Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 328: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the measures he is taking to provide a State pension to married women over 66 years of age who worked all their lives in the home and have no paid contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12930/06]

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 329: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the guidance he will provide to people who worked and reared their children in the "tighten-your-belt" era when they had little disposable income to invest in pensions and now find that they are forced to live on very modest incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12994/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 328 and 329 together.

The social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties are protected by the homemaker's scheme, introduced from 1994. The scheme allows up to 20 years spent caring for children or incapacitated adults to be disregarded when a person's social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes. However, the scheme will not of itself qualify a person for a pension. The standard qualifying conditions, which require a person to enter insurance ten years before pension age, have a minimum of 260 paid contributions and achieve a yearly average of at least ten contributions on their record from the time they enter insurance until they reach pension age must also be satisfied.

The social welfare system comprises two types of pension; contributory pensions based on social insurance contributions and non-contributory pensions, payment of which is subject to a means test. Within that basic structure, the Government is anxious to ensure as many people as possible can qualify for pensions in their own right.

In recent years, several measures have been introduced making it easier for people to qualify for contributory pensions. These include the reduction in the yearly average number of contributions required for pension purposes from 20 to ten and the introduction of special half rate pensions based on pre-1953 insurance contributions. Pro rata pensions are also available to allow people with mixed rate insurance records to receive a payment. This set of measures is of particular benefit to women who may have less than complete social insurance records due to working in the home.

There are those who will not benefit from the homemaker's scheme and who cannot qualify for a pension in their own right. In this regard, the Government is committed to increasing the payment for qualified adults, aged 66 years or over, to the same level as the personal rate of the old age non-contributory pension and to facilitate the direct payment of the allowance to spouses and partners.

In budget 2006, I made changes to the income disregards allowed under the means test for the non-contributory pension. The basic income disregard was increased by €12.40 per week to €20. I also introduced an earnings disregard of €100 per week. These allowances are doubled in the case of couples and will allow more people to qualify for social welfare pensions.

I continue to look for ways in the current social welfare structure in which the needs of older people who are outside the social welfare pensions system may be addressed further.