Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Andrew Doyle, to the House. I ask Senator Maria Byrne to outline her case and she has a maximum of four minutes to do so.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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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.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Byrne for raising this issue. As she will be aware, the marriage bar was a rule that existed in most of the public service and some private sector employments whereby women were required to leave their employment upon marriage. It was abolished in 1973 when we joined the EEC. Where such employees were public servants, they paid a reduced rate of PRSI which did not provide cover for the State pension, and the marriage bar would not have impacted on their State pension entitlement. It may, however, have impacted upon their entitlement to a public service pension, which is a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Our State pensions system is comprised of a number of schemes based on criteria such as contributions paid, income need and other factors. This is to ensure that people have an adequate standard of living in old age. The State pension contributory is one such scheme, and its rate of payment is related to contributions made over the years into the Social Insurance Fund. As such, those who have paid more into that fund are more likely to be paid under the scheme. The actuarial review of the fund in 2012 confirmed that the fund provides better value to female than male contributors due to the redistributive nature of the fund. Entitlement to the contributory pension is calculated by means of a yearly average calculation, whereby the total contributions paid or credited are divided by the number of years of the working life. Payment rates are banded. For example, someone with a yearly average of 48 contributions will qualify for a full pension, whereas someone with a yearly average of 20 may qualify at the 85% rate.

The homemaker's scheme, introduced in 1994, makes qualification easier for those who took time out of the workforce on caring duties. It allows up to 20 such years in the period since its introduction to be disregarded when the yearly average is calculated, making it easier to qualify for a higher rate of payment. I am informed that the cost of backdating this scheme before 1994 could be as high as €280 million per year. Given that this would not benefit the poorest pensioners with little or no means, namely, State pension non-contributory and maximum-rate contributory pensioners of low means, the Government would have to consider such proposals carefully. Such changes would impact deeply on moneys available to fund measures for all pensioners and for other people who depend on payments from the Department of Social Protection, many of whom live on much lower incomes. Where someone does not qualify for a full rate contributory pension, he or she may qualify for a means tested non-contributory pension, amounting to 95% of the maximum contributory rate. Alternatively, if the spouse is a State pensioner, his or her most beneficial payment may be the increase for a qualified adult payment, amounting to up to 90% of a full contributory pension.

Work is under way to replace the yearly average system with a total contributions approach. Under this approach, the rate of pension paid will more closely reflect the total number of contributions. The position of homemakers is being carefully considered in developing this scheme. It is expected that this approach to pension qualification will replace the current one from around 2020.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Is the Senator happy with that response?

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State-----

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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Briefly.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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-----for his response. The fact that the homemaker's scheme is being considered and included is to be welcomed. I hope we will see something happen in the near future.