Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 781: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if 1953 was chosen arbitrarily by the then Minister in 1973 as a cut-off point for the payment of old age pensions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40192/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The old age, contributory, pension was first introduced in 1961 and social insurance contributions were increased at the time to reflect the additional coverage being provided under the social welfare system from then. The retirement pension was introduced in 1970. In general, all contributions paid or credited at the appropriate rate on a person's record are assessed when their entitlement to a pension is being examined. However, while pre-1953 insurance contributions may be counted towards the basic number of paid contributions required, they may not be used to satisfy the average contributions test. Contributions made prior to 1953 are not fully recognised for pension purposes because such contributions were not made under the unified system of social insurance which became effective in 1953. The pre-1953 contributions are very different in nature to those made under the unified system and do not contain any provision for pensions.

A special half-rate old age, contributory, pension was introduced in 2000 to enable people with pre-1953 insurance, who could not qualify for a payment under normal qualifying conditions, to receive a pension. People already qualifying for pensions at less than half rate could also benefit from the scheme. In order to be eligible for the payment, a person requires 260 paid contributions at the appropriate rate, which can comprise a mixture of pre and post-1953 contributions.