Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I am glad to get the chance to speak on auto-enrolment which is a very important topic for workers in this country, as has been said by colleagues throughout the House. The Labour Party broadly welcomes the introduction of the auto-enrolment scheme which is very much needed. It will and should provide an uplift to the basic standard of living in the future for workers in this country who cannot afford to pay into a private pension or where their employers do not have an occupational pension scheme in place.

I welcome the appointment of Patricia King as chair of NAERSA. I wish her very well in her role. The Labour Party repeatedly made the case for ICTU representation on the board as the Bill passed through the Oireachtas. ICTU also asked for the Bill to go through as quickly as possible which is also very important for this scheme.

This is a significant policy development as without the scheme's implementation, Ireland would be the only OECD country not to operate an auto-enrolment or similar system as a means of promoting pension savings. We know that pension coverage is a particular concern among young workers, as the Minister mentioned. Figures from the CSO for last year show only 59% of those aged between 25 and 34, and more worryingly 27% of those aged between 20 and 25, have pension coverage. In a cost-of-living crisis, it is no wonder that future planning is not a priority for many young people who are barely getting by. Further figures from the CSO show that 30% of young workers cannot afford that pension.

Auto-enrolment is a policy priority that the Labour Party has long called for and it is welcome to see it finally being introduced. Ireland's voluntary approach to pension savings has simply failed with far too many workers left without pension coverage. I consider the delay in implementing the scheme to be very disappointing. Workers have been waiting too long and already Ireland has to catch up with the rest of the world on this.

We need to be clear on how this scheme will relate to the State pension. We must have assurance that it will never be used to replace any State pension but simply complement it. Similarly, we need assurances that the Government remains committed to achieving a benchmark of 34% of gross average earnings for the contributory State pension as set out in the roadmap for pensions reform.

We need certainty and safeguards for workers that those contributing to the new scheme will not face a means test for the State pension in the future. I have serious concerns regarding the adequacy of the State pension as in this country we have an ageing demographic and the Government has been slow to act in addressing the adequacy of that payment. Figures from the CSO show that the at-risk-of-poverty rate is highest among older people living alone at nearly 26%. Previous one-off measures have masked Government inaction to tackle poverty among older people. When analysing the impact of these measures on reducing the at-risk-of-poverty rate for older people, the rate reduced from 21.1% to 13.3%.

The Minister will be familiar with the Labour Party motion earlier today that called for an end to the one-off measures for everyone in the audience that we have seen in the recent "The Late Late Show" budgets. We need targeted measures. Benchmarking of the State pension is one measure that the Government must take in budget 2026. The Labour Party believes that self-employed people should also be auto-enrolled. This is necessary to ensure that companies are not incentivised to place workers on bogus self-employment contracts in order to avoid the need to pay auto-enrolment contributions. We have seen the proliferation of such contracts in recent years, such as with RTÉ staff, leaving many without pension coverage. As we all know, coverage among self-employed people is already very low.

I have questions regarding the minimum age threshold for inclusion in the scheme, which is currently 23. The minimum age for PRSI contributions is 16. We know that young workers are some of the most exploited workers in society and are far more likely to be in precarious work without pension coverage. The seven years between 16 and 23 would be a significant amount of time during which that young person could be supported to save for a more secure retirement and pension.

When the Bill was being passed through the Oireachtas, the Labour Party repeatedly raised the importance of ensuring that the scheme cannot be sidestepped by employers or ensuring employers are not incentivised to wind up good workplace pension schemes. For example, the Labour Party proposed an amendment that would have stopped employers from winding up or freezing workplace pensions during the ten-year transition period while the scheme was coming into effect, but this was rejected by the Government. As the scheme is now being implemented, we need safeguards put in place to ensure it does not affect jobs for workers and does not create incentives for employers to scale back existing pension entitlements.

The seven-year deadline provided for in the Act for setting minimum contribution rates into existing pension schemes must be shortened. It would be simply wrong if workers were to find themselves with a lower or even no employer contribution all because they had proactively taken steps to save for their retirement prior to auto-enrolment. I call on the Minister to ask the Department of Social Protection to continue to promote this scheme. Just over three quarters, 78%, of employees who are aware of the planned Government retirement saving scheme and are now eligible for it would stay in the scheme if auto-enrolment was in it.

I am particularly concerned about awareness of the scheme among younger people given the figures I mentioned earlier, which show that 81% of those aged between 20 and 24 and not in an occupational scheme are not aware of earnings auto-enrolment, a figure I am sure the Minister would also have concerns about. The Department of Social Protection must target its communication at younger age cohorts; otherwise, the scheme will fail and will not help those who may need it most.

While I welcome the implementation of the scheme, the Labour Party has some concerns. I hope to work with the Minister on the implementation of the scheme. In the last Dáil, my colleague Deputy Ged Nash published legislation to address the lack of transparency on pension charges.

Will the Minister consider that legislation?

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