Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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268. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if, when calculating the average contributions of persons for accessing their contributory pension, there is a provision to include contributions made for the years spent working in Britain or another EU member state; if these years are included in the final calculation when deciding the reckonable amount paid and credited contribution; and if this can be discounted in the overall calculation of the years at work. [25342/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Where a person applying for a State pension (contributory) was, in addition to having been employed in Ireland, employed in another EU Member State, or in a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement, their insured periods in those countries may be combined with their Irish insurance to assess their entitlement to a pro-rata State pension (contributory). In addition to the general provisions under EU legislation (which apply to all EU Member States, EEA states Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, and to Switzerland), Ireland has bilateral agreements with the UK (which also covers the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), USA, Australia, Canada, Quebec (which has a separate system from the rest of Canada), New Zealand, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

EU legislation and bilateral agreements provide that comparative pension assessments (for standard-rate State pension (contributory) under Irish legislation alone, and for pro-rata State pension (contributory) under EU or bilateral agreement provisions) be undertaken, and whichever is the most financially beneficial pension entitlement for that pensioner is awarded to them.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.