Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will give the example of a constituent who started working in 1966 and has an average of 25 contributions, which means she is on a reduced rate of €196 per week. She was self-employed for a number of years which means she does not have the maximum contributions and believes this is unfair in view of the fact that others who did not work for as long are in receipt of pensions at a higher rate. I will touch on a point that was made previously. One can argue that she was disadvantaged in a way that is true for many cases with which I deal. Somebody who worked for a couple of years early in life and then went on to raise a family would probably have ended up much better off if those first three or four years had not been worked because the average would have only been based on the time after the family was reared and the person when into employment. Those first few years, in the cases I have come across, tended to involve quite low-paying jobs but the person went out at 17, 18, 19 or 20 to get into the workforce and it ended up costing them a great deal in terms of their pensions. That makes averaging a particularly harsh and unfair mechanism.

I will look at some elements. Farming families are impacted upon here, as are small businesses. There are examples that show there is a need for change. We are mindful that whatever change is made, the knock-on impact on other pension holders has to be considered as well.

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