Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 65, 66, 83, 98 and 104 together.

The most recent figures published by the Central Statistics Office for supplementary pensions coverage relate to the fourth quarter of 2005 and showed that 50.6% of women in employment had private or occupational pensions, a significant improvement on 2002 when 44.6% of women had such coverage. Based on these figures, we can estimate that there are approximately 475,000 women in employment with private or occupational pensions and 464,000 without such coverage. No statistics are available regarding pensions coverage for those outside the workforce.

The results of the Quarterly National Household Survey are useful in tracking the overall pension coverage rate, but there is a lack of qualitative data on people's attitudes to pensions and on the differences between male and female uptake levels. This was recognised in the national pensions review published by the Pensions Board in 2006 and a commitment was given by the board to do follow-up research.

The board is finalising its research on this matter and hopes to publish its findings by the end of the year, which will form the basis of the information sought in the questions. The research involves a comprehensive survey on pension uptake and the behaviours behind it. The survey is, to the knowledge of the board, the largest of its kind undertaken and will provide fresh data on pensions coverage and information to draw out the reasons contributing to below-average coverage rates among women.

Many women in the private and the public sectors left employment upon marrying because they were required to or it was the societal norm at the time. Women who left the workforce through the operation of the marriage bar were primarily public servants who were not insured for social welfare pension purposes. Their loss of pension rights relates more to their occupational positions rather than social welfare pension entitlements.

The Government is anxious to ensure that as many people as possible can be accommodated within the social welfare pensions system with due regard being paid to the contributory principle underlying entitlement to contributory payments and the need to ensure that resources are directed to those most in need. In the past ten years, means tests have been improved and qualifying conditions for contributory payments made easier.

I published the Green Paper on Pensions on 17 October. It includes a full discussion on the issues raised by the Deputies. To address these issues, the Green Paper covers a range of reforms, including the use of universal entitlements and backdating the home-makers scheme.

My Department is carrying out a technical review of the entire social welfare code to examine its compatibility with the Equal Status Act 2000, as amended. This will identify any instances of direct or indirect discrimination on any of the nine grounds under the Act, including gender, sexual orientation, marital status and family status, that are not justified by a legitimate social policy objective or where the means of achieving that objective are either unnecessary or inappropriate.

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