Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We intend to introduce a total contributions approach to establishing a level of entitlement for all new contributory State pensions from 2020 onwards. The Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023 sets out how it is intended to implement the total contributions approach, TCA, to calculating entitlement to the contributory State pension. The criteria required for a full pension under that new approach have not yet been determined and are currently subject to a public consultation, which I launched a few weeks ago, on 28 May, and which will remain open until 3 September. Issues the Deputy raises, such as the number of years required for a full pension, are addressed in the consultative questions and the accompanying documentation. The final details will not be decided upon until I have considered all the submissions received in this process. For this reason, it will be important to have industry commentators and representative bodies present at the launch the public consultation. We also need to receive submissions from many other bodies and I hope to arrange some form of roadshow by September. I do not mean to be disrespectful to the people who attended, to whom I am grateful, but I want to speak to real people and the workers of today who will be pensioners after 2020. I want to speak to people aged over 55 years and those who will be genuinely affected by the new approach. I want to have a proper conversation to ensure that when we all sit down after September we can collectively decide, with the Oireachtas committee, what the new model will look like. We will then be happy to stand over the new system because it will be in the interests of the people. The public consultation is available on my Department's website and I genuinely encourage all interested stakeholders to participate in the survey and make a submission before 3 September.

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