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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 2 Feb 1994

Vol. 438 No. 2

Order of Business.

It is proposed to take Nos. 13, 14, 8 and 1. No. 8 shall be taken at 3.50 p.m. and the Order shall resume thereafter.

You are very cosy over there.

They will be found out.

Deputies, please desist from interrupting.

It is also proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that (1) the proceedings on No. 8 shall be brought to a conclusion not later than 6.45 p.m. and the following arrangements shall apply to the debate: (i) the speech of each Member called on shall not exceed 30 minutes; (ii) Members may share time; (iii) the Minister for Finance shall be called on to make a speech in reply not exceeding ten minutes. (2) Private Members' Business shall be No. 16 and the proceedings thereon shall be brought to a conclusion at 8.30 p.m.

Are the proposals for dealing with No. 8 satisfactory? Agreed. In relation to No. 2, is it agreed that the proceedings on Private Members' Business shall conclude at 8.30 p.m.? Agreed.

I wish to inquire about No. 13 relating to the budget. In regard to an apparent change in Government policy on means testing widows' pensions, it appears that the Government is going to apply the means test to young widows who have to go out to work but not to wealthy widows who have large properties and huge incomes. This seems to be blatantly anti-PAYE——

This point can be elaborately made on the budget debate which is about to ensure.

My problem is that the Government seems to be changing the budget. The debate cannot easily proceed if the Government is changing its proposal all the time.

These are essentially matters for the budget debate.

What is the Government's proposal in regard to widow's pensions? It seems to change every time an adverse newspaper headline appears on the matter.

This does not arise now.

It does, Sir, because we cannot proceed with the debate if we do not know the Government's long term intentions on the widow's pension issue.

It is a matter for the budget debate.

The Deputy should wait for the Social Welfare Bill.

We cannot have a debate if the Government has not clarified the proposals——

I am now moving to the business as ordered.

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