Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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409. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if it is her intention to legislate for an automatic enrolment retirement savings scheme in 2023; if so, if the scheme will be open for workers from January 2024; if not, from what proposed date; when the arrangements will be put in place for the scheme; when the legislation will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30588/23]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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410. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she intends to take on board the recommendations from the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill 2022; which recommendations she will be taking on board in the Bill; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30589/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 409 and 410 together.

The introduction of a pensions auto-enrolment system is a Programme for Government commitment, and a key priority for me as Minister for Social Protection.

Last year, I published 'The Design Principles for Ireland’s Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System', which set out the new system in detail. It envisaged that the enrolment of the first AE participants would commence in 2024.

A dedicated project team in the Department of Social Protection is solely focused on implementing the agreed design, including by drafting the necessary legislation that will underpin it, designing the organisational structures and the technical system to operate it, and communicating this landmark reform to stakeholders and the public.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection recently published its report on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Heads of Bill to establish the AE system, setting out 21 observations and recommendations. I am considering these recommendations in the drafting of the Bill, but would note that several of them are already incorporated in the design agreed by Government for implementation in a later phase once the system is bedded in. Other recommendations cannot be accommodated as they would require considerable change to the design already agreed by Government. The completion of the Committee’s scrutiny of the AE Heads of a Bill nevertheless represents an important step in the legislative process.

Another key workstream is the procurement of pension administration services, for which the tendering Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) was published this month.

I expect to publish the AE Bill shortly and the legislation will commence it's passage through the Oireachtas in the Autumn.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.