Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

The Minister put it up to me again. I thought I had provided the Minister with numerous reasons he should not continue on his current route. Anyone I know who wishes to buy a property goes to the bank to borrow the money to do so, if they can afford to make the repayments. Pension funds should not be used to do so. I obviously have not made the argument sufficiently well. I thought the terms of the directive clearly implied that one can only borrow for liquidity purposes. I have lost the argument and will await the findings of the Minister's working group.

I thank the Minister and his officials for the time they have given me on this Bill. I ask him to consider a number of the points I raised during the debates and at other times regarding pensions. I raise the issue because a considerable number of people known to me are extremely concerned about their pension provision and suffer at the hands of the pensions industry. The industry is going through a difficult period and people will not receive the pension they had expected and worked for all their lives. Something must be done and people need protection. The pensions industry must do more to ensure that pensions are protected for the future. If they cannot do so, the Minister will be obliged to step in and devise another model. He has previously suggested that he will examine the issue to see whether some other mechanism could be used to provide for pensions. There may be, given the fantastic uptake of the SSIA scheme which people have embraced and from which they will benefit. We are a nation of savers.

I no longer have the statistics to hand, but many people do not have protected pensions schemes. It is all very well for the Members and for State employees who have a protected pension to look forward to. However, a very large percentage of our population does not have a protected pension and thousands more do not have a pension at all. The Minister is spending money in an effort to encourage people to take out pensions but is wasting it, because they will not do so. However, if he can offer something similar to the SSIA scheme, they will take it up. People are not taking up the PRSAs either, as they are not guaranteed. I ask the Minister to consider a number of my points to see if we can work together to make some improvements. I again thank the Minister and his officials for the time that has been put into the Bill.