Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes. Everybody will have to sign up to the system and people will get the choice to opt out at certain stages. We have looked at international experience and, in general, when people sign up for a pension most of them continue. Some younger people will think that if they have saved money and put it into a pension pot for five or six years that they should be allowed access the money. I believe that there is no point having a pension pot and accessing it in order to pay a deposit on a house. I know that dipping into the pension pot sounds very attractive but there is no point in doing that and we must make a pension scheme attractive. We have done a lot of work in the Department on pensions. I have brought a proposal to a Cabinet committee and I will bring it to Government in February because we just have to get on with it and do something about pensions. I am very conscious of the need and I want to do that.

See this speech in context