Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)

A national campaign to address the dependency ratio is necessary. The years to 2056, over which a reduction will take place in the ratio of working people for every one retired, from 5:1 to 2:1, is the equivalent of only one generation. That spells disaster.

Some people will be very well looked after with defined benefits, which I wish I had. Senator O'Toole spoke about the different kinds of Senator, defined benefits and when one could draw one's pension. As I still consider myself young, I do not think about drawing a pension. I would like to know how defined benefits were costed in the recent benchmarking exercise. One cannot put a price on the value of a defined benefit on one's salary in the years to come. We must consider those who are not so fortunate. That may mean taking a firmer approach to ensure that any deduction from an employee's salary is automatically placed in a fund by an employer as is the case with health levies. As this is a road we will have to travel in future, we should give the matter serious consideration.

This has been a timely debate and I do not doubt that we will return to it. I beseech the Minister to consider the difference between the retirement pension and the old-age pension and ask why there is such an anomaly between them. If the issue was addressed in the forthcoming budget, it would bring joy to a great many people.