Yesterday's Irish Independent had a headline, "Loneliness, cash woes push elderly to phone for help". The article stated:

Eamon Timmins, head of advocacy at Age Action Ireland, [...] said that many elderly people in society were feeling more isolated than ever before. "We have just finished a national consultation and it is a listening exercise where we go around the country. There is a lot of anxiety out there. Anxiety about the future, new charges, and people's ability to pay them on fixed income and fixed pensions.

A schedule of expenditure released by the Irish League of Credit Unions for 2013, entitled What's Left, outlined the average spend of an individual per week. With a weekly State pension of €230 per week, older people have an average residual amount of only €34 for other items after their living expenses, taking into account cutbacks and other new charges.

The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, has started a discussion on the easing of austerity, saying he intended to widen income tax bands to take more people out of the higher tax bracket as soon as the State could afford it. Immediately after Deputy James Reilly became the Minister for Health, he promised to abolish the 50 cent prescription charge. Three years later, he has increased it five times from the original 50 cent to its present value of €2.50. Surely to God our priority for the elderly should be to restore the telephone allowance, reduce prescription charges and waive property tax and the future water tax that is coming down the line. That would prove we were a decent society.

In the Visitors Gallery are seated good friends of mine, Nancy Moran, Mary McEntaggart and Imelda Harding from Sandymount. Also seated there are senior citizens from the Lucan-Palmerstown area who are led by the local election candidate Caitríona McClean. I have heard their stories and I am disgusted that the sickest older people in our society are being targeted. The people do not realise that approximately 55,000 people over 70 years have had their medical cards taken away by the last two budgets of the Government. Common sense would tell one that the removal of medical cards from older people will not save money in the long term. Instead, it will stop older people from taking vital medication and going to the doctor. If they end up in hospital as a result of this measure no money will be saved; quite the opposite. These cuts have been made by a heartless Government.

I wish to refer to the serious issue of how older people are treated in society. The subject has been spoken about by the revolutionary Pope Francis who felt compelled to intervene. Last November, he said at a mass:

We live in a time when the elderly do not count. It's awful to say, but they are discarded. Because they are a nuisance to us.

He also called on the faithful to remember those elderly who live in retirement homes, especially those who have been abandoned by their families. I reiterate that these cuts were made by a heartless Government.

I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Oisín Quinn, to the Visitors Gallery. He is here as a guest of Senator Sean D. Barrett and it is good to see him. He might be one of our nearest residents, or one of the people who lives closest to Leinster House. Last night I was a guest of the Lord Mayor in the Mansion House. I attended an excellent event to celebrate the village of Ranelagh which formed part of his Vibrant Villages series. Other colleagues from Dublin may have attended other events. The events are an excellent means of updating traders, local business people, local residents and people involved in community groups on the work that Dublin City Council is doing to improve amenities in particular areas. It is also an opportunity for officials from Dublin City Council to hear the concerns of local people and the improvements they seek for their areas. Last night's event was excellent and I thank the Lord Mayor for the invitation. I did not think I would have an opportunity to thank him publicly in the Seanad today, but I am grateful for the opportunity to do so.

I ask the Leader for a debate on penal reform. I have mentioned previously the report of the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality of 2013 on penal reform and measures to reduce the use of imprisonment. I seek a debate to address the concept of introducing an independent prisons authority since we have the very welcome commitment by the Government to introduce an independent police authority to act as a buffer between the Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána. It would also be worth considering the establishment of an independent prisons authority. The director general of the Irish Prison Service, Mr. Michael Donnellan, is doing an excellent job. Recently I had the opportunity to visit the Dóchas Centre, the women's prison, in north Dublin to see at first hand the improvements which had taken place. Conditions have greatly improved, as they have in Mountjoy Prison and in other prisons, which is welcome. However, we should look at the governance of prisons in a debate in the House.

A strong debate took place yesterday on the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013 with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, in which he outlined that the new legislation would provide for the first time for a centralised online system of registration of all shipping craft, including small pleasure boats, jet skis and small fishing boats. We heard also the very worrying statistics for maritime accidents and the need to improve maritime safety measures. Clearly, central registration will greatly assist enforcement and in the prevention of accidents. What was of great concern was that at the end of the debate the Minister said it might take a couple of years to roll out the new registration system, even when the legislation was in place. We should urge him to take all possible steps to ensure the system of registration is introduced more swiftly. In this House we can ensure the legislation goes through quickly, given that it was welcomed by all parties. It is very important legislation, but it is a matter of concern that the Minister said it could be a couple of years before the system was in place to enable the legislation to be fully implemented.