Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. It is great to have her here to discuss the Bill. The tone in which she ended her contribution was very important. The work that has been done by social welfare staff throughout the country has to be acknowledged. It has been an unbelievable year in so many ways. We have gone through a health crisis and we have Brexit pending in the back of people's minds as well. The Minister's staff in the Department have done so much good work. They drafted a Bill and got it up and running in less than a week. The pandemic unemployment payment has provided so much security to people. That was an amazing achievement. The volume of work done at a departmental level to make sure that people got over the horrendous first lockdown has to be acknowledged. What society went through in those seven or eight weeks and the way in which the Minister's Department reacted so swiftly is a credit to the people who work in there, and the Minister and her predecessor. That should be acknowledged in the Chamber.

The Bill brings so much to the table. A budget of more than €25 billion is significant for society, and there are many positive provisions in it. It is important we acknowledge that. The pension debate has been ongoing for generations. It is important we are having the debate again and that we are stepping back. We now have a date for the review. That is an important step for society and will give clarity to people.

The Minister has responsibility for the islands. One of the key measures she mentioned on budget day and again today is the significant increase to the allowance for the 600 people who live on the islands. Many of them are from my part of the world. We have several islands off the coast of County Cork that are vibrant with great communities living on them. They got a great bounce not alone from the financial support the Minister's contribution has made but also in knowing they were remembered and acknowledged and had not been forgotten. That was a really important step. For an allowance not to change in more than two decades and then for it to change so significantly was something the people in the island communities really appreciated. I recall budget day well because of the number of phone calls I got from west Cork in particular and from the islands saying "Jesus, we got a mention in the budget". It meant so much to a really small sector of society. It is very important we acknowledge the offshore island allowance, which has gone up quite considerably from €12.70 to €20. This is about symbolism and letting people know that we have not forgotten them and that they are a part of our plans. That is a really important step forward in how we will regenerate those island communities, which have so much to offer. When one visits them, one really understands their viability. They really want to be a very important part of our communities.

As for the Bill, the Minister has gone through the sections in detail, and many Senators will contribute to the debate on them. This is significant legislation. It is important it gets passed before the end of this week because the payments are time-sensitive. It is important that these issues be looked at and, I hope, delivered on between now and next Friday. I will do what I can from this side of the House to make sure we get this very important legislation and these amendments through the Houses so we have this Bill on the Statute Book when the new year comes.