Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 319: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason her policy on the screening of submissions to her Department as part of the public consultation for the Green Paper on Pensions, as outlined in her reply to Parliamentary Question No. 381 of 17 April 2008, is not contained in the Green Paper on Pensions publication as well as the information on her Department's website; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17436/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Green Paper on Pensions consultation process has been ongoing since October 2007 and will continue until the end of May 2008. To date, over 180 submissions have been received and the Department hosted six regional seminars around the country to gather people's views on the key issues of concern to them. A comprehensive report will be drawn up on the consultation process and the views expressed through the written submissions and the seminars.

In conducting the consultation process, the Department is following the general set of guidelines in the Department of the Taoiseach's publication "Reaching Out: Guidelines on Consultation for Public Bodies", particularly sections 3.1 on written consultation and 4.7 on public meetings. Where correspondence is received through the consultation process and relates to individuals personal circumstances, this is passed to the appropriate section within the Department. Similarly, submissions including personal correspondence between the individual and other people or organisations are also inappropriate. In such cases, the contributor is asked to make their contribution along the lines set out on Page XV of the Green Paper. In addition, names of persons have been removed from submissions to protect anonymity.