Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 444: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason for the apparent anomaly surrounding the transition pension, whereby individuals in receipt of this pension may earn no more than €38 a week, but when in receipt of a contributory pension the following year there is no limit on their earnings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3336/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The state pension (transition) was introduced in 1970 when it was known as the retirement pension. It was designed to bridge the gap between the standard social welfare pension age, which at that time was 70 years of age, and retirement at age 65. A key qualifying condition for the scheme is that a person has to be retired in order to qualify for a payment. Retirement was defined as not engaging in insurable employment, which today means earning less than €38 per week. The social welfare pension age was reduced over a period of years until it reached 66 years of age, which means that the retirement condition is now only effective for 1 year.

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 it can also be beneficial to the individual.

The retirement condition associated with the state pension (transition) is only one aspect of a much broader agenda which will need to be addressed if we are to create the conditions where people can continue in employment past what we now regard as normal retirement age.

As the House is aware, I published the Green Paper on Pensions on 17th October and this includes an examination of all the issues surrounding retirement age, the barriers faced by older workers who wish to remain in employment and the incentives in this regard which can be considered. A consultation process on the Green Paper is now underway and will remain open until mid 2008. The Government will respond to the process by publishing a framework for future pensions policy and I expect that this will happen towards the end of the year.