Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 226: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the estimated cost of pension provisions for the next ten, twenty and thirty years for the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1700/08]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The projected future outgo on public service pensions is set out in Chapter 3 of the Green Paper on Pensions published in 2007. The projections are for total outgo to increase from 1.3% of GDP in 2007 to 1.8% in 2017, to 2.2% in 2027 and to 2.5% of GDP in 2037.

The main reasons for the projected increase in costs are the increases in public service numbers in the past along with the impact of improvements in the life expectancy of pensioners.

A number of reforms have been carried out in recent years based largely on the recommendations of the Commission of Public Service Pensions. The key change was the raising of the minimum retirement age for most future entrants to the public service from 60 to 65. The Green Paper on Pensions outlines a number of further reform options which the Government intends to research and consider in respect of future appointees to the public service to address developments since the Commission reported in 2000.