Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their dedication and very detailed submissions. This is obviously a big shift in pensions in Ireland, and as the witnesses have said, it is so important we get it right from the outset. I have a couple of questions. It is quite clear from both submissions, from comments this morning, and from the opening statements that the witnesses appeared more satisfied with the initial straw man and the way it proposed that AE would be rolled out to workers throughout the State. There were a number of submissions made at the time of the straw man's publication, and we made one at the time. What do the witnesses believe changed? They have referenced some of the submissions and the fact they did not perhaps point to what is being proposed now. Will the witnesses speak about what they think may have happened or why, in comparison, it has been almost turned on its head in what is now being proposed in the heads of this Bill?

When the witnesses talk about the CPA, they speak about international comparisons, and it is important to look at how other countries have done this because Ireland is very behind in providing this additional pension tier to workers. Will they speak about those international comparisons in the context how the proposed model differs in important ways from international comparisons? It is also clear from the heads of the Bill that there is an issue around a lack of flexibility for women, and that will be problematic. We already have a gender pension gap and issues around women accessing a full State pension. The issues exist and have done so for a long time. We need to get that right, because when it comes to caring and roles in the home, women have been let down through generations in accessing pensions and a decent income in retirement. That is why it is so important to get this right and to provide that additional tier we know is very much needed, because we know more and more older people are solely reliant on the State pension in retirement and it is not enough as regards adequacy and levels of poverty now. The latest survey on income and living conditions, SILC, data show poverty levels among the over-65s increasing. We have to look at all of that in relation to the new system.

On the point about lower levels of protections and rights that would be provided to AE members, will the witnesses speak more on what that would look like and the impact of that?