I thank the Minister for being present. The recent review of the widow's-widower's non-contributory pension is most unjust. About 850 pensioners in receipt of a British widow's or retirement pension are being reviewed. These widows and widowers are receiving a reduced Irish pension already and they will suffer a further reduction because of the cold hearted attitude of the Department.
Due to the strength of sterling, the widow's pension is being reduced accordingly. Many of these widows have approached me. They are most upset and correctly point out that when the punt was stronger than sterling the Department was not sympathetic to them then and did not review their Irish pensions accordingly. In this time of economic buoyancy, it is disgraceful to reduce their pensions.
Recently I met two of these pensioners and I have received telephone calls from others. The first pensioner was eligible for the old age non-contributory pension as she was over 66 years of age. However, as it was not to her financial advantage to progress to the old age non-contributory pension, she remained on the widow's pension.
Many of those who receive letters from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs indicating that they are reviewing their books find it quite intimidating given that many of these pensions are reduced already on the basis of the UK pension. This lady was in receipt of £60.50 which was reduced by £26 to £34.50. That was a drastic reduction for someone who was in receipt of an ongoing Irish pension and a UK pension. Both these people, who were the losers in this arrangement, pointed out to me that they were already saving the State a certain amount of money because they were getting a reduced Irish pension as a result of receiving a UK pension. Many of these people feel vulnerable because they live alone in rural areas and are sometimes traumatised by the loss of a loved one. The review is a bit of a kick in the teeth on the part of the Department at a time of economic buoyancy to these 850 people who end up in a very adverse financial situation. It also indicates a cold hearted attitude on the part of the Department towards recipients of social welfare benefits.
The Minister should consider the matter and decide not to proceed with this review because these people deserve a caring approach. The Department has dealt with the issue in a very insensitive manner. I ask the Minister, whom I believe to be sympathetic to these issues, to again look at the matter. I am sure some of the 850 people involved come from the Minister's County Louth constituency and will be affected by this decision. I look forward to his reply.