Pension undignified

A 40-hour week on the national minimum wage earns €346. The contributory State pension is €230.30 per week

How can an old person live with dignity on two thirds of the minimum wage? Our politicians should try it sometime. The Government would do well, in the coming October budget, to narrow the glaring anomaly in minimum incomes. They should concentrate on raising basic income, before they raise income tax.

All citizens have a right to equal treatment, especially the old, the sick, and the poor. Fair play would have a political dividend. There could well be a general election in 2015, if not sooner. The grey panthers still pack a mighty punch at the polling booth.