Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

It is exactly the amount I pay out every year in social welfare pensions. A significant amount of State money goes into the system.

One figure looming large is that 500,000 women in the workforce have no provision for occupational pensions. The Government cannot allow that to continue indefinitely. That is why I am interested in the concept of mandatory pensions but I will be advised by the Pensions Board's comments on their practicality. The experiment in New Zealand whereby people are in schemes unless they choose to opt out of them might be worth considering here. The United Kingdom is considering it too. If we let the present system tick over, those in the public service and many others are well covered, and if we are elected often enough to this House we are well looked after. However, those 500,000 women are not well looked after and we have a responsibility to deal with that issue.

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