Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In our system, the big safety net is that the non-contributory pension is at the same level as the contributory pension. For instance, in the case of a woman on her own who had no income other than the State contributory pension and it was a reduced amount, she would be well advised to apply for the non-contributory pension because that would bring her up to the same level as that of the contributory pension. In addition, the State is paying quite an amount of money abroad to people who contributed but who then emigrated. However, going back to the additional approximately €200 million per year the State is spending on people coming into the retirement income supports, one must ensure it is all funded as, otherwise, what is called a hole in the Social Insurance Fund will get bigger and bigger. The biggest reason for the deficit in the Social Insurance Fund at present is unemployment and the amount of jobseeker's benefit the Department is paying. However, we must close that gap because we have a contributory social welfare system and as the Deputy noted, it is important for people to have a system they can build up because private pensions from private employers, as well as those for public sector employers, also are under pressure. Consequently, the contributory State pension is a really important social payment to people in retirement.