Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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There are a number of legislative and policy reforms that I intend to introduce, starting in early 2024:

The Social Welfare (Child Maintenance and Liable Relatives Provisions) Bill, which implements the recommendations of the Child Maintenance Review Group, is a Bill that I intend to bring through the Oireachtas early in the Spring term.

I intend to bring forward legislation to give effect to pay-related benefit and consequent small increases in employers’ and employees’ PRSI rates, on an incremental basis over the next 5 years, to provide sustainable funding for the reforms to the pensions system that are contained in legislation that is currently before the Oireachtas.

The legislation to provide for auto-enrolment of pensions is near completion. It is expected that this Bill will be published early in the new year.

Changes to civil registration legislation, mainly to provide for electronic registration of births and deaths, is at an advanced stage and is expected to be enacted in the first half of next year.

The consultation period for the Green Paper on Disability Payments reform has been extended. This Green Paper is not a final reform design. It is a proposal on what the future of long-term disability payments could look like. It does not claim to be the best way or the only way to change the structure of our payments.