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

To be fair, we have made changes. We have the long-term carer's contribution scheme. That will make it easier for long-term carers of an incapacitated person or people to qualify for the State pension. If someone has been caring for somebody for 20 years or more, the credits will be allowed towards their pension. I think that is an improvement. There are the family caring periods. There have been many changes over the years to try to help people to qualify for the State pension. The basis is that you have to have the equivalent of ten years' work, which is 520 contributions. Over a possible 50-year working life, I do not think it is unreasonable to expect somebody to have those ten years. All of these things are always being looked at and revised. In fairness, we have made many changes to pensions and I am bringing in the auto-enrolment which I think will be important.

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