Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to the debate on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, who is unavailable this evening. I assure each Deputy who has contributed that I will bring their comments to the attention of the Minister. A number of issues have been raised and I will take them all back to her.

The State pension is the bedrock of the pension system in Ireland and is extremely effective in ensuring our pensioners do not experience poverty. The CSO data for 2020 indicates that the 65-years-and-over age group had the lowest poverty rates of all age groups. This was across three poverty measurements: at risk of poverty, deprivation rate and consistent poverty. The consistent poverty rate for those aged 65 and over is 0.9%, compared to 8% for those aged 17 years and younger. Nevertheless, I take into account everything said here. I also welcome those in the Gallery and their leadership on this issue.

The public policy and social issues in funding a sustainable and adequate State pension system are complex and can often be confusing. Therefore, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that our system successfully provides a broad series of supports for older people beyond the State pension. These include other primary payments such as the non-contributory State pension and the widow's, widower's and surviving civil partner's pension. We also have targeted allowances such as the fuel allowance, the over-80 allowance, the living alone allowance and the living on a specified island allowance. Finally, we have service supports such as free travel.

In light of the ESRI research mentioned and the commitment to ensuring the carbon tax is progressive, the Government committed to a significant increase in a targeted package of social protection supports in budget 2022. These supports were selected to counteract the impact of the increased carbon tax on low income households. The measures included increases to the living alone and fuel allowances. There was a €3 increase to the living alone allowance, from €19 to €22 per week, from January of this year. This budget measure means recipients will receive an additional €156 per annum. The estimated cost of the living alone allowance increase in 2022 is €36 million and it is estimated that there will be 230,000 recipients of the payment this year. The budget provided for an increase of €5 in the weekly rate of fuel allowance, bringing the rate to €33 with effect from budget night. This benefited 398,000 households immediately with an estimated full-year cost in 2022 of just under €55.8 million.

The Government and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, are acutely aware of the increase in consumer prices in recent months, especially the increase in fuel and other energy prices. To help mitigate the effect of these rising costs, the Government announced additional expenditure measures totalling €0.5 billion, which will make a positive impact on the incomes of all households in our country. As part of these measures, a targeted payment of €125 will be paid to all households in receipt of the fuel allowance payment, at an estimated cost of €49 million. Customers who have a weekly fuel allowance payment due the week commencing Monday, 14 March are scheduled to receive an additional €125 to their weekly fuel payment. Fuel allowance recipients who are paid a lump sum in January 2022 to cover the 2022 fuel season are also scheduled to receive an additional payment of €125 in the week commencing 14 March.

For those unable to work past 65 years of age, there is a range of supports available, including the benefit payment for 65-year-olds, which is a payment for people aged over 65 who are required to or choose to retire, without a requirement to sign-on, engage in activation measures or be available for and genuinely seeking work. This payment was designed to bridge the gap for people who retire from employment or self-employment at 65 but do not qualify for the State pension until they reach the age of 66.

The fundamental objective of the Government's policy approach to the State pension system is to ensure that it remains adequate and sustainable into the future. We all want to maintain a fair balance between those who contribute to the system and those who draw from it. The need to protect current and future pensioners while protecting the most vulnerable pensioners will remain at the forefront of any reforms in the area.

I thank Deputy Naughten and the members of the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands for their work and for providing views on the pension commission's recommendations. The views of the joint committee will be considered as part of Government deliberations in the coming weeks. Following that, the Government will bring forward a recommended response to the pension commission's recommendations by the end of March. I will bring it to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys.

See this speech in context