Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last Monday, I, along with my colleague, Deputy Canney, met Age Action, the National Women's Council of Ireland, the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, Active Retirement Ireland and SIPTU regarding their pension promise campaign. These organisations have united to seek a commitment from the Government that the State pension will increase to 34% of the average industrial wage, or €318 per week. The State pension is currently set at a rate of 28% of the average industrial wage and many older people are struggling with the rising cost of living in recent years. The new Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 states: "this Government has committed to the introduction of a system of benchmarking rates of pension payment both to average wages and to inflation." There would be unanimous support in the House for the introduction of that measure. Can the Tánaiste give a commitment that the request to increase the State pension to 34% of the average industrial wage will be honoured in the next three years?

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