Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 80: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps he intends to take to facilitate or encourage working women to take out pension cover, in regard to his recent statement expressing concern at the fact that 400,000 working women do not have private pension cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11842/05]

Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 123: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his plans to encourage more women to take up pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11901/05]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 129: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons who have taken out PRSAs at the latest date for which figures are available; if he has plans to review the scheme in view of the low take-up rate to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11845/05]

Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (Kerry South, Labour)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps he intends to take to increase the number of workers in the private sector who have pensions; his views on recent data from the Irish Pensions Board which show that only a quarter of the workforce have adequate pensions savings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11844/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 80, 123, 129 and 166 together.

As the House will be aware, it is Government policy to encourage people to participate in occupational and private pension arrangements so that they can, when they retire, maintain their pre-retirement standard of living. To this end, a range of measures have been introduced over the last few years including personal retirement savings accounts, PRSAs, mandatory employer PRSA access where occupational schemes are not available and an ongoing national pensions awareness campaign.

In terms of overall supplementary pensions coverage, CSO figures for the first quarter of 2004 indicate that 52.4% of persons in employment have a supplementary pension. This is a small increase on the 2002 figures which showed coverage at 51.2%. The coverage rate for women is 46.8% against 56.3% for men.

The key target group for Government action in the supplementary pensions area is those who are 30 years of age and over. The Pensions Board, in the national pensions policy initiative suggested that up to 70% of this group will need to supplement their social welfare pension to maintain living standards in retirement. The most recent CSO figures suggest that 59.1% of people in this group have pension cover and this is a small increase on the 2002 figure of 57.4%. At the end of December 2004, some 46,237 PRSA accounts were open with a total asset value of €178 million. The comparable figures for 2003 are 19,022 accounts with an asset value of €19 million.

During the past three years the Pensions Board has run a national pensions awareness campaign, which is designed to increase awareness of pensions issues among the public and to encourage pensions take-up. A total of €1 million was spent on the campaign through 2003 and 2004 and a further €500,000 has been allocated to facilitate the campaign in the current year.

As well as raising general awareness, the campaign has also focused on areas of the country and sections of the population with lower levels of pensions take-up. The 2004 campaign featured a number of special promotions aimed specifically at women. These included the production of an information booklet dealing specifically with women's pensions issues, which was heavily promoted throughout the year. The Pensions Board will continue to look for opportunities, in co-operation with representative organisations, to promote the pensions message among women.

Pensions Board research has shown a high level of awareness among the public in respect of pensions issues resulting from the awareness campaign conducted by the board. However, we are having only limited success in translating this high level of awareness into improved coverage. The reasons for this are multifaceted and include issues such as perceptions of affordability and a lack of urgency regarding pensions among certain age groups in the population.

There is no doubt that progress in respect of pensions coverage is being made as, over the last few years, there has been a steady increase in the number of people taking out PRSAs and in those participating in standard occupational schemes. However, at this stage, it has to be accepted that at the current rate of progress we will not achieve our targets within any kind of reasonable timescale.

As the House may be aware, a statutory review of pensions coverage and related issues is required to be completed by September 2006. However, I consider that the coverage situation is unlikely to improve dramatically over the next year and, in the circumstances, I asked the Pensions Board in February to commence work on a comprehensive review of our overall pensions strategy. The review will be very wide-ranging and will include an examination of the appropriateness of the original targets suggested in the national pensions policy initiative, scheme management, aspects of funding, incentives available to encourage pensions take-up and possible alternatives to our current arrangements.

Work on the review has commenced and I expect a report from the board in late summer. I will then review the situation and decide what further action is required in this area. We must ensure that we can deliver on our commitment to ensure an adequate retirement income for all.