Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 3 Nov 2015

Vol. 894 No. 3

Topical Issue Debate

State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for allowing me to raise this important issue. I wish to highlight the injustice done to a cohort of women, whose numbers are as yet undefined. They started their early years in the workforce in insurable employment and, after a number of years, in some cases due to the public sector bar, in other cases due to the fact they wished to rear their families, and in some cases to both, they retired from the workforce. In later years, they then found themselves in a position where they could go back to the workforce, having reared their families but, later again, on applying for the contributory old age pension, they found they did not qualify on the basis they had an insufficient average of contributions over the total period of their working lives.

A working life is determined on the basis of the period from the first year in which a person went into insurable employment to the last year in insurable employment, which could be up to 45 years in some cases. The sad part about all of this is that, in many of these cases, the same women could have qualified for a limited amount of contributory old age pension had they not gone back into the workforce at a later stage.

Essentially, I am trying to highlight the need for the Minister for Social Protection to address the issue, if at all possible, in the context of the Social Welfare Bill. While that may not be possible, the cost aspect may not be so great that it cannot be incorporated into the Bill. One thing is certain, namely, at some stage in the future, this issue has to be addressed. It is grossly unfair that women who went into the workforce and were then forced, for one reason or another, to retire, having diligently given of their services and made their contribution, find themselves at a later stage to be outside the qualification limits. In some cases, they qualify for a means-tested old age pension, which is fine. However, if they have property or if a spouse or partner has a pension, they will not get a pension in their own right, and if their spouse or partner gets an adult dependent allowance, that will be means-tested.

This is an issue that affects quite a number of women, although the exact number cannot be determined at this stage. There is a need to address this. I would ask the Minister who is present in the House, Deputy Varadkar, to discuss this with his colleague in government with a view to identifying the precise nature and extent of the problem, and rectifying it.

Minister for Health (Deputy Leo Varadkar)

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am taking the debate on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, who is elsewhere on Government business.

The Irish pensions system is made up of a number of schemes based on criteria such as contributions paid, income need and other factors.

These ensure that people have an adequate income when they retire. This range of supports has resulted in very similar outcomes for male and female pensioners in Ireland. Poverty rates for women and men over 65 have effectively been at parity over a number of years, despite many women having lifetime lower earnings than men. It should also be noted that, according to the most recent figures, the consistent poverty rate for those over 65 is a quarter of that for working age adults and a sixth of that for children.

The State pension contributory is one of a number of schemes and the rate of payment is related to contributions made over the years into the Social Insurance Fund by the person concerned. As such, those with a stronger attachment to the workforce who have paid more into that fund are more likely to be paid under the scheme. Under the scheme, entitlement is calculated by means of a yearly average calculation, where the total contributions paid or credited are divided by the number of years of the working life. Payment rates are banded. For example, someone with a yearly average of 48 contributions will qualify for a full pension, whereas someone with a yearly average of 20 will qualify for a pension at 85% of the full rate.

The homemaker’s scheme was introduced in 1994 to make qualification easier for those who took time out of the workforce for caring duties. It allows up to 20 such years in the period since its introduction to be disregarded when the PRSI record is being averaged for pension purposes. Where someone does not qualify for a full rate contributory pension, they may qualify for an alternative payment. If their spouse has a contributory pension, they may qualify for an increase for a qualified adult, amounting up to 90% of a full rate pension, which by default is paid directly to them. Alternatively, they may qualify for a means tested State pension, non-contributory, which amounts to 95% of the maximum contributory pension rate.

Work is under way to replace the yearly average system with a total contributions approach. Under this approach, the rate of pension paid will more closely reflect the number of contributions recorded over a working life. It is expected that this will replace the current system for new pensioners from 2020, although that date is subject to change, as this is a very significant reform with considerable legal, administrative and technical challenges to be overcome in its implementation. When proposals are agreed, legislation will be brought forward to underpin the necessary changes.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. The most important element of it is in the last paragraph, which relates to the proposed changes. This clearly indicates there is recognition of the need to bring about change. I wish to focus on that. In a previous incarnation, I had some influence on a change in the system from that which prevailed previously, where people with less than an average of 22 contributions over their working life got no pension at all. Those who had more than that, received a full pension. It was decided then it was only just to bring about change and introduce a pro rata pension commensurate with the contributions made.

The problem is that people who for economic reasons returned to work since the downturn now find themselves with five or six years extra spent in the workforce. However, this now disqualifies them from a pension. This should not be the case, because they would have already qualified for a limited pension beforehand. Once they had ten years in the workforce previously, their pension was safeguarded. However, once the extra years of service are included, this extends the period in the workforce over their lifetime, from what would have been ten or 12 years to 40 years, 45 years or above, which reduces the average number of contributions over that period, thereby eliminating their access to a contributory pension.

While the 2020 objective is laudable, I strongly urge that special consideration be given to the fact that these women all gave good service in the economy in their lifetimes. I do not believe it is justified in any way that they will be punished for going back to work when they were, in fact, forced to return to work due to economic circumstances at a later stage.

Deputy Leo Varadkar

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and believe the anomaly he pointed out may be dealt with by moving from a yearly average system to a total contributions approach. I understand there is an issue where people return to the workforce. Often we encourage people, particularly nurses, to go back to the workforce in later life and I would not like to see them lose out as a result. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, asked me to take this issue on her behalf and I will certainly draw her attention to the Deputy's comments when I see her tomorrow.

Vaccination Programme

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan

I and others attended a meeting with parents of girls who received the HPV Gardasil vaccine and whose lives have been dramatically altered as a result. These parents brought a number of concerns to our attention, such as breathing difficulties, hives, joint and muscle pain, muscle weakness, swollen glands, chronic fatigue, headaches, neural damage, noise sensitivity, chills, sleep disturbance, menstrual disruption, food intolerance, difficulty concentrating, panic attacks and depression. The research carried out by these mothers shows that this is not confined to one area in Ireland; therefore these effects are not caused by a rogue batch of vaccine. These effects have also occurred in other countries on the Continent.

In a response to a parliamentary question I put to the Minister, he told me there is an expected pattern of adverse effects in line with product information. However, the information mentions minimal adverse effects, not the full range I have mentioned. Also, there is no mention of these adverse effects lasting indefinitely, which is what is happening for over 106 girls here in Ireland. If the Minister does not believe the HPV vaccine is responsible, will he conduct an investigation into why these 106 girls are chronically ill, all with the same debilitating symptoms? It was heart-breaking to listen to these mothers describe how their bright, articulate daughters who were in education or training are now so ill with dramatically altered lives. The information pack that went to schools provided information on the most common adverse reactions to the vaccine and parents were then directed to a website for additional information. Surely all of the information should be included in one information pack.

I was also alarmed to read medical reports questioning the fact that this vaccine has any effect on cervical cancer. One report said the vaccine would have no effect in 87% of HPV viruses that might cause cancer and that the causal link between HPV and the later development of cervical cancer is far from definitive and that regular smear tests, with no side effects, can catch cervical cancer in time.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue along with Deputy O'Sullivan. I also met with parents of young girls affected by this issue, a number of whom are in my constituency. A meeting on the issue was also held in Killarney a couple of weeks ago, attended also by Deputies Brendan Griffin and Tom Fleming. There, parents outlined the side effects affecting these young women and the only common denominator is the HPV vaccine. They are extremely concerned about it and I have raised the matter in a number of parliamentary questions.

There are several issues. Information is provided with the vaccine, but when parents are asked to consent to the vaccine when these young girls enter second level, a very short information document is provided by the HSE. This document only mentions some of the side effects, compared with the number included on the document supplied with the vaccine by the manufacturers. I believe the issue for these parents and young women is genuine and serious and would not raise it here otherwise. I have heard their stories and have heard of the debilitating effects on these young women and of the emotional damage to these families.

I urge the Minister to consider an independent assessment of this matter as there seems to be only one common denominator. Also, the information being given to parents of young women about to get the vaccine should be fully informative. They should not be given a shortened account of the effects. The concern of these parents is that every one of these girls has a pattern of ailments, as outlined by Deputy O'Sullivan, and all seem to suffer from chronic fatigue.

They have gone around the world at this stage for advice from general practitioners and consultants.

In some countries, this vaccine is not given. Why have other countries not fully bought into this vaccine? They have some concerns about it. Surely then we should take the cautious approach; we should stop it and see if it is absolutely safe. To my mind - although I am far from knowledgeable on medical issues - there is a fundamental issue here. I believe the vaccine is having a deadly effect on young women, on their lives and the lives of their families.

Deputy Leo Varadkar

I thank Deputies Moynihan and O’Sullivan for giving me an opportunity to address the House on this issue. I want to acknowledge the concerns of families who believe their daughters have experienced adverse reactions and health issues after receiving the HPV vaccine.

As the House will know, the vaccine protects against two high-risk types of HPV that cause 73% of all cervical cancers. The link between HPV and cervical cancer is as well established as the link between HIV and AIDS, even though some very odd people still seem to dispute that. It is estimated that the HPV vaccine will save 60 lives annually in this country. It also protects against genital warts and other cancers, including head and neck cancers, which are truly awful.

The vaccine used in the school immunisation programme is Gardasil, a fully-tested vaccine which was licensed by the European Medicines Agency in 2006. Following this, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee recommended that the vaccine should be offered to all girls aged 12 years on an annual basis. The Health Products Regulatory Authority is the statutory authority for medicines in Ireland. While no medicines, including vaccines, are entirely without risk, the safety profile of Gardasil has been continuously monitored since it was first authorised nationally and at EU level. Decisions on the supply of vaccines are undertaken by specific expert agencies rather than being the responsibility of the Minister of the day. This is as it should be as it ensures that decisions are made solely on scientific information and expert advice, rather than being influenced by political pressure or lobbying.

As part of its monitoring of the safety of medicines the Health Products Regulatory Authority operates an adverse reaction reporting system, where healthcare professionals and patients are encouraged to report adverse reactions they consider may be associated with their treatment. All reports received are evaluated and considered in the context of the safety profile of the product concerned, with reports followed up as necessary for further information that may assist in the assessment of the case.

I have been informed by the HPRA that up to 9 October it had received 921 reports of suspected adverse reactions or events notified in association with the use of HPV vaccines. The vast majority have been consistent with the expected pattern of adverse effects for the vaccines as described in the product information, such as gastrointestinal symptoms, malaise, headache, dizziness and soreness or a rash at the injection site. These are short-lived. As for all licensed medicines, the safety of these vaccines is monitored by the Pharmacovigilance and Risk Assessment Committee, an EU-level drug safety committee, where the HPRA is represented and actively contributes.

I am aware that the European Medicines Agency has commenced a review of the HPV vaccines to further clarify aspects of their safety profile, although the agency points out that this review does not question that the benefits of HPV vaccines outweigh their risks. The HPRA is participating in the review, which aims to clarify aspects of their safety profile and is specifically focusing on rare reports of two conditions, complex regional pain syndrome and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

I have been informed of a project in Denmark which aims to identify possible causes or potential risk factors for adverse reactions to the HPV vaccine. It would not be appropriate for me to comment any further until the results become available. This study, however, follows a major Danish-Swedish register-based study of a million girls from 2013, 300,000 of whom received the HPV vaccine. That study showed no evidence supporting associations between exposure to the HPV vaccine and serious diseases. It has been confirmed by the Danish authorities that they continue to offer the HPV vaccine as a result, as part of their childhood immunisation programme.

In the meantime, the European Medicines Agency has advised healthcare professionals that available data does not warrant any change to the use of HPV vaccines. Healthcare professionals should therefore continue using them in accordance with the current product information. Any changes to this advice will be made following the outcome of the review by the European Medicines Agency.

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan

What has happened in Ireland has happened in Spain, the UK, France, Denmark, Sweden and Italy. There is now a Europe-wide group for those affected. I think it is significant that the Danish Government is spending €940,000 for an independent investigation into the vaccine and the side effects. The experts involved have no ties to the pharmaceutical industry. I must admit to being very wary of the pharmaceutical industry. Whatever good it does, it is really a profit-making machine.

I do not want to deprive anybody of a vaccine that is beneficial and I do support any preventative measures, but the reality is that there are at least 106 girls in this country with very debilitating symptoms and the common denominator is the vaccine they have taken. These girls' lives are totally changed. They are not able to live normal lives like their peers. That has to be investigated. It warrants a meeting with the Minister or a very high-ranking official in the Department of Health or the HSE.

In 2009 there was a vaccine damage steering group report at which the previous Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, spoke. He said the most important thing is to remedy the damage that has been done and provide the support the person needs to live as normal a life as possible. I ask the Minister to outline the position regarding the recommendations made by the group.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I know that the parents who have come together - they are a great group - have sought a meeting with the Minister. I ask him to meet with a representative body of these parents so they can outline the concerns they have.

I have scanned through the official response. The word "risk" is there. If there is any risk, no matter how minute it might be in terms of the proof and examination of it by the authorities concerned, if there is a risk that even one young woman could have an adverse effect such as those the parents have been outlining to us, if there is any minute risk at all, should not the State err on the side of caution and withdraw the vaccine until there is a full assessment of what is at stake? The debilitating condition that these young women have is frightening. It merits a full investigation from the State, the Department and the HSE. They should park the vaccine until they can prove that there is no side-effect. That would be in the best interests of everybody. I am aware a request has been made to the Minister for him to meet with a representative of the parents towards the end of November.

Deputy Leo Varadkar

I am very concerned about this whole debate, where it is going and the comments made by some of the Deputies opposite. I am alarmed to hear we are getting into this space again. Deputy O'Sullivan is almost implying that there is some sort of plot from the pharmaceutical industry against people, that it is all about those in the industry making money and that this is not based on evidence or scientific advice.

I am also very concerned to hear a Fianna Fáil Deputy calling for a vaccine or drug to be withdrawn without scientific evidence to back it up. That bothers me because we have been here before. We had a similar scare around the MMR causing autism, which some people still believe. Children developed autism and parents connected the vaccine to autism because it was given around the time that those symptoms appeared. Some people still believe in that connection, even though the doctor who came up with it has retracted and has been struck off and even though there is no scientific evidence to support it. The result of that scaremongering and irresponsible behaviour by people who should know better was that some people got measles, mumps and rubella because their parents did not vaccinate them. There is a similar issue on which the jury is still out in respect of narcolepsy, whether it was caused by a vaccine or was coincidental and caused by something else such as a virus.

What do we know about this vaccine? We know that it does prevent cervical cancer, which is an awful cancer that kills many women every year. We know it prevents genital warts, head and neck cancers, and also penile and anal cancers in men. We have scientific evidence that this is the case. We do not know if these long-term psychological and physical effects that some people are reporting are any more common among girls who have had the vaccine than among those who have not. The Swedish-Danish study done so far, which went back over a million girls, 300,000 of whom had the vaccine, did not see any higher incidence of any diagnosis or disease in the 300,000 who had the vaccine compared to the 700,000 who did not.

I appeal to the Members opposite, to Deputies in general and to Senators to be responsible in their comments on this matter because scares in respect of people using medicines and vaccines cost lives. Any decisions that are taken must be based on the scientific facts and the epidemiological evidence, and nothing else. No meeting with me will change that. These decisions are made based on scientific and expert advice and I appeal to Deputies to be responsible in their comments and actions around this issue.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Joanna Tuffy)

The next item - the need to allocate a dedicated IDA Ireland office to County Kerry - is in the name of Deputy Griffin and is addressed to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

Deputy Brendan Griffin

I am grateful that the office of the Ceann Comhairle allowed this to be taken but, no disrespect to the good Minister here, would it be possible to have the matter deferred until the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is present?

Acting Chairman (Deputy Joanna Tuffy)

My advice is that it is possible.

Private Rented Accommodation Price Controls

Deputy Dessie Ellis

In the five years since this Government took office, private residential rents have increased by a staggering 35%. Rents have increased by 10.3% this year. This is not just causing severe hardship but is pushing families and single people into homelessness. It is for this reason that more people are becoming homeless each month. The housing shortage is the reason they stay homeless. Rent costs are the reason they end up being homeless. I have been asked for help by the parents of young children and young single people - both working and unemployed - who were fighting to hold back the tears as they presented me with letters from their landlords informing them of rent increases. Their incomes are down and the standard of their accommodation is low but the price goes up continually because landlords know they can do this. Those to whom I refer are tired of being kicked around and treated like dirt.

The only solution is to regulate the private rented market, thereby controlling rent levels now and into the future in order to ensure fairness. Sinn Féin has long called for such measures. I was pleasantly surprised when the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government said he wanted rent freezes to be put in place. That was 11 months ago, which was already very late in the day but at least it was something. Unfortunately, this has come to nothing and it seems clear that Fine Gael is not willing to concede any ground. It stands by the landlords.

The proposals from the Government that are being floated in the media are nothing short of pathetic. Rent regulation can work if it is properly and strictly implemented across the private rental market. It will do nothing if it is piecemeal and both Fine Gael and the Minister know that. One proposal was to put in place rent certainty on rent supplement tenancies, thereby limiting future increases available to landlords. This would only increase the number of landlords refusing rent supplement tenants and reinforce the two-tier housing system built by Fianna Fáil and continued - with gusto - by this Government. Another proposal was to increase the eviction notice period, which would do little or nothing for tenants who cannot afford their rent as that would be seen as a break in the tenancy agreement. It also fails to recognise that most tenants are not in their homes for such long periods due to the instability of the private market. A few weeks more for the few tenants with tenancies of five years or more who are being evicted does practically nothing. Requiring landlords to justify rent increases based on the market rate is another nonsensical idea and it is really just a rewording of the existing rules, which do nothing but which can be spun to sound like something.

The solution is not just rent certainty across the board to limit future increases but control measures to decrease rents right now. The Private Residential Tenancies Board should be empowered to set local standard rates with a maximum deviation based on the size of the accommodation. These standards could be imposed by existing tenants via a rent review request when one becomes available and new tenancies would be required to meet these standards immediately. Berlin has implemented a similar model with great success and there has already been a decrease of approximately 5% in rents in the city. Rents are too high now. If they were frozen, they would still be too high next year. This is the reality for all tenants in Ireland, especially those in our capital. It is up to the Government to solve this. It is not just about building homes next year. By then, many more families will be homeless, rents will have increased again and the cost of homelessness will have risen also.

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Alan Kelly)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The structure of the property market in Ireland has changed dramatically in the past decade. In 2002, 11.4% of households and families were accommodated in the private rented sector. Today, that figure is well above 20% and it continues to grow each day. Effectively, the number of Irish households renting privately has doubled in recent years. As a society, we must adjust to that. With more and more Irish people being housed in private rented accommodation, it is vital that rent remains affordable and that people renting have an appropriate amount of protection and security in their tenancy.

The most recent data from the Private Residential Tenancies Board for quarter 2 of 2015 show that on an annual basis nationally rents were 7.1% higher than in quarter 2 of 2014. These annual rates of increase were driven mainly but not exclusively by the Dublin market. Overall, in the 12 months to the end of quarter 2 of 2015, rents were higher by 9.2% in Dublin and similarly large increases have been experienced in Cork, Galway and other urban centres. A combination of the shortage of supply in appropriate areas, continued population growth and increased levels of employment and earnings is driving this increase in rents across the State. The shortage of supply is being addressed through the Construction 2020 strategy for the building industry, which is aimed at addressing issues in the property and construction sectors and ensuring that any bottlenecks that might impede the sector's ability to scale up the supply of residential units are addressed. This is particularly necessary in the Dublin region, where both population and employment continue to grow strongly. This is placing further upward pressure on rents.

Another important element in bringing more supply on stream is the €3.8 billion in Exchequer funding to 2020 that I secured to fund the social housing strategy. This will provide 35,000 new residential units and support 75,000 households in finding accommodation through schemes such as the housing assistance payment, HAP. The implementation of this strategy is progressing well and my Department is liaising closely with local authorities to ensure that new social housing units are delivered as swiftly as possible. I have also provided funding to local authorities to take on an additional 300 staff to speed up the delivery of social housing and construction in general as they had been moved out of this space by previous Administrations.

The problems in the property market and, in particular, the ongoing situation concerning the numbers of families in emergency accommodation is deeply concerning to me and to the Government. I increased the funding allocation for homelessness services to €70 million in 2016, an rise of €17 million from this year. I also recently ordered an increase in the homeless HAP pilot in Dublin. These changes mean that families who find themselves homeless will now be able to access private rented accommodation to a value of 50% above the regular rent supplement limits in Dublin, helping many families in emergency accommodation to find suitable housing.

While these measures are all important in dealing with the current problems in the housing sector, the continuing increase in rent levels is of deep concern to me and poses a serious challenge. Working closely with my Government colleagues, I am exploring options which will give more security to tenants and families in the private rental sector.

Ultimately, the solution to the issue of the rapid rise in rents, and to the problems in the housing sector generally, will require a whole-of-Government response. While some of the levers for dealing with this problem lie outside my Department, the Government remains determined to tackle this problem in a forthright manner. Discussions on measures which will give more security and certainty to tenants are ongoing, and I believe they will conclude shortly.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

I thank the Minister but it is very disappointing that he is still saying the discussions are ongoing. He has not indicated what he has in mind to tackle this out of control rental market. Many people on rent supplement end up homeless as a result of landlords putting up rents because they can get more money on the private market. We have to stem that flow and control the increases in some way, maybe through the consumer price index because not only are 5,000 people on the waiting list for homes but 80 new families a month are joining it. Many of them have come off rent supplement and the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, as a result of these increases. The solution is to build more social housing but Fianna Fáil in government started this ball rolling, relying on the private rental market. I am glad we are trying to get back to building more social housing because that will keep the rents down. However, we need emergency measures now to deal with this. The Minister does not seem to be making progress with his Fine Gael colleagues. It is very worrying that they have a vested interest in protecting a particular group.

There is also a major crisis in student accommodation because the rent has gone beyond the reach of many students. I recently spoke to a person who had a good job but could not afford private rents because they are so high. Even in other countries they have not reached these levels. There are 130,000 families on the housing waiting list, nearly double the number there was in 2008. It is scandalous.

Deputy Alan Kelly

I thank the Deputy for raising this critically important issue. There is no issue I take more seriously or spend more time on. Homelessness and housing services take up the bulk of my time as I try to ensure that people have a home and a decent living standard. It is very personal to me. This Government will do everything it can to help people. We have been caught in the perfect storm of the property crash. The industrial sector is dysfunctional. There have been years of privatisation of social housing and I agree with the Deputy on that. Local authorities also needed to be brought up to speed.

The biggest issue is the growing economy, according to figures today. It has created this pressure. There are also problems in the private rental sector because of a small percentage of unscrupulous landlords. There are real estate investment trusts, REITs, buying up property and announcing they will have annual returns, which are not sustainable and in some cases are morally unacceptable. We need to ensure that tenants are protected and that their rights are promoted, that they have security and certainty. I am working with my colleagues to ensure that is put in place and that we will have measures in the near future to ensure they are protected.

I compliment the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, Cathal Morgan and all his team. The Deputy will agree they do a fantastic job. I meet and speak to Cathal regularly. He also agrees with me that dealing with the rental sector is paramount and the most important issue facing us, given the issues he deals with day in, day out, in Dublin. Other people working in the sector have made similar comments.