossible situation, quite literally unable to do anything to change their past contributions. The sense of helplessness adds to the frustration felt by many of those affected. Pensioners already face huge challenges in planning for the future, and they do not need further cause for concern that they will not have enough to get by in later years.

Recently, an assistant principal officer at the Department stated it was difficult to do something that was fair and affordable at the same time. A fair system would allow both the average and the total contributions model to continue to include self-employed and part-time workers. I ask the Deputy Leader to ask the Minister to come into the House to discuss the issue of pensions and the anomalies within the pensions system that are pushing many people, as they retire and as they get into their elder years, into poverty. This is something that needs to be addressed. We cannot leave people behind in these situations.