James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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77. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the commitment to benchmark pension rates in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48642/21]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 - 2025 aims to reduce the number of people in consistent poverty in Ireland to 2% or less, and to position Ireland within the top five countries in the EU under a number of leading social inclusion measures. The Roadmap includes a specific goal to protect the incomes of older people through the delivery of the commitment to benchmark State pension payments, which was outlined in the Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018 – 2023.

The Roadmap for Social Inclusion outlines a potential approach for benchmarking pensions: the smoothed earnings approach. This aims to ensure that over the long-term, the relative value of welfare payments compared to market earnings would be maintained and that, over any short-term period the real value, or purchasing power, of these payments would be protected.

Proposals on benchmarking of pensions is an issue considered by the Pensions Commission and I understand this Report is due to be published shortly, after consideration by Government. I look forward to reviewing this Report and its findings in the context of the Roadmap's commitment. The next meeting of the Steering Group on the Social Inclusion Roadmap, which I chair, is scheduled for next November and an update on this commitment will be provided to this Steering Group at that stage.

I thank the Deputy for his question and hope this clarifies the matter.