Ms Jasmina Behan:

I thank the Deputy. I will start, and my colleagues might want to contribute afterwards. With regard to indexation and benchmarking, the idea is to preserve the real value for people in receipt of the State contributory pension and benchmark against earnings in order to ensure that the rates for pensioners keep pace with the growth in earnings and the real value.

On sustainability for future generations and the impact of demographic changes, the issue has been considered by the Commission on Pensions, which examines a wide range of issues of relevance. These issues include the State pension age, the sustainability of the funding for pensions, and the indexation of rates to preserve the value and keep the pace. These are just some of the issues that were considered by the commission. The Government is considering the recommendations through the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment and has referred the questions on sustainability - or meeting funding demands associated with an ageing population and demographic change - and the parameters we might need to put in place to fund that expenditure to the Commission on Taxation and Welfare. All the deliberations will be presented as a proposal to the Government, to be decided on by the end of March. Many of the issues are being considered at present.