John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I did not have visual contact earlier but I was able to listen to the meeting. One of the findings that has been consistent since we started discussing this topic is that the introduction of a State pension rate that is a percentage of a certain average – one of the witnesses mentioned 34% of earnings - has been regularly discussed since the 1990s and in the initial presentation from the Parliamentary Budget Office. Obviously, the area of pensions is big news. Indeed, it led on RTÉ's "Six One" news today because of the publication of report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands. For some people, without the addition of something like the fuel allowance on top of the State pension, they are simply not keeping pace in real monetary terms with what is needed for them to live reasonably – I will not say comfortably – and not in jeopardy. We were told that a State pension should be pitched at around 30% to 35% of the average industrial wage. I ask for the witnesses' views on that.