John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister knows, many people are heavily reliant on State pension payments. Future pensioners yet to come on stream are uncertain as to what rate of pension they will get. I acknowledge what the Minister said about the increases. I support all those increases, but they are legislated for and are not anticipated. They are not something people can count on. I urge the Minister, the next time I raise a question on the status of the commitment to benchmarking State pensions, to provide a clear answer on that. When will we have a clear answer on when it will be delivered?

The Minister spoke about the consultation process. What further detail on that consultation process can she give us? What future planned consultation must take place to ensure the methodology for any benchmarking reflects the needs and views of those in retirement?

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