Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for coming here today.

My Commencement matter refers to the many ladies who were covered by the marriage bar. They were in public sector employment but were forced to leave work through no fault of their own. Up to the abolition of this measure in 1973, women in a number of public sector bodies were obliged to resign upon marriage. Most of these women had been covered by the State pension scheme and did not accumulate credits through the then social welfare stamp. The superannuation contributions that had been deducted were refunded, leaving them with no pension entitlements whatsoever.

The marriage bar was abolished in 1973. Some of these ladies decided to return to employment but there was no automatic right to reinstatement and instead they had to compete for advertised vacancies. If they returned to public sector employment they were entitled to buy back their previous service but the period between resignation and reinstatement was lost forever. If they returned to private sector employment, they started anew with no credits whatsoever for the earlier years of their lives.

Most of these women have now reached retirement age and find themselves on reduced pensions or being means tested for a non-contributory pension as a result of the enforcement of an unfair measure. I know there are many others on reduced pensions for a wide variety of reasons. In 2010, 43% of men were on reduced pensions and 57% received the full rate of pension. The corresponding figure for women was 59% on reduced pensions and 41% received the full rate of pension. These are interesting statistics and I hope to acquire the 2015 figures. It is clear that the group of women to whom I refer were unfairly and unjustifiably treated by the State. Surely they are entitled to the restoration of the rights that were taken from them. I request that the Minister of State and his colleagues examine this matter sympathetically to see how they could alleviate the position of these women.

The second category covered by my Commencement matter are people who chose to concentrate on looking after their families in the home. They were left with no credits whatsoever and are now totally dependent on receiving a non-contributory pension if they qualify following a means test. I accept that this category extends well beyond former public sector employees and applies to many men as well as women. These people have served the State well and saved a considerable amount of public money by their dedication and caring attitude. There is surely a great case for looking after these valuable citizens in their later years. I ask that these people be regarded as self-employed and at least be given the option to participate in a contributory pension scheme to give them the credits that would enable them to obtain a full contributory pension when they become senior citizens.It is vitally important that people have the opportunity to ensure they have at least a measure of security as they approach retirement age. The knowledge that they have pension entitlements would be a great source of reassurance to them at a very vulnerable time in their lives.