Dáil debates

Wednesday, 7 March 2007

Finance Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage

 

5:00 pm

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

To help Deputies, could the Minister supply the House with the current figures for all of the pension funds under the small self-administered pension schemes as discussed on Committee Stage? Regarding exemption certificates, could the Minister supply the House with the figures in bands of €5 million? The €1 million to €5 million band would be the relevant one because of the legislation. For example, are there pension funds under the new or old regime in excess of, for example, €50 million? We would like to see the full picture relating to these special schemes, which are only available to the exceptionally wealthy.

Every party in the House wants to encourage people to provide for their pensions. I do not know whether the Minister's colleague, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, is suggesting mandatory pensions, but the key objective of workers younger than 35 years of age is to provide homes for themselves. Such a worker must fund an average loan of €200,000 plus outside Dublin or €300,000 plus in the Dublin area. I do not know how the Government could make pension provisions mandatory among that age group.

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