Dr. Orlaigh Quinn:

Exactly. I will go through the questions as they were raised. A question was raised about the entitlements of Aer Lingus staff and defined benefit changes. I do not want to comment on a particular scheme when discussions are ongoing. However, the pension changes we made towards the end of the year did not just focus on double insolvencies, they also gave options to trustees to restructure schemes. There are elements, therefore, that facilitate such restructuring. I do not particularly want to comment on any one scheme.

A specific question was asked about debt on employer legislation and members of this committee will be familiar with the debate that took place when that legislation was going through. The Minister clearly went through all the reasons why the decision was made not to go down that road, both in terms of unintended consequences and the competitive advantage it might give to some employers over others. There was a series of reasons why debt on employer legislation was not proceeded with, including focusing on schemes which at that time were already in debt. Many of those arguments were discussed in the Oireachtas at that time.

Senator Power also asked about future plans for auto-enrolment. We have had the OECD report which is being examined by the Cabinet sub-committee on pensions. There has not yet been a decision on a timescale, but the Minister has said she will make announcements on this matter fairly shortly. We are expecting that to happen.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh asked about implications for the low paid and we will focus on all the available social welfare schemes. That also applies to some of the questions concerning women, but I can come back to that matter.

We did look at all the alternatives concerning pension sustainability, which are on the table. They include tax reliefs and other alternatives. The process of pension reform is ongoing. Many of the discussions involve political decisions and I cannot comment on them. However, I can say that they are all being examined in great detail.

The Social Insurance Fund is under water at the moment and all our projections are lined up. At the moment, I think it is €1.3 billion and our projections would suggest €3 billion in terms of the future impact of that funding. We are providing an additional €190 million in the social welfare budget, without making any changes, just to cater for the additional numbers coming into the State pension every year.

Deputy Joan Collins asked about the impact on women and carers. Women and carers do get credits so it should not impact on their records. Senator Moloney commented on that in terms of averaging what it would cost and she asked why we would not bring it back prior to 1994. Approximately 46,000 people do not have a pension, so there is a major cost involved in bringing that back.

I do not have the figure in front of me. I think it was of the order of €300 million, but I can confirm this for the Senator. It was hugely significant.