Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish to thank the Deputies for the engaging debate. I would like to start by addressing some of the points that were made by Deputies, not all of whom are still present in the Chamber.

In response to Deputy Martin Browne, I wish to put it on the record that there is a member of the board of the NWCI who is also on the Pensions Commission.

In response to Deputies Seán Crowe and Munster, the Government has no plans in place to increase the State pension age at all. The Government removed the legislation that would do so and will await the publication of independent report of the Pensions Commission before any decisions are made.

In response to Deputy Gannon, the commission is also looking at benchmarking and index-linking the State pension at 34% of average earnings, and at a pension solution for long-term carers.

In response to Deputy Tóibín, who raised a point about auto-enrolment, I wish to underline that auto-enrolment is totally separate to the State pension.

As already outlined by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy English, the Government is very mindful of the debate that occurred during last year's general election campaign and has made considerable commitments in the programme for Government to deal with the matter. In that regard, the Government is absolutely committed to maintaining the State pension as the bedrock of the pension system in Ireland and to ensuring it continues to protect pensioners from poverty. We are spending over €8.8 billion on the State pension system this year alone. That amount is projected to increase substantially over the coming years and decades, given the considerable demographic shifts occurring in Irish society. That is why we must also ensure that we do not jeopardise the future of the State pension system with short-term thinking and that younger generations will also have an entitlement to the State pension system when their turn comes.

In February of this year, in keeping with our programme for Government commitment, we introduced the new benefit payment for 65-year-olds with less onerous PRSI eligibility conditions than those required for a State pension. So far, over 2,600 people have benefitted from this payment without having to be available for, and genuinely seeking, work, without having to undertake various activation measures and without having to turn up at their local Intreo centre to sign on. Through the introduction of that payment, we have delivered on our commitment in the programme for Government. We established the Pensions Commission last November to independently assess sustainability and eligibility issues in respect of the State pension and the Social Insurance Fund. The commission has engaged in an extensive public consultation process to ensure it is apprised of all relevant information and issues. The Government enacted legislation last December that will keep the State pension age at 66, pending the report of the Pensions Commission and the Government’s consideration of its conclusions and recommendations. The programme for Government commits that the Government will take action on the recommendations of the Pensions Commission within six months of receiving its report.

We need to be honest with people in this debate. There are no easy fixes. Governments across the world are grappling with the issue of pension sustainability. One only has to look at Northern Ireland and the UK where the pension age was increased from 65 to 66 last year and is due to increase again to 67 by 2028. The rates of payment within our own pension system compare very favourably with other jurisdictions. To be specific, the contributory State pension here is over €248 per week. In Northern Ireland, by contrast, it is considerably less, at £175 or approximately €195 per week.

As I have stated, the Government wants to ensure that the State pension remains the bedrock of the pension system in Ireland. That means ensuring that today’s workers, and particularly young workers, have access to a State pension into the future. While we are not opposing the motion this evening, having established the Pensions Commission, the proper and sensible thing to do is to await its independent assessment of the situation and then engage with its recommendations in a comprehensive manner. That will provide members of this House with ample opportunity for further engagement and debate on the matter. I look forward to that engagement being constructive and mindful of the overarching aim to protect this and future generations in their retirement.

Throughout this, I will remember the people I met on doorsteps during the election campaign last year who were about to retire, some of whom had done very difficult manual labour jobs throughout their lives and some of whom wanted to continue working. I will always be mindful of that in the decisions that are made in the future.

See this speech in context