Results 1-20 of 82 for pension speaker:Marc Ó Cathasaigh

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Jan 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...kind of amounted to Fr. Jack's that would be an ecumenical matter, perhaps, if I understand it properly. I will stay relatively specific in terms of the heads of Bill that actually deal with the Pensions Authority functions. If I am right in my reading of the Bill, it is only head 56 that mentions this, which is part 14 on supervision, and it is relatively brief. A concern was raised in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Jan 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...a lacuna in what we have been presented with in the general scheme, as Ms Kelly said, and it is completely silent about these issues on my reading. As for the alignment with occupational pension schemes, it comes back to the central processing agency, CPA, and the fact we envision people moving in and out of this auto-enrolment. It would be hoped, and it will not be the case for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Report of the Commission on Pensions: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Nov 2021)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: My first and most important question goes to Mr. Taft. What we have before us to consider is the report of the pensions commission. Mr. Taft makes the argument that the proposed increase in the pension age would not make as significant a contribution, in the context of pensions provision long-term, as is made out in the report. I am glancing across the modelling from which the committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Social Welfare Statutory Instruments: Department of Social Protection (20 Mar 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...had that rent deducted from their payment. This change will particularly benefit older people who can now receive €269.23 in weekly rent for a room without impacting their non-contributory State pension or the spouse or adult dependant of a contributory pensioner. Due to ongoing delays in applying this relief to the means test for the medical card, which is still not in place as...

Public Accounts Committee: Children’s Health Ireland and National Paediatric Hospital Development Board: Discussion (19 Oct 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: In the time remaining I will ask a final question that is different in character. I want to focus on this accounting practice for forecasting future pension liabilities that was identified as an issue by the Comptroller and Auditor General. We are told this is done at the direction of the Minister. The material effect of that is to minimise the pension liability. We know there are a...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...up on the point Deputy Kerrane made about the mandatory retirement age. I know it is a continuing sore point for many people who are made to retire at 65 and then do not have access to the State pension until 66. I would appreciate if we could move on that. On reading the document, I was struck by the fact that the Department of Social Protection probably has a fuller picture of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed) (18 Jan 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...that it is important the State plays a central role. The CPA is explicitly to be set up as being not for profit. Then the fiduciary interest is supposed to be to each individual member of the pensions. The CPA is the organisation that stands between the member and the pensions. I understand that as the pension options are still being provided, there will be at least four registered...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (8 Feb 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I know the ESRI is going to talk about this as well. It is about the flexibility as people move through their working life and whether the auto-enrolment pension stays to one side as a kind of immovable object or whether they can use it to supplement or integrate with different pension provisions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...2022. Automatic enrolment has been discussed for decades in Ireland. We are currently the only OECD country that does not operate an automatic enrolment or similar system as a means of promoting pensions savings. The new system is designed to simplify the pensions decision for workers and make it easier for employers to offer a workplace pension. Under automatic enrolment, employees...

Public Accounts Committee: Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 45 - Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Financial Statements 2022: National Training Fund
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 19: National Training Fund (23 Nov 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I want to ask a quick question on the pension outturn. The Estimate provided €197 million and the outturn was €341 million, which is quite a differential. Of all of the costs that an institution might incur, I would have thought that pension costs would be among the most predictable so why is there such a variation?

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Pension Provisions (29 Jun 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...the agreement reached by the WRC, CWU, An Post and Government in March to increase by 5%, backdated to 1 January 2022, by a further 2% from 1 January 2023, and by 1% from 1 July 2023, of the pensions for An Post pensioners; the timeline for its implementation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31772/23]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (25 Jan 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...IBEC in a moment. Automatic enrolment has been discussed for decades in Ireland. We are currently the only OECD country that does not operate an AE or similar system as a means of promoting pension savings. The new system is designed to simplify the pensions decision for workers and make it easier for employers to offer a workplace pension. Under automatic enrolment, employees will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Report of the Commission on Pensions: Discussion (Resumed) (24 Nov 2021)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...of what Josephine Feehily spoke about when she was before the committee related to the solidarity principle. What if the proportion of savings that would arise from the proposed increase in the pension age were removed? Much of this discussion puts me in mind of the emissions targets and the emissions ceilings. The fact is that if one sector takes on less of the burden, other sectors...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Scheme Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Dec 2022)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ..., we are expecting people to have at least a level 8 qualification at the age of 23. If we are speaking about the volatility of people in that demographic, many will end up with an occupational pension as opposed to an auto-enrolment pension. I am concerned for people who go straight from school into something that is physically demanding. The committee has had discussions on whether it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pensions Council and Citizens Information Board: Chairpersons Designate (7 Jul 2021)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I was planning on being 25 forever, so I have no intention of thinking about my pension. I am not sure whether that merited being said a second time. Both our guests have very important jobs in terms trying to communicate complex ideas in a simple way, often on topics about which people do not wish to think. People do not necessarily wish to think about their pensions. In the case of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: General Scheme of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (25 Jan 2023)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I understand that point and the tensions that exist; however, in general, somebody going to end up in an occupational pension is probably in longer-term employment, whereas much of what we are trying to do in creating an auto-enrolment model is aimed at people who may be in more transitory employment. I have not drafted the Bill but believe that if you allow the six-month opt-out period, a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...arbitrary but maybe that is a question for the Department. The ICTU submission is critical of the 0.5% management fees. I understand that for the people who would be in receipt of these pension pots, it is business that will come to them. They do not have to work for it in the same way they might have to do in the private market. I merely want a sense of how that 0.5% compares with...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Committee Stage (8 May 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I will again make the point I made at the outset. I do not, at the moment, get to legislate on anything else that is happening in the pensions industry. We are getting an opportunity to look at legislation to do with what will become a substantial part of our pension provision State-wide. I strongly feel that if we are looking at convergence, we should converge upwards and not downwards....

Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2024: Second Stage (16 Apr 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I welcome the Bill. It was a key recommendation of the OECD's review of the Irish pension system that we had to increase that supplemental pension coverage. That word "supplemental" is important. Deputy Duncan Smith alluded to it but I do not believe it is within our compass to make any promises about future governments, however. The system is designed to be supplemental and it does not...