Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this issue. While the matter I raise does not come within the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power, he will find it as interesting as other Members. Although the case brought to my attention recently is specific, similar circumstances apply in many other cases.

The person concerned paid a small number of social insurance contributions when he was aged 16 or 17 years in the 1950s. However, having made 24 contributions in 1958 and a further five contributions in 1959, he moved to England either on economic grounds or to gain new experiences. He worked in England until 1980 when he returned home because his wife had been left a farm. At the time, farmers could not make voluntary contributions and, as a result, he was prevented from making social insurance contributions, even if he had wished to do so. In other cases, people who return from abroad do not earn enough to make contributions.

In 1994, the person in question started to make contributions again. However, as he had made a small number of contributions in the 1950s, his entitlement to an old age pension is calculated based on an average over the 50 years covered by contributions, as opposed to the 14 years since he had returned to Ireland. It should be noted that it is possible to buy contributions. The person's employer took an honourable approach by ensuring the contributions were made at the time. Not every employer would do be so honest but it was this that resulted in the person being denied a full entitlement to a pension. Had he paid ten years of stamps he would have been entitled to a full pension. The fact that he had been working seems to have militated against his being entitled to a full pension. In the post-Good Friday Agreement era I believe we should be addressing the realities of the 1950s and 1960s in terms of the consequences in old age of actions taken in their youth by persons such as this. I wonder whether, instead of having a pro rata recognition system, we might have full recognition for UK contributions. This man had a strong work ethic, and his cross-frontier contributions reflect this from his early teens right through to retirement age. It seems wrong that having had this work ethic in harsh times he now finds himself penalised when he reaches old age.

I was trying to ascertain how many people might be in the same situation. I know there are two related but different issues here. Take the marriage ban, for instance. Females worked for a while, then the marriage bar was introduced and they were not allowed to work. Then, post-1974, they were able to work again. Such women, facing into retirement, are now faced with the same issue. Probably a large cohort of people are involved. Separating the two issues again and taking the example of those who went abroad and continued to work, I wonder whether, given European legislation and the mutual recognition norms, we are prepared to review this category of citizen. Obviously, I would love to see the marriage bar people catered for as well.

We should highlight for today's youth the realities of the contributions scheme given the current economic climate, which reflects in some respects the realities prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s as people again start talking about going away. We have to inform them that if they are making contributions here and they go away, they will have to be careful. As long as they keep their entire working career in Ireland they will be all right. If not, they must be careful. There are a number of angles to what I am asking. Can we highlight the realities for the youth so they are aware of the consequences of the averaging system that exists for contributory pensions? We have dealt with anomalies in the system before and I hope it is possible to examine the numbers in tandem with the costs involved, as well as examining the option of a cross-frontier approach to mutual recognition of working contributions over a lifetime.

Again, it seems unfair that where a person may be short a few contributions, he or she may buy them up while in many instances, having made a few contributions in the late 1950s, a person can be precluded from getting a proper pension for the years he or she paid in. The anomaly underlines the fact that such people, while trying to do things in a straight and honest fashion, are not being rewarded for it.