Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I beg the Deputy's pardon. I misunderstood. The new scheme was introduced in 2012 and it is probably more effective than what was there because it is much more flexible. It responds to participants' needs. The old system was probably a bit more clunky, although that is probably not the best word to describe it. The previous scheme was not as flexible as the new partial capacity system and it was changed to reflect directly the experience of the people using it. In the main, they are very happy with it but that is not to say we will not reflect in future on whether there are other changes to be made. As the Deputy and I are aware, schemes may need tweaks or small changes and we are always willing to have a look at them and reflect.

I hope to be able to publish, for public consultation, the report on total contributions soon. It is very nearly ready and I expect to bring it to Cabinet within the next two weeks. Once it is approved by Cabinet, the members of the committee will be the first to get it. It will be an extensive public consultation. As I said in the House yesterday, every new change and every new system creates winners and losers. There will be people who have an expectation of receiving a full or nearly full pension under the new total contributions model who may not do so, while there are others who are in receipt of less than they feel they should be who will get more. There will be an extensive public consultation process once that paper is published in the next couple of weeks and it will go on for at least three to six months. I hope there will be extensive hearings at this committee. I will value very much any help the committee can provide to make public the contents of the document and to bring about as fulsome a response to it - both from those who support it and those who want to point out its warts - as possible. It is about having a full conversation and that will start in the next couple of weeks.

The difference between the scheme we have planned for those under 25 and other schemes we have launched is that it will be entirely co-operative. People who are 25 and under will volunteer for the scheme. We will work with businesses to ensure they get minimum wage jobs, at least, for 30 hours per week for a minimum period of 12 months. We will work with industry and young people who want to work in jobs which give them training, the opportunity to expand their skills, an educational base and the work experience they definitely need where they are longer-term unemployed to address the challenges they face.