Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 383: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the extent of supports provided to private pension schemes through addressing and retransmission of correspondence with pension scheme members in terms of the number of letters handled, the manpower costs and other costs involved; the degree to which these costs are reimbursed by pension scheme administrators; the number of pension administration companies participating in this scheme; and the guidelines or instructions provided by his Department to pension scheme administrators regarding this facility. [25369/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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My Department was approached by third parties to assist them in contacting individuals who could not be contacted at the address held in their name on the third parties' records. In response, the Department proposed that, if it appeared to be in an individual's interests to be contacted, it would issue correspondence to an address recorded in that individual's name on the Department's records. The correspondence would contain advice as to the reason why the third party is seeking them and provide relevant contact details. At no stage would the Department pass any of the individual's personal details to the third parties.

The Data Protection Commissioner was consulted about the proposal and he approved it as it would appear to be to the individual's benefit to receive the correspondence, the Department would not be disclosing individual's details to third parties and it would be entirely up to the individual to decide whether or not they wished to contact the third party.

The specific circumstances raised by the Deputy could apply where a pension has matured and the pension company is unable to locate the policyholder. Insurance companies, non-commercial organisations such as adoption agencies and private individuals also avail of the service. The number of letters handled by my Department in respect of private pension schemes for the first nine months of 2007 is 4,891. These were processed on behalf of four specific pension companies and several individual construction companies. The manpower cost in forwarding these letters is estimated at €21,000. Other costs are estimated at €3,500.

My Department has kept the costs of providing this service under review but given the manageable numbers involved, has so far decided against applying a charge for it. That situation could change should costs in terms of demands on staff resources and postage warrant it.