Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 372: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on whether the first €200 of a person's occupational pension could be disregarded in the same way as from employment when applying the means test for a non-contributory pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5060/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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From September 2006, a specific additional earnings disregard of €100 per week (now €200 per week) was introduced where the pensioner is in employment, i.e. working for an employer. This disregard is intended as an incentive to non-contributory pensioners to continue working, or to re-enter the workforce after reaching pension age. This disregard does not apply to income from any other sources. Income from sources other than employment, including pensions, is covered by the enhanced general means disregard of €30 per week which came into effect from January 2007.

Increases in rates and other improvements in pensions over many years have been among the major achievements of the Government. Since 2002, the level of the State pension (non-contributory) has increased by over 58% from €134 to €212 following Budget 2008. This improvement has had a marked impact on the living standards of older people enabling them to face the future with a greater sense of security and dignity. This is shown most strikingly in the numbers of older people deemed to be at risk of poverty, measured on a relative income basis. The most recent figures from the EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC), which were published late last year, have confirmed the steady improvements of recent years.

The risk of poverty rate for older people has fallen from just under 30% in 2003 to 13.6% in 2006. The fall last year was 6.5 percentage points from the previous year and this is before the significant improvement in social welfare pensions in 2007, and those announced in Budget 2008, are taken into account. Similarly, the consistent poverty rate has also fallen, from 3.7 to 2.1%, which means that the Government's overall poverty reduction target set out in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion has been achieved. The Government is determined to maintain and improve on the progress that has been made in improving pensioners' incomes. It is committed to achieving a pension of at least €300 per week by 2012.