Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I could not let this section go without commenting on the pension section, particularly in regard to a report on the gender inequality of pensions carried out last year by Professor Áine Ní Léime at NUI Galway. She pointed out the differences in women's pensions, their access to pensions and the vulnerability of women.

I refer, in particular, to women who opt out of the workforce for a period to mind children and lose credits and so forth when they return to work and women who were forced to retire from the Civil Service prior to 1973 because they married. This latter group also lost out on pensions and those among them who returned to work often found it impossible to accumulate the number of credits required for a full pension. The report includes a number of good recommendations for addressing the issue. I ask the Minister, in the context of the review of pensions, to ensure consideration is given to people who, through no fault of their own, opt out of the workforce to care for children. While women currently take this decision by choice, many were forced to leave the workforce prior to 1973.