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

The information letters will issue to approximately 79,000 contributory pensioners. We have identified them because they are receiving less than 100% of a pension since the changes were made in 2012. The first 11,000 information letters issued last week and the remainder will issue this week or next week at the latest. People do not need to do anything for us because in the main we can already from our records whether they are entitled to an increase. For the vast majority of people, probably between 65% and 70% of the people who are due to get letters, we will know between now and Christmas whether they are entitled to an increase because of the records already in situ.

We will be inviting those people who have gaps to log onto mywelfare.ieto fill in those gaps for us. For example, a lady may have taken out ten years in the 1970s or 1980s to look after her children, but we may not have a record of her children. There are many reasons why people might have been out of the system caring. Heretofore it would only have been looking after children. This particular caring credit could relate to an elderly relative, for example a parent, an uncle or an aunt.

Where there are gaps in our records, we will invite people to fill in the gaps and then we will conduct the review. Anybody who is due the increase will get the increase backdated in quarter one next year. Anybody who is not due an increase will remain on the payment they are on.

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