Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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34. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will change the home-makers credit scheme to include home-makers who were providing care prior to 6 April 1994; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46468/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The homemaker’s scheme was introduced in 1994 to make qualification for State pension contributory (SPC) easier for those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties. The scheme allows up to 20 years spent caring for children under 12 years of age, or incapacitated people, to be disregarded when a person’s social insurance record is being calculated for pension purposes. The effect of this is to reduce the number of years by which the person’s contributions are divided, thereby increasing their yearly average, making it easier for them to qualify for a maximum rate SPC. It does not, therefore, involve the award of credits.

To be eligible for the homemaker’s scheme, a person must:

- Permanently live in the State (exception may be made where EU regulations apply),

- Be aged under 66,

- Have started insurable employment or self-employment before the age of 56,

- Not work full-time, although for the purposes of this scheme, a person can work and earn less than €38 gross per week,

- Care for a child (under 12) or an incapacitated person on a full-time basis.

It is important to note that the homemaker’s scheme will not, of itself, qualify a person for a SPC. The standard qualifying conditions for the SPC must also be satisfied. These require a person to enter insurable employment at least ten years before pension age, pay a minimum of 520 contributions at the correct rate (credited contributions do not satisfy this condition) and achieve a yearly average of at least 10 contributions paid or credited on their record.

Where someone age 66 or over does not satisfy the conditions to qualify for a SPC, or qualifies for less than the maximum rate, they may instead qualify for one the following:

- The means-tested State pension (non-contributory). The maximum personal rate of this pension is €219, which may be payable if their means are no more than €30 per week. A reduced rate may be payable if their means are no more than €245 per week. A living alone allowance may also be paid, where applicable.

- If a spouse receives the SPC, the other spouse may receive a payment, known as an increase for qualified adult (IQA), which may be up to €206.30 per week.

- If widowed, they may qualify for a widow's contributory pension, which they may claim either based on their spouse’s or their own social insurance record. The qualifying conditions for this require fewer contributions paid (260) than the SPC, and the maximum personal rate for those aged 66 or over is €230.30.

Where a person qualifies for more than one of the above payments, they are paid under the pension that is most advantageous to them.

The homemaker’s scheme was introduced from 1994, and as with most schemes, this was without retrospective effect. Costs in relation to this scheme, under the current rules, are expected to increase in the coming years due to the increase in female employment rates since 1994. The possibility of backdating was considered in the context of the Green Paper on Pensions. This found that backdating it to 1953 would cost approximately €160 million in additional spending annually. The amount reduces to €150 million if backdated to 1973/74.

These additional costs would be very significant and consequently, the Government has no plans to backdate this scheme prior to 1994. Any decision to change the scheme would have budgetary consequences and would have to be considered in the context of budget negotiations.