Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas. I appreciate the forbearance of the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and the Rural Independent Group. One of the problems here is that Government Deputies are not taking their slots, which has pushed back the slots for Opposition Deputies. As a result, the timing is very hard to manage.

Pensions should be sacrosanct in Irish society. Pensioners and people approaching pension age should have complete confidence in their pensions. Pensions are very important for a number of reasons. Typically, when people reach pension age their income is likely to fall, they will be under severe pressure and they need to have the confidence that allows them to live their lives to the full extent. The problem has been made worse in recent times because many people have plugged themselves into mortgages that extend beyond pension age. In addition, the housing crisis and the Government’s housing policies mean many people are now paying very high rents when they reach pension age.

Pension stability and confidence in pensions are very important. The fact that the Government has played politics with pensions in recent years is incredible. When the last crash happened, one of the first steps the Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government took was to raid pensioners' pockets in order to pay for the massive economic bill that arose. In the past year, we had an €18 billion giveaway budget and it is equally incredible that Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party could not find as much as a tenner for pensioners.

In the next 40 years, we will see radical change in respect of the demographic structure of the State. What is never really discussed is the fact that productivity is rapidly increasing over time. While there are fewer people to pay for every pension, productivity levels are higher.

A report from the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, in July 2020 showed there was a burgeoning crisis in respect of pension poverty in this State. The report detailed that when one looks at the household disposable income of those just about to reach pension age, between 50% and 60% are at risk of having an inadequate income in their retirement years. It sounds like something from the 1920s or 1930s that we live in a society in which people are facing the prospect of having an inadequate income in their golden years, the time they need it most. A major factor, according to the ESRI report, in being prepared for retirement in monetary terms was non-pension wealth, which includes cash savings, second homes, etc. How can working men and women be expected to amass non-pension wealth when the country is caught in an endless cycle of boom and bust? People are expected to provide extra income for themselves outside of what the Government is talking about but it is virtually impossible to do so.

Just under six in ten Irish workers have some form of pension supplementing the State’s PRSI pension. With more new homeowners opting for 34-year mortgages, it is very difficult to ensure that people have the right level of income. The Government has been talking about auto-enrolment pensions for some time. It is saying now that it will provide a contribution equal to 1.5% of salary, rising to 6% after ten years of work. I ask this Minister of State, as I have asked other Ministers previously, what progress has been made on that front.

On a final note, the Taoiseach said last week that the Government was putting in place incentives for elderly homeowners to downsize in order to free up homes for younger families.

Rather than building more homes to try to allow for younger families to get a roof over their heads, the Government is talking about pushing many pensioners out of their homes. Homes are more than just bricks and mortar for these pensioners. These homes are the places where their children were born, where the children grew up, where their memories are and where they have laid out loved ones who have died. They are exceptionally important places for these pensioners in their lives. In addition, those homes plug them into the communities that support them during their pension age. It is wrong for the Government to point the finger at pensioners for the housing crisis.

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