I believe the present Minister for Social Welfare is a concerned man who is willing to listen to representations from Dáil Deputies, to hear about problems and to act on them where possible. I believe also that the Department of Social Welfare is, broadly speaking, an efficient organisation. The section that I know best, the pensions section down in Sligo, is very good.
I am, therefore, very surprised, indeed very disappointed, that after nearly six months no action has been taken to give their dues to pensioners affected by the fall in the value of sterling. These are a special kind of old age and widowed pensioner with part British and part Irish pensions. Because of immigration and migration there are very many of them all over Sligo and Leitrim and, as my colleague, Deputy McGinley, tells me, there are even more in County Donegal. They are all over the west, as the Minister knows.
Because of the decline in the value of sterling against the IR£1 these pensioners are losing heavily since last October, some of them as much as £20 a month, some even more. I have pleaded their case in the Dáil here by way of question and by way of special debate. I have written to the Minister. I have appealed for something to be done, but have got no action. No compensation has been given to the pensioners.
First we are told that the adjustment cannot be made except on a three monthly basis in order to get the appropriate average. Three months passed but there was no readjustment for the pensioners. Then we were told that if the individual pensioners wrote in they would be looked after. They are writing in, they are asking for it and they are not getting results. I have been in contact as recently as today and they are not getting results. The reason is that the Department was not able to do anything because there has been no decision about what the new rates will be. These people are told to wait until the decision has been made. However, the pensioners cannot afford to wait.
It is appalling that hardship — and it is very real hardship — is being inflicted by the failure to act. The pensioners are entitled to their money and they are entitled to back money. It is of no use to tell them to go and get supplementary welfare; that is not the answer. They are entitled to this money. Surely it is not beyond the capability of the Department to make a decision on the rates to be given and to pay up.
