Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 94: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the rationale for applying the formula used to assess entitlement to a pre-1953 State pension where credits from a country with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement are used to satisfy the minimum number of contributions required; if her attention has been drawn to the anomalous position whereby once this minimum is reached, every extra non-Irish contribution results in a smaller payment for the applicant; the rationale for not basing the formula on the number of Irish credits as a proportion of total credits up to 260 credits; if her attention has been further drawn to the way in which the formula differs from the full State pension; if the effect of this formula is in keeping with our bilateral agreements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18602/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Where a person has social insurance contributions from another EEA country, or a country with which Ireland has a bi-lateral agreement, these can be used to qualify a person for a pension. The manner in which contributions from EEA countries are to be used is laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and the same general principles are applied in the reciprocal agreements Ireland has with a number of other countries.

These Regulations provide that where the conditions required by the legislation of a country for entitlement to old age benefits are satisfied only after counting the contributions made in another country, the first country shall calculate the amount of pension the person would be entitled to if s/he had completed his/her full career of periods of insurance under the legislation of that country. Then the proportional pension is calculated by multiplying the theoretical amount of pension by the ratio of periods of insurance in that State to the person's full career.

The pre-53 pension is a special measure designed to provide a pension to people who would not otherwise qualify for any payment. A number of such pensions are being paid in accordance with the arrangements outlined above and I am satisfied that such payments are calculated in accordance with the relevant EU regulations and the reciprocal agreements entered into by Ireland with other States.