Mr. Robert Nicholson:

I refer to the closing date for the straw man proposal submissions specifically because we will continue to consult after that with everyone we can. I am unsure of the number but most of the submissions are currently from individuals. There are probably 30 or 40 of them and we anticipate there will be a flood of submissions around the last week. That is likely to be from employer and employee representatives, the pensions industry and some of the strong advocate groups. Many of the individuals that we would be likely to contribute have done so already.

What we try to do with the target population, as set out in the straw man proposal, is that these people should definitively be in the system. We have also put in the document that strong consideration should be given to that €20,000 threshold. We have highlighted in particular the group between €14,000 and €20,000. From a policy perspective, the objective is maintaining living standards. If we know the State pension is €13,000 plus secondary benefits, we know everyone on incomes below that will achieve the objective of the system without being put in the system because the State pension will reduce over 100% of their income. We either need to change the objective of the system or else say that group should not naturally be included, but allow them to include themselves if they choose to. The €14,000 to €20,000 is probably the most interesting space.

From the perspective of gender, we know that about 150,000 women who do not currently save for retirement will be covered in the €20,000 and above part but the further down one goes, women account disproportionately compared to males because they are on lower earnings, take time out of the work force and so on. The lower down the income scale, the more one will see particular groups. We do not yet have full data on that but if it reflects the UK there will be a gender issue, one of ethnic minorities and people with disabilities who have different work patterns generally and have low earnings. We have asked for views on all those things in the straw man proposal, and particularly on whether people between €13,000 and €20,000 should be introduced. We need to balance that with short-term affordability. Would people on those wages opt out of the system and create a wider contagion arguing that they just do not have the capacity to save at the moment? Where is the sweet spot? There is probably no single answer. Wherever we fit it will impact some who do not want to be impacted and will not impact others who do. It is as much of an educated position as we can get. The Deputy referred to my reference to an employer contribution initially. I am not quite sure what I referred to. The principle is that once this system is rolled out, employers and the State will continue to make contributions for the duration.