Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The point is an awful lot of people when they get the sheet do not understand it. Therefore, it would be important that people’s attention be drawn to the fact voluntary contributions are possible. Many people seem to come in too late in the day when they get to 66. I agree we have to get people to access contribution records. Not everybody within five or six years of pension age is able to access data like that on a computer. People use a computer for Facebook and all sorts of things but officialdom on computers is different and can pose challenges for people.

Therefore, I do not think it is simplest to presume that everybody knows, first, to access it and, second, how to access it on the computer, even though they might be using smartphones and such things for other purposes. Many people know how to do what they want to do but they do not necessarily know every way to do it. All we have to do is look at the number of people who queue for a licence that can be got online.