Mark Wall
Kildare South · Labour Party · Ireland
“I understand that the Electoral Commission is undertaking research on this, but we really need to see changes in our voting system to ensure that everyone can take part on voting day.”
“We are seeing lower turnouts in our elections and extending postal votes to a wider range of people would be one measure that could help us all address this issue. I appreciate that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may be waiting on the research to be received from the Electoral Commission on postal voting.”
“The Minister is 100% correct that we all want to see recruitment to our Defence Forces continue. However the figures she has given far from the 11,500 sought by the Commission on the Defence Forces by 2028. The Minister mentioned 850 a year. Is that the height of the ambition? It is not going to take us near 11,500.”
“They cannot engage in the democratic process like every other ordinary citizen because they work 24-7, 365 days a year, with no break. This Bill is a small but necessary step to ensure that family carers feel that they can use their voice by voting.”
“There is no single issue here. This is about housing, pensions, pay and conditions. Has the Minister dealt though with the representative organisations on the single public service pension scheme? She might confirm that and let us know whether there is any update.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to entitle certain persons caring for others to be entered in the register of postal voters, for that purpose to amend the Electoral Act 1992, and to provide for related matters.”
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“To add insult, his phone was recently cut off for a number of days by Eir even though it knew he was a vulnerable customer. The reply from that company when he rang them when he got his phone back was that it had a new system and the computer did not recognise he was a vulnerable customer. All of this was for an outstanding bill of €96. This is an example of the daily life of many of the people I deal with who are living with a disability. This is why the Government should have chosen a disability payment over a big VAT cut for bigger and bigger businesses.”
“However, one of the biggest employers of those with a disability, Rehab, in conversation said the Government's announcement of €1.20 increase in the minimum wage seems disingenuous given the actual increases applied to anyone employing more than two disabled employees range between 18 cent and 94 cent, considerably less than €1.20 and, in most instances, less than the increase in the national minimum wage of 65 cent. This is the type of comment I am hearing on the budget proposals. I ask that these examples be re-examined. I wish to put on the record a conversation I had with a person in receipt of the disability allowance on my way to Dublin today. This person cannot afford to put the heating on for the hours his disability and medical conditions require. Instead, he goes to bed early and wraps himself up in his duvet.”
“All of this would only have cost, according to our costed budget, €350 million with enough left over to provide even more supports like increasing the living alone allowance to €27 per week and the fuel allowance by €9.50, providing an additional four weeks also. I wish to raise those living with a disability and the problems they have in gaining employment. The wage subsidy scheme could provide a much better pathway for more people to enter employment.”
“This is a big business sector already making massive profits while disabled people like my constituent are not entitled to a single allowance or support from the Government. This is not pocket change; it is almost €700 million that will be of most benefit to those in big business. Along with a cost-of-disability payment, nearly €1.2 billion was given away to fast-food chains and property developers. This could have increased the income disregard for those on the disability allowance to €250. It could have increased funding for the EmployAbility and WorkAbility programmes to support people with disabilities in the workplace. It could have provided for 1,000 extra places on the wage subsidy scheme, restoring the link to 70% of the national minimum wage and introduce reforms to improve the scheme.”
“The Government's decision to cut measures from the previous budget means, as said by many previous speakers, that many disabled people will lose almost €1,300 a year. That is not spare cash anyone has lying around; it is what kept the lights on and the house warm. These measures should have been made permanent in a cost-of-disability payment, which the Labour Party proposed, starting at €25 a week. Instead, the Government decided to introduce subsidised burgers. It is remarkable that only a few weeks ago, the Government published its first ever human rights strategy for disabled people. This has not been matched with the ambition or required funding in budget 2026. It has left disabled people and their families feeling invisible and forgotten once again. Nearly €700 will be wasted on a VAT cut for Ronald McDonald.”
“The Government has shown no intention of addressing the cost of disability or changing outdated social welfare limits that confine many disabled people to their homes. These are all the core issues that have been left on the long finger. While Government rhetoric has focused on increased investment in services, which we all welcome, this will do little to affect the challenges facing people with disabilities daily such as high levels of unemployment and poverty. There are at least eight programme for Government commitments to address the cost of disability, including introducing a cost-of-disability payment and extending free travel to children who receive the domiciliary care allowance. Budget 2026 did not address a single one of those commitments. In fact it increased the costs faced by disabled people.”
“We know from the Indecon report published back in 2021 that people with a disability face extra costs of between nearly €9,000 and €12,00 per year. These are costs that are not covered by current social welfare payments such as the disability allowance. Since, 2021 there has been a dramatic inflationary pressure impacting many households with the real cost of disability increasing to €10,500 and even close to €15,000. These additional costs can increase with the number of disabilities or chronic illnesses, with the highest average cost being in the region of almost €50,000. The Government does not have any idea what it has done to the disabled community. The Government has left them totally devastated, with the Disability Federation of Ireland calling this a "betrayal".”
“It is just for physiotherapy and acupuncture, which helps with pain, diesel money and car parking for regular medical appointments - Tallaght Hospital costs €10 for parking - and good quality shoes to help with walking. The daily cost of living is crazy. She asks what can she do so the Government can hear her voice? She writes that the disabled do not shout so they are easily pushed into a corner. She does not believe the Government will put finance into services that most will not even benefit from. It is just words to distract the public and kick that can down the road. That is just one example of some of the emails I have received. Disabled people, like my constituent, are forced to survive on low incomes while facing sky-high extra costs every day.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this very important motion on the cost of disability payment. I welcome the fact the Minister is in the Chamber for the debate. I will begin with an email that was sent by a constituent who has multiple sclerosis, in response to budget 2026. She writes that she cannot work and her husband's wage is above the disability threshold. She has a son in college and another in secondary school. She has been diagnosed since 2018. She has never gotten any financial support and has to pay for all the therapies. It is tough and degrading but she had hoped that something in the budget would help her. She is not angry anymore; she is just heartbroken. Today, she feels invisible and forgotten. She is not looking for money to go to buy treats.”
“I have no problem with the towns added to the scheme but at least three of them have a population smaller than Naas or Newbridge in County Kildare, areas that the Government wants to expand and to put more houses in without the infrastructure and money to back it up. To conclude, this is, without a doubt, a pro-business budget that puts the profits of already minted fast food chains and property developers before working families. Those working families are struggling to put food on the table and keep the lights on in so many of those cases I am dealing with at the moment. It was a choice that the Government made. It had the opportunity to help those struggling most but instead it bowed to the large lobby groups, who only gave it a passing thanks last night and then sought greater assistance.”
“The Government seems to have gone back on its promise of delivering that €200 in childcare fees. We needed to see real and radical policy change towards a public model of early years learning, education and school-age childcare, one that delivers equality for children, affordability for parents and fairness for providers. Extra childcare places will be off little use to parents who cannot afford to send their children there in the first place. This budget should have funded a suite of measures aimed at addressing the workforce challenges facing the sector and reducing costs for parents, while also increasing the number of childcare places. I also wanted to ask why none of the towns in my home county of Kildare were included in the living cities initiative.”
“The Minister for Social Protection had said that the payment for disabled people on the disability allowance would go up by over €500, but this relates to the €10 increase in social welfare payments. It is an inflation measure that falls far short of what is required. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul said the increase of €16 per week was needed to cover the cost-of-living pressures currently being experienced by those on low incomes. Yesterday, the Government gave away €700 million to fast food chains like McDonald's, which are raking in millions and will now get richer while disabled people and their families can barely keep the lights on. This VAT rate cut could have funded a permanent cost-of-disability payment starting at €25 a week and could have fully abolished the means test for carers.”
“In some commentaries I have listened to the Government saying that it will look at the costs next September. The reality is that many working families are making life choices now because of spiralling costs and they cannot, and will not, be able to wait until next September or until the next budget cycle. It was not just workers who were ignored by the Government yesterday. Those with disabilities who are seeking employment were also ignored. People with disabilities have the highest unemployment rates and poverty rates among other demographics in Ireland. I am truly appalled that no specific measures were announced on budget day to tackle the high unemployment and poverty rates among the disabled community.”
“Yesterday we saw no increase in child benefit for that couple with two children, yet they will face increased fuel, food, childcare and medical costs. Many of the families I deal with use child benefit for rainy days when they must cover an increased bill or an unexpected one. Now they will have to do so with no increase and with rising bills. Unfortunately for many the rain is coming down weekly. In many commentaries on this budget yesterday Government representatives were at pains to point out that this is the first year of what they hope will be a five-year budget cycle. The Government is right that it is the first year. The choice the Government made yesterday was to support big business and developers over those working people who need the support most. The choice the Government made yesterday was to ignore workers.”
“It seems to me from what we saw in the budget yesterday that the Government does not recognise the pressures that many of our working families and working individuals are facing at this time. Examples provided by the Government in its budget documentation yesterday tell us that a married couple with two children on a modest income of €55,000 a year will be down €50 on their income compared to last year. A single person on the same income will also be down €50 on last year's income. Many of these working people are asking me if the Government does not realise the hardships and struggles they are going through. Does this Government not care? Does it not recognise the contribution to the State of these working people day in, day out? These people are paying their taxes and supporting their communities.”
“That is what the reply from the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and Iarnród Éireann actually said. It was that once those were in place, it would free up the other carriages. I am making a plea to both Ministers of State that the people of Athy are seeking those freed-up carriages to be put on the Waterford to Heuston line, because when that number of people are using public transport, it is always good and we should encourage more people to use public transport and save those car journeys late at night for those people who cannot get a train home to the town of Athy.”
“The people of Athy, through their petition and their public representatives, are asking that those carriages that were on the Dublin to Drogheda line would come and provide additional services on the Athy and, by extension, as I said, Carlow line. The figures speak for themselves when you see that 271,000 people used the train station in Athy in 2024. That number is only growing. Thankfully, a number of new housing estates are being built in Athy and in various villages and towns in the locality. The Athy train station services an area extending into County Laois so a large cohort of people use that station each morning. There is adequate car parking and so on for an expansion at the station. It is positive news that the new carriages are on the way for DART+.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, too. It is good news that the DART+ fleets are being rolled out, albeit on the Drogheda line, because that will free up carriages on the Drogheda line, which is what we want. We are first up, best dressed in Athy looking for those additional carriages that come as part of the new DART+ carriages that the Government has already welcomed and that will be part of the northern commuter line, serving Dublin to Drogheda. That is the part that I want to highlight with the Minister of State and, by extension, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. Once those carriages are put on the Drogheda line, it will free up the additional carriages.”
“Over 11,000 people live in the town at the moment. We need additional services. We need to ensure that a person can get a seat on the train but also that it does not discriminate against work or study for those who have chosen Athy, the great town that it is, as their place to live in.”
“That is causing a serious problem for the social infrastructure of the town. There are also a lot of students who, unfortunately, cannot get accommodation in the colleges in Dublin and are still living at home in Athy. They are also suffering because of the times and restrictions in times that are on the line at the moment, so much so that a lot of them, myself included, will get a phone call late at night asking them to go to Kildare or Portlaoise train stations to collect somebody who has either missed a train or had to stay late for whatever reason, be that work or study. I am asking the Minister for Transport to support the call by the people of Athy to include that train service, and by extension Carlow town, in additional services. What we really need is an hourly service from the town, because it is a growing town.”
“It went on to say that as the new DART+ fleet enters service in the greater Dublin area in 2027, this will free up intercity and commuter carriages for use elsewhere on the network, and that including any necessary infrastructure works, the precise order of the introduction of extra services will be subject to demand and the approval of the NTA. Since I received that letter, we have launched a petition in Athy. As I speak to the Minister of State this evening, there are almost 4,000 signatures on that petition. It is 3,867, to be precise. They are from people who live in Athy and the greater Athy area and use the train service day in, day out but have problems with it. They are confined to hours they can work in Dublin, Newbridge, Naas and other places where they may get work.”
“The problem we have in the town is that the 12 services that are there each morning are full, and a lot of people are finding it more and more difficult to avail of train times and get a seat on the trains that are there. In Kildare town, which is just a bit further up the track and has a couple of hundred fewer people than the town of Athy, there are 38 services per day versus the 12 that operate from Athy. I have raised this with the Minister, who has sent that request on to Irish Rail, which has come back to me. In its reply, it said Iarnród Éireann aspires to increase the frequency of intercity services across the network over the coming years, including the Waterford-Dublin Heuston route, which includes the town of Athy.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Chamber this evening and the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this very important topic. I want to talk about services in my home town of Athy in Kildare South. The population of Athy, in the recent census, was over 11,000 people. That is a growth of 82% since the 2002 census. Every morning, almost 50% of the working population of the town leaves it to avail of work elsewhere. That is a figure that grows year on year as more and more families make the town their home. We have a wonderful train station. Considerable work has been done by Irish Rail on the train station, particularly around access, over the last number of months and that will benefit a lot of people.”
“The benefit to this country of participation in sport cannot be taken lightly and we must continue to see the investment at every possible opportunity.”
“The GAA is so important to our communities and our county grounds should reflect the pride that so many of us have in our county teams. While League of Ireland teams continue to do us proud in Europe, some clubs have to switch to another stadium to host their home matches. Given the money now available to these clubs in Europe, the Government and private industry must look to investing in more of the stadiums in the League of Ireland. Our successes on the international stage must be reflected in the facilities on offer for our elite athletes and those many aspiring athletes. The continued development of Abbotstown and ensuring we have the facilities for all sports to train and develop their athletes must be the ambition of this Government and all future governments. As the film stated, "Build it and they will come".”
“The current elected representatives in the area, including my colleagues, Councillors Aoife Breslin and Mark Leigh, have progressed this idea and allocated some LPT funding to the project. This would be an ideal pilot project for the Government to get involved with and is one I hope the Minister of State will support. Like Athy, many other towns in Kildare and throughout the State have the same problem. The Government, through the local authorities, now needs to lead in the provision of additional playing pitches through investment, the sports capital programme and the large-scale investment programme. We need also to continue to invest in stadiums in this country. I have seen the difference in investment in my county grounds has made. The Minister of State mentioned Cedral St. Conleth's Park in Newbridge.”
“I have used the example of my hometown of Athy in the House, where many clubs, including Gaelic football, soccer and rugby, are struggling to cater for the growing number of teams they have given their current facilities. Unfortunately, the local camogie club, catering for over 300 young women playing that great game, has no facilities of its own and is dependent on the goodwill of the other local GAA clubs to train and play their matches. Thankfully, we have a solution in Athy. As a former county councillor, I, along with my then colleagues, identified 13 acres of land that could be designed as local authority playing pitches and provide a solution to the growing demand from all these clubs, the local camogie club in particular.”
“You learn something new about your colleagues every day in this House. Every euro spent on sports funding is money well spent. At a time when there is a housing emergency, the Government must concentrate on the provision of the largest number of houses possible, but as I have said before in the House, this cannot be done without the proper social infrastructure, including sport. By investing in sport as one of the pillars of any social infrastructure, this will allow new houses to become inclusive communities, something which must become a target for all of us in the House. A growing problem for many sports clubs that I deal with is the lack of additional playing fields.”
“Along with my Labour Party colleagues, I continue call for Israel to be isolated by the international community, whether that be through Eurovision or a UEFA ban. We must look at every possible action to stop the genocide. As my colleague has done, I cautiously welcome news of a peace plan for Gaza as announced by the US President Donald Trump. However, it has yet to be fully agreed by all parties. More details are needed on elements of the plan such as the proposed board of peace. I hope we can see an end to the war in Gaza. Nothing else is acceptable. There must be a lasting peace in the region which is built on a two-state solution. We must see action soon.”
“This is genocide of epic proportions, the effects of which will continue to ripple throughout history. We must always continue to call this out as what it is, a genocide. Every day Israel continues to commit war crimes against the people of Gaza while many western leaders stand back. It gives me great hope that so many in this House have called out this genocide. However, we must move beyond words and towards action. The Government must act and make its occupied territories Bill a priority for the legislative programme this autumn and it must include services, as recommended by the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. While Ireland is a small country, our voice is one of the loudest on Gaza. We must continue this effort and lead the way as many countries are already following us by recognising the State of Palestine.”
“I begin by sending my solidarity to the global flotilla. A number of boats in the fleet have already suffered attacks as Israeli aggression tries to derail the flotilla's journey. I condemn these attacks and hope that all the crew and passengers will remain safe. I highlight a petition by one of my constituents, Holly Caffrey, calling for action on Gaza. It is one of many actions by the people of Kildare South to call out these crimes on the people of Palestine. The death toll in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. It has reached over 66,000 according to recent reports. These figures often hide the untold devastation inflicted on a whole population. We have seen the Israeli war machine wipe out entire generations, entire towns, entire villages.”
“I cannot, as a public representative, not bring this to the attention of the Minister of State or the Minister. Kilcullen is a fabulous town. There is a great community spirit in it. However, when there are new people coming to the town who, within six months, say they have to leave because of the childcare problem, it is an issue we all need to get involved in. I welcome the Minister of State's response. I look forward to meeting the Minister, Deputy Foley, as would the families and the Kilcullen Needs Childcare group, because we need action for the families living in the town.”
“As the Minister of State and I know, the waiting list for physiotherapy is long and the need for gardaí around the country is great at the moment. If these women give up, we will all be in trouble. It will add to our social problems right around the country. I welcome that the Minister of State may be in a position to set up a meeting with the Minister, Norma Foley. I have already made her aware of this but, unfortunately, we have not had any progress in identifying a centre to cater for these families and the 153 children. The Minister, Deputy Foley, suggested using primary schools and the school setting for after-school services. I am not sure if that is an option in Kilcullen, but it is something we should pursue, because this is an emergency.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her reply. She is right; it is a problem in County Kildare and a problem throughout the State, but it is particularly bad in the town of Kilcullen. Nowhere else that I know of has 110 families facing childcare difficulties in the one town. The population of Kilcullen is just over 4,000, so one can imagine the percentage of families seeking childcare. I have given the Minister of State some examples, and she is right about them almost all being women. Women are giving up their work and careers. We had physiotherapists and gardaí at that meeting who now have to give up their jobs. That is going to have an knock-on effect for us all and all our communities if it happens.”
“What we need to see is an intervention by the Government for public childcare places to relieve the problem. We cannot continue to build houses in the town of Kilcullen unless we have the childcare provided there. Another mother told me she was considering leaving the town because the only childcare she could get was some 70 miles away where she was actually born. She travels three days a week in order to avail of that childcare.”
“It makes things much trickier for work and socially for their child, whom she wants to be with the kids she will be going to school with when she grows up. Another mother says she has a six-year-old son and is struggling to find an after-school place for him. Her partner has a full-time job and she had to quit her job to take care of their son due to the lack of after-school places for him. I could go on and on. In total, we had 110 families experiencing childcare problems in this town. I have previously spoken with the Minister for children in relation to this problem, and she is aware of it. I have raised it at every opportunity I can and the community group continues to raise it with every public representative in the Kilcullen area.”
“One mother said her son was three months old. She was still on maternity leave, but she had not yet found a place for him for when she returned to work. She decided to take extra unpaid leave for an additional two months. After this time, she would either need to find a private childminder and see her husband reduce his work hours or for him to become a full-time carer and give up his career, as they were unable to afford a full-time childminder. They were on more than ten waiting lists and had to apply outside the county, too. Another mother said her baby was not born yet, but she already knew she would have to travel outside Kilcullen for childcare until a place opened up for their little one.”
“This figure translates into 153 children in need of childcare or after-school places in Kilcullen. Kilcullen is a growing town and only last Saturday I was delighted to be invited to the official opening of the field of dreams, which is a brilliant €1 million development by the local GAA club that will future-proof the GAA needs of the town and provide a community walkway, which is already getting great use. However, there is no doubt that there is a problem regarding childcare. This problem will only worsen. Local reporter Brian Byrne reported today in his Kilcullen Diary blog that 74 more homes were seeking planning permission. It is always important in a debate like this to detail the human story, what these families are facing and the pressure they are under in the town of Kilcullen. I want to provide some examples.”
“I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, for coming to the House. I want to talk to her about childcare, particularly in Kilcullen, County Kildare, in my constituency. It was the end of July when I was contacted via email and phone by a number of families in Kilcullen about the lack of childcare in that growing town. I met with a large number of mothers on a very sunny day outside a local community centre. I was immediately struck by their concerns and the problems they were facing. I was informed about the Kilcullen Needs Childcare group following that first meeting and set about finding the extent of the problem facing those mothers and their families, many of whom are new to the town of Kilcullen. In the last two months, that survey has identified 110 families facing childcare difficulties in Kilcullen.”
“Virtual is great but, unfortunately, for a large proportion of the people who come through my office, it is not good enough and they are not in a position to use the virtual part of MyWelfare. Oral hearings had and still have a huge part to play in the social welfare appeals process.”
“I have to disagree on the importance of oral hearings. Much as virtual contact is good and modern, I deal with many people who cannot come to terms with that new technology. I used to attend 30 to 40 oral hearings. I am sure other Members of the House used to attend them as well. I have hardly attended one in the past two years because of the lack of oral hearings being held. When you are sitting beside somebody and they are putting across their case, they have an independent person - it has to be an independent person who is not medical - and that person sees what the appellant has gone through. That is the importance of oral hearings. That is why we should allow oral hearings in every case where a request has gone in.”
“I ask the Minister to assure us oral hearings will continue and that where a request is made, even under those regulations, no obstacles to oral hearings are being put in place by the Department.”
“I thank the Minister for the reply. My concern is that a reply to a parliamentary question from my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, stated that social welfare held 5,397 oral hearings in 2018 and the Minister has confirmed that the 2024 figure was down to 432. I am sure the Minister gets many requests for appeals. I know my office does. One of the mechanisms my office has used is the appeals process, in particular the oral hearing, because it gives the appellant the chance to meet somebody in person and face to face, to see the whites of their eyes and make sure every part of the evidence they can get out gets out. We seem to have gone back to a reliance on virtual interactions, which is a backward step.”
“I think we can all agree on the importance of oral hearings as part of the social welfare appeals process. To that end, I ask the Minister to set out the number of requests for oral hearings over the past four years, and the number of oral hearings held virtually, in person and over the phone.”
“I am particularly concerned about awareness of the scheme among younger people given the figures I mentioned earlier, which show that 81% of those aged between 20 and 24 and not in an occupational scheme are not aware of earnings auto-enrolment, a figure I am sure the Minister would also have concerns about. The Department of Social Protection must target its communication at younger age cohorts; otherwise, the scheme will fail and will not help those who may need it most. While I welcome the implementation of the scheme, the Labour Party has some concerns. I hope to work with the Minister on the implementation of the scheme. In the last Dáil, my colleague Deputy Ged Nash published legislation to address the lack of transparency on pension charges. Will the Minister consider that legislation?”
“As the scheme is now being implemented, we need safeguards put in place to ensure it does not affect jobs for workers and does not create incentives for employers to scale back existing pension entitlements. The seven-year deadline provided for in the Act for setting minimum contribution rates into existing pension schemes must be shortened. It would be simply wrong if workers were to find themselves with a lower or even no employer contribution all because they had proactively taken steps to save for their retirement prior to auto-enrolment. I call on the Minister to ask the Department of Social Protection to continue to promote this scheme. Just over three quarters, 78%, of employees who are aware of the planned Government retirement saving scheme and are now eligible for it would stay in the scheme if auto-enrolment was in it.”
“We know that young workers are some of the most exploited workers in society and are far more likely to be in precarious work without pension coverage. The seven years between 16 and 23 would be a significant amount of time during which that young person could be supported to save for a more secure retirement and pension. When the Bill was being passed through the Oireachtas, the Labour Party repeatedly raised the importance of ensuring that the scheme cannot be sidestepped by employers or ensuring employers are not incentivised to wind up good workplace pension schemes. For example, the Labour Party proposed an amendment that would have stopped employers from winding up or freezing workplace pensions during the ten-year transition period while the scheme was coming into effect, but this was rejected by the Government.”
“Benchmarking of the State pension is one measure that the Government must take in budget 2026. The Labour Party believes that self-employed people should also be auto-enrolled. This is necessary to ensure that companies are not incentivised to place workers on bogus self-employment contracts in order to avoid the need to pay auto-enrolment contributions. We have seen the proliferation of such contracts in recent years, such as with RTÉ staff, leaving many without pension coverage. As we all know, coverage among self-employed people is already very low. I have questions regarding the minimum age threshold for inclusion in the scheme, which is currently 23. The minimum age for PRSI contributions is 16.”
“I have serious concerns regarding the adequacy of the State pension as in this country we have an ageing demographic and the Government has been slow to act in addressing the adequacy of that payment. Figures from the CSO show that the at-risk-of-poverty rate is highest among older people living alone at nearly 26%. Previous one-off measures have masked Government inaction to tackle poverty among older people. When analysing the impact of these measures on reducing the at-risk-of-poverty rate for older people, the rate reduced from 21.1% to 13.3%. The Minister will be familiar with the Labour Party motion earlier today that called for an end to the one-off measures for everyone in the audience that we have seen in the recent "The Late Late Show" budgets. We need targeted measures.”
“Ireland's voluntary approach to pension savings has simply failed with far too many workers left without pension coverage. I consider the delay in implementing the scheme to be very disappointing. Workers have been waiting too long and already Ireland has to catch up with the rest of the world on this. We need to be clear on how this scheme will relate to the State pension. We must have assurance that it will never be used to replace any State pension but simply complement it. Similarly, we need assurances that the Government remains committed to achieving a benchmark of 34% of gross average earnings for the contributory State pension as set out in the roadmap for pensions reform. We need certainty and safeguards for workers that those contributing to the new scheme will not face a means test for the State pension in the future.”