Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister said, the system already disregards time spent working in the home since April 1994 for the purposes of calculating the yearly average contributions. The problem arises in respect of people who took time out before 1994. Does the figure of €290 million refer to the cost of back dating to the very beginning? If he is moving to a total contributions approach, is it inevitable that there will be losers as well as winners? I can envisage a situation where under a total contributions approach, a person who had been paying for the past ten years and who has paid 520 contributions could find their pension considerably reduced. Of course, it would be a fairer system but we are anxious to ensure that there are as few losers as possible. If the Minister is looking at a total contributions approach, where does that leave the question of credits and what will happen in respect of the homemaker's scheme as it exists at the moment? Will there be some recognition of time spent in the home in a total contributions system?

See this speech in context