Seán Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the supports available for bereaved people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43160/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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There is a number of social welfare supports available to assist families in coping with bereavement and the associated expenses. The Bereavement Grant is a one off payment paid to families of insured people to assist them with funeral expenses. I was glad to be able to increase the grant from €635 to €850, with effect from Budget day, 6 December 2006. It is paid to the spouse, partner, next of kin or personal representative of the deceased or to the person responsible for the payment of the funeral bill. The scheme covers virtually all insured persons, including the self-employed and people covered by the modified rate of social insurance. In instances where there are insufficient social insurance contributions to qualify for the grant, financial assistance may be sought under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.

Where a person dies, the surviving spouse may be entitled to a Widow or Widower's (Contributory) Pension, subject to satisfying the insurance based conditions. Alternatively, where the insurance based conditions are not satisfied, the person may be entitled to a non-contributory pension, subject to a means test. Where the widowed person has dependent children a Widowed Parent Grant may also be payable. This payment is designed to assist with the income support needs of widows and widowers with dependent children in the immediate aftermath of a bereavement. It is payable to widows and widowers with dependent children who qualify for a Widow/er's Contributory Pension or a One Parent Family Payment or a Bereavement Grant payable on the death of their spouse. In the Budget, earlier this month, I increased the rate of the Widowed Parent Grant from €2,700, to €4,000 with effect from Budget day, 6 December 2006.

Where a spouse or partner dies while receiving a social welfare payment, the payment is paid to the spouse or partner for 6 weeks after the date of death (provided the original payment included an increase in respect of their spouse or partner). This continued payment provides a financial buffer to the surviving spouse, in the period after the bereavement. This payment is generally paid as a lump sum. Guardian's (Formerly Orphans) Contributory or Non-Contributory Payments may also be payable in the case of bereavement where there is a dependent child, i.e., to age 18 or 22 years if in full-time education.

In order to ensure that people avail of their entitlements, my Department produces a comprehensive range of information leaflets that are available countrywide in Local Offices, Citizen's Information Centres and Post Offices. Information Officers are available in Local Offices to explain the supports and services to customers on a one to one basis and to help and assist them in completing forms and assessing their entitlements. Information relating to social welfare entitlements is also available on my Department's web site at www.welfare.ie and from the Citizens Information Board (formerly Comhairle) at www.citizensinformation.ie. A LO-CALL number is also available nationwide to provide access to information at local call rates at 1890 777121. I am satisfied that a comprehensive range of measures, financial and otherwise, is in place to respond to the support needs of bereaved people.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 65: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when he expects to allow people aged over 65 years who are working to continue to pay social insurance to improve their contributions record; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43258/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Since taking Office this Government has made the needs of older people a priority and the commitment to ensure that as many people as possible can qualify for contributory pensions is at the core of this policy. In this context, changes have been made to the qualifying conditions for pension which make it easier for people to qualify for pensions. These include the reduction in the yearly average number of contributions required for pension purposes from 20 to 10 and the introduction of pro-rata pensions and a number of special half-rate pensions for those who had marginally failed to qualify for contributory pensions.

I consider it important that those who wish to continue in employment after normal retirement age should, as far as is possible, be facilitated and supported. Longer working can play an important role in ensuring that our pensions system is sustainable in the future and can be beneficial to the individual. For this reason, and to improve income support for older people, the new enhanced State pension (non-contributory) for those over 66 years which I introduced at the end of September, featured an employment earnings disregard incentive of €100 per week for those who wish to earn extra income to continue in employment. I was happy to enhance this incentive to €200 per week in last week's Budget.

In a wider context, The National Pensions Review, published in January, includes recommendations from the Pensions Board designed to encourage people to continue working after normal retirement age. The measures suggested involve allowing people to defer receiving their social welfare pension at normal pension age and to grant them an actuarially enhanced payment when they claim. The Pensions Board also considered that if this was combined with allowing those with less than full entitlements to count contributions made after age 65 or 66 in order to improve their contribution record, this would complete the incentives for longer working within the social welfare pensions system. I am in broad agreement with the suggestions and will be seeking to have them introduced as soon as is practical.

However, issues surrounding social welfare payments represent only one aspect of the problem. As I have said before, we require a change in attitudes in relation to longer working from both employers and employees. Employers must seek to retain older employees and create the conditions which will make longer working both attractive and feasible for older workers.

With regard to pensions generally, the Government is committed to producing a Green Paper on pensions as part of the new social partnership agreement Towards 2016 with a view to developing a framework for future pensions policy. This will include an examination of the issues surrounding retirement age and the barriers faced by older workers who wish to remain in employment. The Green Paper will be published within months. A consultation process will then take place and the Government will subsequently publish a framework for future pensions policy.