Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Like many others, I welcome the move by the Government to rectify the 2012 changes to the pensions and the recalculation process. As in many other announcements, however, there has been a lack of clarity about the timescale. Thousands of people around Mayo have been affected by this and have suffered drastic cuts to their pensions. They find as they come up to pension age that they are not entitled to what they rightfully expected they would be entitled to. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Doherty, said recently that 8,500 people had received a payment. She said that a further 24,000 have been contacted, leaving approximately 50,000 still to be contacted. It is also my understanding that 11,000 have yet to receive the initial correspondence from the Department and this means that approximately 61,000 people have yet to be dealt with. These people expect letters from the Department. They have rung up and made inquiries and cannot get clarity on this. How long is this process expected to take? Is there a timeframe for finalising the 24,000 and dealing with the others?

The Minister should come to the House to give us an update on the progress of the scheme. This is very urgent because there are pensioners living in fear, some who have suffered cuts and some who have been left with hardly any money to survive on. They are trying to pay for hospital treatment, travel and many other things and do not have the money for them. What is the size of the average payment? The Minister has said that 80% of the 8,500 have seen their payment increase, but what is the average uplift? There is a real injustice being done to pensioners in this country. It is being done covertly, particularly since 2012 when those changes were brought in. In 2012, people were struggling to survive and the impact of those changes is hitting home now. Some pensioners are followed beyond the grave for every last cent. It is an indictment of our country that pensioners who have contributed so much during their lives do not have sufficient pensions because of those changes. The changes do not apply only to State pensions. The ESB and the community employment scheme supervisors' pensions are affected as well. We need fairness and transparency.

I would like the Minister to come into the House at the earliest opportunity, not to give a bland statement but to answer the questions we are asked every day on doorsteps and that I am asked around Mayo by pensioners about how come their pensions have been cut by anywhere from €50 to €100. These may seem like small amounts but they are huge amounts for pensioners who have to pay for everything. We do not want a nation full of pensioners living in abject poverty at the stroke of a pen, which happened in 2012. When announcements are made, we need to see them implemented and to know before the election where pensioners stand.