I move amendment No. 3:
In page 6, before section 4, to insert the following new section:
"4. The recommendation of the Commission on Social Welfare in relation to a common basic payment or minimally adequate payment shall be reviewed in the context of the projected growth in the economy, and the Minister will consider whether the payments are adequate for the needs of pensioners and he shall place a report on this matter on the table of both Houses of the Oireachtas within 6 months."
I referred to this matter on Second Stage. The recommendations of the Commission on Social Welfare are used as a yardstick to analyse payments to social welfare recipients, but it is time to establish a new commission to review payments. Ten years have passed and the country has experienced huge economic growth; revenue is at an all time high. If we are serious about ensuring social welfare recipients receive the payments considered necessary to survive in today's terms, it is essential to upgrade the commission's findings. They were reached against the backdrop of harsh economic times when the country was in a poor financial state due to political ineptitude.
The amendment is timely because it is important to set a precedent over the next five or six years to ensure all social welfare payments are maintained at a proper level, given that the country now enjoys a buoyant economy compared to the period when the Commission on Social Welfare reached its findings, and which have not been updated since. The Minister should consider the amendment and accept it.