Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I understand why the Deputy originally contacted the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation about the scheme. I am aware of job sharing arrangements in other countries but, from the point of view of my Department, we would have to be careful that pension contributions were not diminished. In light of our welcome longevity in life expectancy and the increasing proportion of older people in the population, I have to ensure people contribute enough to their pensions, whether the contributory old pension or private pension schemes. There is merit in considering the scheme but it would have to cover these costs.

The job sharing arrangements available to the public service are fairly generous and certain large private employers offer similar schemes. People usually avail of such schemes because of family commitments but the arrangements are expensive. Later this year we will publish an actuarial review of the cost of the old age pension and perhaps at that point we will investigate the cost of covering a pension for a person who has retired and whether the contributions would be sufficient.

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