Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy knows, the budget for 2018 has been agreed and I do not have €70 million in my pocket, nor does the Minister for Finance for that matter. We must consider all changes in this area in a balanced manner. The Deputy recognised the complexity of the issue. If one makes a change in one area, one can create anomalies elsewhere. Under the old system, people who had paid approximately 40% of contributions received the same pension as people who had paid 95% of contributions. It featured anomalies and we must ensure any reform we introduce or contemplate introducing in another budget is thought through, is fair to all those involved and does not create new anomalies elsewhere in the system. The Minister's approach has been to bring to Cabinet a detailed report that fully examines the potential knock-on effects of any change in order that a decision can be made on any future changes with the full information available.

As I stated, it is the Government's ambition that we move to a total contribution scheme, which would be much more equitable and fair to people who are affected. We continue to have the non-contributory pension as a safety net for all pensioners.

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