Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

We are going to set up a commission on the future of pensions because, after the crash, we will have to reconsider how best to protect people investing in pensions.

The issue of tax relief on pensions is not under my remit but under that of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan. He is looking very closely at this. The IMF documents indicate that savings of up to €940 million could be made. The pension levy has raised €450 million. One of the proposals in the programme for Government is to provide tax relief on pension savings on investments which would yield an annual pension of approximately €60,000. This is a capping proposal rather than one that relates to rates. The Minister for Finance is examining such issues in the context of the forthcoming budget.