Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will cover as many as I can. I will begin with Deputy Howlin's questions on the roadmap to pensions reform that has been agreed and published by Government. I am committed to this. I started this work as Minister for Social Protection and I am keen to drive it through to completion if I have the opportunity to continue in my current office. We have run into some difficulty getting it right when it comes to further protections for defined benefit, DB, schemes. We still intend to have the legislation processed before the summer recess but we want to protect members and former members of DB schemes in such a way that this does not put companies out of business. Legislation that would put the entire deficit on the shoulders of the employer could put companies out of business in many cases and, as a consequence, cause people to lose their jobs and their pensions. In other cases, and this would apply to semi-State companies, in particular, while it might not put a company out of business, the legislation would make the company's debt so high that it would be unable to invest anymore. That would have a serious impact on the public good because large State-owned enterprises need to be able to borrow to invest in infrastructure and if they cannot do so because the pension scheme deficit has to be put on their balance sheet, that would create huge problems for society. Whatever we do, we have to get it right. We are not quite in the position that we have that right but we are still working on it. We anticipate having a social welfare and pensions Bill enacted before the summer recess.

Auto-enrolment will commence in 2021 and it will be very much targeted at the private sector.

Nearly everyone in the public sector has a pension, a reasonably good pension in most cases, and pays into the fund. Two thirds of those in the private sector have no pension provision, other than the State pension. That is an enormous inequality with which we need to deal. We are setting the date at 2021 because we need time to prepare. First, we need to put the legislation and systems in place. We also want to give employers, employees and their unions notice that this will happen. If employers or employees are required to pay into a pension scheme fund, that will impact on business plans and wage demands. We want to give people good notice. As part of our renewed and deepened engagement with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, and IBEC, we are working very closely with them on these proposals because we want to do it on a tripartite basis, with the Government working with employers and unions to get it right. It will not work without support from IBEC and ICTU. We are very keen to have them on board.

It is intended that there will be a State contribution roughly similar to what is available under the current tax relief system. Roughly one third of whatever contribution an individual makes would be the State's contribution. We intend to publish a straw man proposal - a rough outline - in June as to how this will work and allow people to comment on it. Giving people in the private sector decent pensions is one of the really big changes we could make. Two thirds of them have no pension provision beyond the State pension. If we can do this, we will have done a good service for them when they retire. It will not make a huge difference for those who are now in their 50s or 60s, but it will make a huge difference for persons who are now in their 20s, 30s and 40s. It is a big long-term change and reform with which I want the Government to be associated.

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