Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 417: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs further to the fact that the present Programme for Government makes the commitment to introduce a personal pension entitlement for pensioners' spouses currently in receipt of the qualified adult allowance and set at the level of a full non-contributory pension, when this policy will be implemented particularly as in 2002 the qualified adult's pension was 84% of a non-contributory old age pension and in 2006 it is only 82% of a non-contributory old age pension. [32615/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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In the recently negotiated social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, the Government and social partners agreed to work together over a ten-year period to enhance pension provision and income supports, including an increase in the level of qualified adult allowance (QAA) for pensioner spouses to the level of the state non-contributory pension.

The cost, based on current rates of payment, of bringing all of the relevant QAA rates up to the level of the non-contributory pension personal rate is €57 million in a full year. In that context, further progress on aligning the relevant rates would fall to be considered in a Budgetary context.