Government challenged over promise to stop TDs collecting pension early

AS THE Dáil passed legislation raising the State pension age to 68, the Government was challenged to implement its promise to end the practice whereby some TDs can collect their pension from the age of 50.

At least 64 sitting TDs, elected before 2004, remain eligible to collect their work pension if they are 50 or over when they stand down.

The Social Welfare and Pensions Bill gradually increases the age of eligibility for the State pension to 66 in 2014, 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028.

It restores the minimum wage to its previous level of €8.65 an hour, halves the employer PRSI contribution rate to 4.25 per cent and introduces measures to improve access for up to 5,000 people for work internship programmes.

The legislation, which now goes to the Seanad, changes the social welfare code, introducing tougher sanctions for illegal use of public services cards, requiring social welfare applicants to provide additional information and transferring the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to the Department of Social Protection from the HSE.

The legislation was passed by 98 votes to 30 despite a row earlier about guillotining or cutting debate on the legislation.

During the Order of Business, Sinn Féin spokesman Pearse Doherty asked if legislation was needed to give effect to the programme for the Government commitment to ensure retiring TDs “will not be able to get their pension entitlements until the national age”.

“TDs who retire at this stage who were elected before 2004 can get their pension at the age of 50,” he said, and he asked when the Government would implement its commitment to end this practice.

The Government promised in the programme: “No political pensions will be paid to sitting TDs and in future no retired politician will get a political pension until the national retirement age. Politics must be about service to the public, not financial gain for politicians.”

Taking the Order of Business for the Taoiseach, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said the Attorney General advised the Government on whether legislation was promised or required on any issue. “The Government will rely on the Attorney General’s advice on that matter,” he said.

Earlier, the Opposition challenged Mr Gilmore about guillotining the legislation. “This is a very important Bill that affects people’s lives,” Fianna Fáil’s Eamon Ó Cuív said. “The Government gave an undertaking there would be no guillotines and there are plenty of sitting days left until the end of the term.”

Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins said the Government promised there would be no guillotines “but the guillotine is now a weekly reality, cutting short debate”.

The debate should be allowed to continue so “Government backbenchers can have the opportunity to come into this Dáil to explain why they have been trooping in to support the absolutely reactionary measure of smashing the right of workers to retire at 65”.

Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton, who steered the legislation through the House, said it was important to pass the legislation to give effect on July 1st as promised by the commitment to increase the minimum wage to €8.65.