Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The State Pension (Contributory) is payable to applicants who satisfy certain eligibility conditions including the number of social insurance contributions (paid and credited) they hold over their working life. In certain cases, where an applicant has had periods of insurable employment both in Ireland and in another EU member state or a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement, they may have an entitlement to a pro-rata State Pension (Contributory).

Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement with the United States of America. Hence, contributions from working in the United States of America would be taken into consideration when calculating entitlement to a State Pension (Contributory).

When applying for the State Pension (Contributory), an applicant is asked to include details of their employment history outside of Ireland. The Pensions Service Office in this Department will contact the relevant authorities in those countries to confirm the social insurance contributions that are applicable.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.