Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It must be acknowledged that the State pension is the cornerstone of pension provision in Ireland, particularly at a time when 60% of those in the private sector have no pension scheme. I commend Deputy John Brady for bringing forward the motion. It is imperative that we have a pension system that is secure, fair, sufficient, sustainable and, most of all, equitable. While pension increases are very welcome, they must also be accompanied by the reform we so badly need. The majority of people in Ireland rely on the State pension to provide a decent income in retirement. The impact of the current method of calculation on women and retired workers forced onto social welfare payments has been huge. The gender pension gap has widened in recent years to 37%. This

inequality is directly related to women taking time out of paid work to care for children or family members and losing the opportunity to build enough PRSI contributions to qualify for a full contributory pension. We must ensure pension equality for women is front and centre in pension reform. There has been been ongoing discrimination against those who take time out of their careers to care for their children or elderly family members. For every week I have been in office since February, a person has come into my office to tell me of their shock on reaching their 66th birthday and realising the payment they will receive from the State will be considerably lower than what they have planned for. What is the country saying to those who take time out to care for their children, those who volunteer, those who selflessly put careers on hold and those who do the State a service, in many cases, by caring for the most vulnerable members of society who might otherwise have ended up in care? I recently spoke to one lady who was losing €30 a week because of the way the payment was calculated. Another lady started working in 1966 and had built over 80 contributions. However, only 52 can be counted. She is receiving €196 instead of €230. To add insult to injury, when the pension was increased by €3, she received €2.60. So far, it has generally been women who have been affected by this anomaly. How can we move forward to encourage having an equal place for women in the workforce when there is such open discrimination?

More 65 year olds are on the dole than people of any other age. This is because the Government abolished the transition pension while still allowing employers to get rid of older workers through mandatory retirement clauses. Action by the Government to reform the State pension system is long overdue to ensure it is fair and sustainable and enables people to age with dignity. The Minister must reform the way pensions are calculated. We must value the contributions the people concerned have made to society and ensure they will not be penalised and confined to poverty on retirement in many cases.

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