Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 340: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the payment being awarded to a person (details supplied) is the maximum payment available to them; and the payment that would be available to them in the event of them not being assessed on their spouse's pension entitlement. [13653/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned applied for State Pension (Contributory) in September 1997. According to the records of my Department, he has a total of 353 contributions recorded over the 36-year qualification period from 1953 to 5th April 1989, giving him a yearly average of 10 contributions. This entitles him to 50% of the maximum rate of pension, payable at the current rate of €104.70 per week. In addition a further €10 per week is payable as he is over 80 years of age. A yearly average of at least 48 contributions is required to qualify for maximum rate pension.

The person concerned has no social insurance contributions recorded from 1960 to 1989. He was self-employed during this period and would not have been liable to pay PRSI up to the 6th April 1988, when PRSI for self-employed persons was introduced for the first time.

There is no record of any contributions paid by the person concerned for the period from 6th April 1988 to 5th April 1989. Even if contributions had been paid for this period the rate of pension would not be improved as the additional 53 contributions, would increase the yearly average to 11 which would have no effect on the rate of pension payable.

The State Pension (Contributory) is based on a person's own social insurance record and not on their spouse's record. A spouse's record can only be used when assessing entitlement to Widow(er)s pension.

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 341: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his plans to introduce pro rata payments. [13654/07]

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 342: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the restrictions that exist in qualifications for employees stamps paid by persons who had worked in the 1940s and 1950s; and his plans to remove these restrictions. [13655/07]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Question Nos. 341 and 342 together.

In general, all contributions paid or credited, at the appropriate rate, on a person's social insurance record are assessed when his/her entitlement to a pension is being examined. There is a range of reduced rate and pro-rata pensions available to cater for people with less than complete insurance records, or where they have insurance from different countries or from different contribution classes.

However, while pre-1953 insurance contributions may be counted towards the basic number of paid contributions required for pension purposes, they may not be used to satisfy the average contributions test. Contributions made prior to 1953 are different in nature to those made under the unified system introduced at that time, and do not contain any provision for pensions.

A special half rate state pension (contributory) 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. 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. People already qualifying for pensions at less than half rate can also benefit from the scheme.

The pre-1953 pension is a special measure designed to benefit a particular group of people, with very limited social insurance records, who would not otherwise qualify for a contributory pension. I consider that the pre-1953 pension, as it is currently structured, affords an appropriate recognition for the contributions which those in question have made. There are no plans to give additional recognition to pre-53 contributions or to introduce pro-rata pensions based on such contributions.