Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes, in terms of one's pension. If we consider a person who has been fulfilling the requirement of having enough contributions within a set and defined period of time, many people will fall out of the set and defined period in terms of having enough contributions recently enough in terms of accessing certain schemes.For example, being registered as unemployed for a certain period is a requirement to be able to access particular projects and educational initiatives. If the care credits a person had accumulated during a period of care were to be counted, that would be helpful. The current system only provides an option for people to register as unemployed and then have a long period during which they need to be unemployed before certain options become available to them. There are inconsistencies.