Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To begin with, I am going to say something I do not say very often. Well said, Senator Mullen.

Today I want to raise the issue of the State pension. A key commitment in the programme for Government is that the State pension should be benchmarked to 34% of average earnings in the State. This was a very welcome commitment, one that I think all parties would support. The problem of course is that we are nowhere near that figure. Right now, the pension is €265 per week. If it was at the benchmark of 34% of average earnings, it would be at €318 per week. We are €53 behind. We all know pensioners who have come through a horrendous winter of high energy costs and bills. They have suffered enormously from social isolation because they simply do not have the money to go out in the way that they used to before the cost-of-living crisis. They are battling against inflation rates for food of over 12.5% at the moment. People are really struggling. It is interesting to note that in a week when Fine Gael was kite-flying on tax cuts, the Taoiseach was asked where he stood on his commitment over the 34% average benchmark and he said he could not remember it. That is what he said. He said he was not sure if it was in the programme for Government. What does that tell us about the commitment, or lack thereof, from Fine Gael, in particular?

I very much welcome the new pension promise campaign launched by my own union, SIPTU, in conjunction with Age Action Ireland, the National Women's Council of Ireland, the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament and Active Retirement Ireland. This campaign is calling for the Government to deliver on its promise to benchmark our State pension. This will ensure that people have an adequate living so they can not just pay their bills but go out and socialise and continue to have an active and fulfilled life. I am calling for a debate on this matter because we really need to have a conversation about what the priorities of the Government should be. I am firmly of the view that the priority should not be tax cuts for the well off. The priority should be to ensure that our vulnerable older people get the pension they deserve. Equally, I want to endorse the call from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions this morning for a €2 increase in the minimum wage. One of the principles we should all be able to agree on is that people who work for a living should be able to earn a living. We know that in the current cost-of-living crisis, that simply is not the case for too many low-paid workers. I remind everyone that we have one of the largest proportions of low-paid workers of any state in Europe. It is time to talk about priorities ahead of the summer and ahead of the budget in October. I very much endorse the pension promise campaign by my union, SIPTU, and I am calling for a debate on the issue.