Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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313. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when she will publish her response to the Pension Commission's report considering she had initially indicated that she would report by the end of March 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22060/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Pensions Commission’s Report was published in October 2021. The report contained almost 250 pages of analysis, consideration and recommendations. It established that the current State Pension system is not sustainable into the future and that changes are needed and it has set out a recommended approach by Government.

In the interests both of older people and future generations of older people, the Government intends to consider the comprehensive and far reaching recommendations in the Pensions Commission’s Report very carefully and holistically. This includes careful consideration of the various views submitted by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands, and the Commission on Taxation and Welfare.

Following detailed consideration of all of this in the round, I will bring forward a recommended response and implementation plan to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations as soon as possible. While I had intended that this would be completed earlier, the Deputy will appreciate that my Department has been centrally involved in the Government response to the crisis in Ukraine and other important matters in recent weeks.

As the bedrock of the pension system in Ireland, the State Pension is very effective at ensuring that our pensioners do not experience poverty. This Government is committed to ensuring that this remains the case for current pensioners, those nearing State Pension age and today’s young workers.