Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Ten years ago, when I took over as Taoiseach, the pension was €70 and we have brought it to €200. As we promised, we will bring it to €300 in the lifetime of this Government. On the issue of our tax commitments, we intend to implement our policies over the five-year period as we have done in the past two Governments.

We published the Green Paper on pensions last week, in fulfilment of a major commitment, not in the programme for Government but in Towards 2016. That Green Paper reviews the pensions system, it identifies the challenges and includes all the issues that will affect the social insurance fund in the years ahead, such as demographic change, issues regarding the sustainability of the pension system, pensioner incomes, the contribution of various elements of the pension system, including the social welfare system and work flexibility. They will affect whether it is in surplus or deficit. The Government has set out its position in the Green Paper and we have already engaged in discussions with the social partners. The issue has been opened out to wider debate in the next nine months or so and, based on that debate, we will make the decision, not just for the short term, which is obviously important for the social fund for the next few years, but also into the longer term.

I do not recall the figures off the top of my head but it is very clear they will have a huge effect on the social area. The proportion of the population aged over 65 is expected to more than double between now and mid-century from 11% to 28%. The number of people of working age compared with those aged over 65 will decrease from 6% now to 2% by mid-century. The spending on public pensions, social welfare and public service is projected to increase from 5% of GDP to 13% of GDP. These are fundamental issues that will not greatly affect the social insurance fund in the very short term but will have profound effects in the longer term. We hope, over the next 12 months to make those decisions for the short term and the longer term, rather than allow the matter to drift.

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