Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising a number of important matters. In our last debate on this general issue, I covered some of the broader matters she has raised so I am going to confine my comments to the very important points she made regarding gender equality with regard to private pension tax relief and access to pensions.

I acknowledge that there are very specific gender-related issues around pensions that cover a wide range of very important matters. These include access to a State pension and the size of private pension savings and retirement income. That is why many of the recent reports that have focused on pension policy have also considered those issues from the perspective of gender. I will give two examples. The first is the interdepartmental pensions reform and taxation group, which was tasked with a number of actions relating to pensions. This included simplifying and harmonising the supplementary pension landscape and an assessment of the cost of State support for pension savings. This report was published in November 2020 and considered the issue of gender. Indeed, it touched on a number of the issues raised by the Senator. The report noted that the key driver of pension coverage and adequacy for women relates to, among other factors, labour market issues. The combination of reduced working hours and breaks in employment due to caring duties has significant implications for the duration of the working life of women and therefore their lifetime earnings. This in turn limits the capacity to maximise the size of the final pension fund for women who contribute to a supplementary pension. The second example is the report of the Commission on Pensions. While the policy issues covered in that report are a matter for the Minister for Social Protection, I note that the report of the commission set out gender and equality considerations very clearly in its recommendations.

I assure Senator Higgins that the issues she is referring to cut to the very heart of the adequacy of pension provision within our economy and our society. I assure her that the issues she has discussed will continue to be considered carefully by the Departments of Finance and Social Protection and I have no doubt that they will be the subject of further action in the future. I do not want to go through the rationale I offered earlier about reports, just as I am sure the Senator does not want to go through the rationale of why she can only table a recommendation, but from a process point of view it is the same reason I cannot accept a report. However, I assure her that the policy issues she raised this afternoon will be central to the work of the Government in the time ahead.