Michael Brennan (Progressive Democrats)

What pulling and dragging we must do between us to provide this is part of political business. As long as I have the honour to hold this ministerial post, I will fight tooth and nail to ensure everyone has a decent pension. It may not be a "one-size-fits-all" answer. We must examine both the non-contributory and contributory pensions.

We must also do more in that area, particularly on the issue of disregards. A non-contributory pensioner is allowed to earn €7 or €8 per week but anything above that starts to eat into the pension. I will return to that area at another time.

Next week I will launch the report from the Pensions Board which I have now received. I will put it up for debate for a short period before we bring proposals forward for action in this area. The Pensions Board has grappled with several issues and the answers are not simple. Perhaps, as Senator O'Toole suggested, we should sweep aside all the complexities and deal with it in a simple but courageous way. Those are words politicians often must eat afterwards.