Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 807: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he has received the national pensions review report from the Pensions Board; when the details will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1652/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I received the report of the Pensions Board on the national pensions review in November 2005 and the report was published on 17 January. The report is a comprehensive assessment of the progress we have made in regard to our overall pensions strategy, the appropriateness of the coverage and other targets which were suggested in the national pensions policy initiative and which have underpinned pensions policy for the last seven years, and the future changes in the structure of our population together with the additional pension costs which will arise as a result of these changes. The report also draws on experience in other countries and assesses a number of alternative models which could be adopted in pursuit of our overall pension goals.

The key messages emerging from the report are that, in the future, pensions costs which will be much higher than previously thought, will be costly for all concerned including Government, employers and employees no matter how financed; supplementary pension provision remains inadequate and is unlikely to improve without changes to the present system; and there are also concerns in regard to the adequacy of pension provision.

The Pensions Board has put forward suggestions for improvements in regard to the existing voluntary pension system. In particular, they have suggested a restructuring of the system of tax relief for personal retirement savings accounts to capture the elements of the SSIA system which made that so attractive to the public. I am discussing the costs and practicalities of implementing these suggestions with my colleague, the Minister for Finance.

There is no doubt that the measures suggested by the Pensions Board may well result in improvements in the current situation. However, we must be prepared to consider more radical solutions and, in this regard, I will be asking the Pensions Board to carry out further work in some areas. In particular, I will be asking the board to build on the excellent work it has done in the context of the report in the area of mandatory pensions with a view to designing and costing a suitable model for Irish circumstances.

The contents of this report pose many questions for Irish society, including the manner and the extent to which we are prepared to make provision for retirement. I hope that the publication of the report will engender a national debate on these issues that will assist in arriving at a solution which will be effective in securing the future of people in retirement and which will command wide acceptance. In this regard I intend, in the near future, to convene a national conference to consider the report and to debate the issues which have been highlighted.