Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding pension policies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7853/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I assume that the question refers to my Budget 2013 speech, when I announced that I would make provision in Finance Bill 2013 for persons making Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) used to supplement their main scheme retirement benefits to withdraw up to 30% of the value of those contributions. Any amounts withdrawn will be subject to tax at the individual’s marginal rate. The option will be available for 3 years from the passing of the Finance Bill. These provisions were included in Finance Bill 2013, which was published yesterday. This is a restricted measure which will enable rather than incentivize certain individuals to access part of their pension savings beyond their regular or compulsory pension contributions. I do not wish to damage future pension provision and it is important that individuals continue to provide for their retirement. For these reasons, I have no plans to extend the measure beyond AVCs.