Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 335: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the proportion of the population at large, at current calculations, who will reach retirement age with no pension whatsoever; if she will break this down by private and public sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5645/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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According to the Central Statistics Office, it is estimated that supplementary pension coverage for workers in general was 54% in the first quarter of 2008 and, for the key target group, those aged 30 years and over, stood at 61%.

Almost all Irish public sector workers are members of occupational pension schemes. When public sector workers are removed from the coverage figures above, it can be estimated that approximately 45% of workers in the private sector have supplementary pension coverage.

It should be noted that all of these figures relate to current employees and it cannot be presumed that those without supplementary pension coverage at present will not take out a pension in the future. In addition, these employees will be entitled to a state pension (contributory), provided that they have sufficient social insurance contributions. Those without sufficient means may be entitled to a state pension (non-contributory).

Exploring ways in which supplementary pension cover could be improved was a major focus of the Government's Green Paper on Pensions. A framework to address the pensions agenda over the longer-term will be published in the near future.

Our objective must be to ensure that we have in place a pensions system which will deliver an adequate retirement income to all and which can, at the same time, withstand the cost pressures which will arise in the future as the composition of our population changes and the balance between those at work and those who are retired shifts dramatically.