Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 429: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her proposals to extend the homemaker's scheme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36869/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties are protected by the homemaker's scheme which was introduced in and took effect from 1994. The scheme allows up to 20 years spent caring for children under 12 years of age or incapacitated adults to be disregarded when a person's social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes.

However, the scheme will not of itself qualify a person for a pension. The standard qualifying conditions, which require a person to enter insurance 10 years before pension age, pay a minimum of 260 contributions at the correct rate and achieve a yearly average of at least 10 contributions on their record from the time they enter insurance until they reach pension age, must also be satisfied.

The operation of this scheme was reviewed in the context of the Green Paper on Pensions, with particular regard being paid to the operative date of the scheme and the use of credits for pension purposes rather than the current system of disregards. The Government is currently finalising a national pensions framework and any decisions with regard to homemaker's will be made in that context.

The person concerned applied for state pension transition in August 2009 and was informed that she did not qualify as she has a yearly average of 11 social insurance contributions whereas a minimum yearly average of 24 is required. It would appear that she is due a disregard of 4 years in respect of homemaking for the period from 1994 to 1998 when her youngest child reached 12 years of age. The application of the disregard would not enable her to qualify for state pension transition. She will be eligible to apply for state pension contributory in 2010 in advance of her 66th birthday in April 2011. The application of the disregard would increase her yearly average to 12. She will be entitled to state pension contributory at 50% of the maximum rate when she reaches age 66.