Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister. She may think it entirely appropriate that the Government takes time but it has taken 12 years with little or no progress. There has been a little progress on defined benefit and none on the overall pension problem. I am glad the Minister says the framework will be published this year but on Question Time at the end of April she told me it would be published in a couple of weeks. That was two months ago. A couple of weeks is a fortnight. The end of the year is a long time away. We are only half way through the year. Will the Minister give a more definite date?

The OECD says that 30% of Irish pensioners live in poverty. A year ago when we asked questions about this I said that fewer people were going to want to invest in a pension because of their fears about how they operate and the Minister said that would not be the case. Only a quarter of Irish people now think it is a good idea to put money aside for their retirement. The longer the Minister leaves a decision on pensions the bigger the timebomb she is creating for the country. One million people are due to retire over the next 20 years. By making progress on this issue the Minister can give them some certainty about their retirement. They do not have that now. People are terrified. What she has done so far is nothing compared with what needs to be done. Will the Minister provide the House with a more definitive date? Does she have any idea what is being considered by the Government because an element of private sector workers feel they have been ignored in what has been done so far?

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